Background: In schools of today, where various forms of exclusion can occur, fostering a caring climate throughout schools is important to care for every child.

Objective: This study conducted a scoping review of the literature on care in schools, particularly focusing on junior high schools, where students often face various difficulties and require special attention. This scoping review aimed to clarify the importance, components, and challenges of caring climates in schools.

Methods: The PsycINFO version EBSCOhost database was used for literature searches. The search formula focused on the literature about care in the context of school climate from the student’s perspectives. During January 30-31, 2023 searches were conducted using inclusion and exclusion criteria for literature selection. After a careful review of the selected literature, the significance of studying caring climates in schools was affirmed. Next, using a qualitative content analysis method, elements of care in schools among the research findings were extracted, coded, categorized, and compiled into components representing important aspects of caring climates in schools. Finally, future challenges for research on caring climates in schools were summarized.

Results: A total of 14 articles were examined. Although the contents of caring climates in schools are unclear and ambiguous, the concept exhibits potential to contribute to the personal growth of junior high school students facing various psychosocial difficulties. Moreover, caring climates in schools were found to have four components：[a caring climate that supports students facing difficulties], [a caring climate that respects human rights], [a caring climate that fosters safe relationships], and [a caring climate that promotes a positive attitude]. Three challenges for future research were also identified: (1) understanding the multifaceted caring climate surrounding students, (2) examining caring climate in school practices, and (3) conducting a quantitative survey.

Conclusion: The four components identified in this study are important for fostering a caring climate in schools that contributes to students’ growth. Future research should examine the caring climate that develop in relationships among students and which are appropriate to the Japanese junior high school context. Furthermore, quantitative research investigating challenges such as scale development are necessary to elucidate the components of a caring climate in school and to investigate their relations to students’ growth.