Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationResearch is scant that is specifically on teacher-student relationships as an academic resource for racially diverse students in majority white, private religious schools compared with similar research done in public schools. This study identified the presence of caring teacher-student relationships at David Ben-Gurion Jewish Day School, a majority white, private religious school. Interview findings are incorporated from racially diverse students to capture their perceptions of the attributes that form these relationships. In deepening an understanding of the attributes that racially diverse students perceived, the study also includes an examination of whether teachers identified similar attributes of caring in their teaching-student relationships. Racially diverse students articulated that caring teacher-student relationships were a classroom resource and that affective behaviors including teacher sharing, teacher listening, and culturally responsive classroom practices promoted academic engagement and a sense of belonging at school. The research results also suggested that white teachers were able to support culturally responsive teaching practices despite the presence of colorblindness on the part of some teachers and that teachers recognized teacher sharing, teacher listening, and culturally responsive classroom practices as classroom resources for establishing caring teacher-student relationships with racially diverse students