ABSTRACTWHO CARES? (AND HOW?): A PHENOMENOLOGICAL CASE STUDY EXPLORING TEACHER–STUDENT CARE COMMUNICATION Brooklyn L. Wheeler Raney Caroline Watts This qualitative study examined how students and teachers perceive teacher-student care in one rural, independent secondary school. Although care is a word commonly used to describe an element of education that most school stakeholders agree is important for positive learning conditions, rarely is teacher care, or its boundaries, defined beyond natural feelings or professional duty. This study proposes a Responsive Care Communication Theory, including four domains of care applied from the literature (Encouragement, Accountability, Affirmation, and Advisement), which were used to assess the gaps and areas of agreement between teachers’ and students’ descriptions of teacher–care expression. This phenomenological qualitative case study included 44 teachers and 37 students from one school community. Focus groups were the primary data-collection tool. The study revealed significant findings. First, the domains of care communication were validated by both student and teacher focus groups. Second, a teacher’s under- or overdoing of the caring domains proved detrimental to students’ perception of care, as well as to the sustainability of a teacher’s role. Third, “a belief in students” and “setting of expectations” were discussed in all four domains by all four student focus groups as precursors to perceiving genuine care from teachers. Finally, the care a teacher showed toward their subject matter and lesson-plan design influenced the students’ perception of care for them personally. The results of this study offer educational leaders insights into self-awareness and growth opportunities for teachers in the area of care expression, shared language for a unified approach to student support, potential for teaming based on care-domain strengths, and support for proactively educating students on what to expect from teacher care. While teachers may express care toward students in different ways, those who offer their students amount of encouragement, accountability, affirmation, and advisement throughout the school day engender in their students a stronger perception that they are cared for, which can enhance relational and educational outcomes.