Constructs used by vocational students in England to evaluate their teachers

Abstract

This paper sets out the findings of a small-scale research project that investigated the constructs that vocational education students of approximately 17-19 years of age use tacitly or informally to evaluate their teachers. The results are compared with those of larger scale studies of teacher-student interaction. All the studies show that affective behaviours, such as listening and responding to students, treating them as individuals, and creating a supportive climate for learning, are the most important determinants of student satisfaction with teachers. The paper goes on to suggest that this fact may not correspond to the focus of teacher training and professional development programmes. © 1998 Journal of Vocational Education and Training. All right reserved.