‘Your Teacher is Kind, My Teacher is Mean’ Exploring Teachers’ Kindness from Thai Tertiary Students’ Perspectives

Abstract

            This article probes Thai tertiary students’ perspectives on kind teacher characteristics. The Thai word jaidee, which means kind, is commonly used by Thai students, in an institution under study, to describe a desirable quality in teachers with whom they select to enroll. While it is appreciable that empathy is a trait expected in good teachers in general, the question remains why such a quality is vigorously sought out by students at the higher education level. Focus groups and written reflections were employed to elicit the perceptions of ten students at entry and exit levels. Six themes have emerged from the data analysis which demonstrates that, to these students, kindness encompasses more than just empathy, care, and understanding. Findings from this preliminary study will form a basis for further quantitative study which will ultimately shed light on teachers’ roles, teacher-student relationships and student motivation in learning.