ČLANCI

PAPERS

Review paper
Received: 26 June 2021
Accepted: 9 September 2021
Katarina Vanek, mag. prim. educ.
[email protected]

Andrej Maras, mag. prim. educ.

Primary School “Lotrščak”,
Donje Svetice 127, Zagreb
[email protected]

Petra Karabin, mag. prim. educ.

University of Zagreb, Faculty of Teacher Education
Savska cesta 77, Zagreb
[email protected]

WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEACHER?

Abstract: Being a teacher in contemporary society is becoming more and more

challenging. Social expectations of teachers are constantly growing. Therefore,
teachers strive to improve their characteristics and competencies. In that re­
spect, it is important to know which personality traits and competencies society
expects from a good teacher. Guided by that, this paper aims to comprehensive­
ly present a good teacher, considering his or her desirable personality traits,
professional competencies and perceptions of participants in the educational
process. The results of the review of relevant literature and previous research
indicate that a good teacher shows a combination of personality traits such
as humanity, wisdom, prudence, perseverance, etc. and competencies such as
achieving positive relationships with students, successful classroom manage­
ment, recognizing the importance of motivation and others. Finally, a good
teacher is a combination of desirable personality traits and permanent profes­
sional growth. Therefore, this research can contribute to the practice of creat­
ing professional development and teacher education programs.

Keywords: teacher competencies, teacher characteristics, perceptions of par­

ticipants in the educational process

“A good teacher does not teach what he wants,

he does not teach what he knows, a teacher teaches who he is.”
unknown author

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K. Vanek, A. Maras, P. Karabin: What makes a good teacher?

INTRODUCTION
A teacher1 – is one of the few people we remember all our lives. A teacher
is a person who is often expected to replace a parent, psychologist, sociologist,
special educator, actor, singer, dancer, painter, athlete and much more – if the
situation requires it. The teacher represents the synergy of many personalities
who have one common goal – the upbringing and education of a young person.
It is an arduous and complex occupation that includes lots of ups and downs,
pressures, frustration, resignation, but even the smallest student’s achievement
is a reward for a teacher. The phrase “being a teacher” has always meant so-
mething deeper, more noble and enlightening, something more than just the
profession that an individual practices in society. We can often hear that the
teaching profession is a vocation intended for those who want to work in the
area of upbringing and education. The teacher represents a model of behavior
that influences the choice of future occupations of his students. The teacher’s
communication style, his clothing style, his reactions and the way he views
success and failure leave an indelible mark on the lives of his students.
Finally, the question arises as to who is truly a teacher? Teachers’ interest
points to the strengths of human personality, to the learning process determined
by the International Standard Classification of Occupations, according to which
teachers are those who teach at all three levels of education: primary, secondary
and tertiary, those who work with preschool children and those who organize
various forms of teaching activities (Cindrić, 1995).
Modern society and global changes have posed many challenges to edu-
cators. Today, more than ever before, it is challenging and demanding to be a
teacher. Nowadays, teachers are expected to know and apply teaching strategies
for learning and teaching, they are expected to participate in creating quality
schools and educate students for the labour market. Furthermore, a modern tea-
cher should be flexible, innovative and open to new teaching paradigms aimed
at interdisciplinary planning of teaching units. In their educational activities,
they should strive for lifelong learning; they should be excellent moderators,
motivators and organizers; they should be able to research teaching practice wi-
thin their teaching area and be competent to evaluate their work (Jensen, 2003).
Everyone has a theory of how a good teacher should behave and what quali-
ties and professional competencies he should possess to do the job successfully.
As the teaching profession has always been interesting to researchers because
of its crucial influence on the quality of education, in the 1960s pedeutology
began to develop, which should provide answers to the question “What makes
a good teacher?”. Strugar (2014) states that pedeutology is a scientific disci-
pline of systemic pedagogy that is aimed at researching and studying teachers’
1
In this paper, the word teacher refers to both male and female teachers and the pronoun ‘he’
will be used.

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personality from a psychological, sociological, pedagogical and character as-

pect. The author sees pedeutology as very useful for teachers in terms of reco-
gnizing their pedagogical and psychological insights into their personality that
they can use for personal growth and development, but also in relationships
with others.
It is impossible to define teacher quality unambiguously terminologically.
The phenomenon of teacher quality is used to define highly qualified teachers,
effective teachers and good teachers (Liston et al., 2008). The term denoting
a highly qualified teacher can most often be heard from ministries and com-
mittees focused on education, i.e. education policymakers. The term effective
teacher indicates a teacher whose pedagogical competencies are focused on the
development of student achievement, and nowadays these teachers are more
oriented towards educational outcomes than qualifications. Alsup (2005) emp-
hasizes that effective teachers are guided by the collective aspiration to develop
a professional identity that includes their subjectivity and cultural beliefs about
what it means to be a teacher. A good teacher represents a teacher who, with his
behaviour, attitudes, desirable personality traits, professional competencies and
value system, focuses on the systematic development of the learning process of
his students (Hanushek, 2002). The term good teacher is common among mem-
bers of the scientific community of educational sciences as well as among pra-
ctitioners in the field of education. Being a good teacher presents a professional
aspiration towards achieving harmony between the teacher’s personality and
competencies, attitudes and beliefs that successfully respond to the challenges
of the environment (Korthagen, 2004).
To present a good teacher as one coherent whole, in this paper teacher cha-
racteristics will not be studied in isolation because they build on and intertwine
with each other. The main goal of this paper is to comprehensively present a
good primary school teacher, considering his desirable personality traits and
professional competencies and the perception of participants in the educational
process.

GOOD MAN – GOOD TEACHER

When considering which qualities a good teacher should have, it is impor-
tant to consider which human qualities society perceives as virtues. A further
review of the literature can be made with the assumption that, first, a good
teacher should possess the qualities that society considers necessary to cha-
racterize an individual as a good person. Rijavec and Miljković (2006, p. 7)
provide an overview of virtues based on previous research that highlights the
six most valued virtues in the world regardless of cultural, religious or social
affiliation: “wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, moderation and transcenden-
ce”. Wisdom and knowledge are virtues that include curiosity, desire to learn,

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K. Vanek, A. Maras, P. Karabin: What makes a good teacher?

open-mindedness, creativity and prudence. Courage includes boldness, per-

severance, integrity, and vitality (Rijavec & Miljković, 2006). Peterson and
Seligman (2004, as cited in Rijavec & Miljković, 2006). classify boldness
within the quality of courage. Furthermore, the quality of humanity includes
generosity, willing­ness to give and receive love, and social and emotional in-
telligence. Such people consider other people equally important as themselves.
A just person is socially responsible, honest and can lead. A moderate person
has self-control, is prudent, modest, humble and knows how to forgive and
give mercy. A transcendent person is a person that possesses gratitude, hope,
optimism, a sense of humour and playfulness, respects beauty, excellence, spi-
rituality, and religiosity. The above-mentioned division made by Peterson and
Seligman (2004, as cited in Rijavec & Miljković, 2006). is graphically presen-
ted as six-character strengths, along with the schematic representation of the
related virtues (Graph 1). It is emphasized that positive people possess these
character strengths, i.e. virtues.

Graph 1. Character Strengths & Virtues (Miljković et al., 2019, p. 60)

As many people as possible should possess these highly appreciated human

qualities, which can be called virtues. The school, as a place that encourages the
development of students’ personalities, should also encourage the development
of these socially valued virtues. If we start from the assumption that a good tea-
cher can encourage his students to develop desirable virtues, then it is possible
to assume that this good teacher should possess at least some of them. Different
authors perceive a good teacher differently and point out the different qualities
that a good teacher should have. Thus, Miller (2012) expresses the desirable
qualities of a good teacher from his perspective. The first is the teacher’s ent-
husiasm for teaching, which means that he loves his work. It is also important
that the teacher is creative, which includes the design of various games, songs,
etc. Also, the teacher should add pace and humour into the classroom to keep
students busy with work assignments, but in a pleasant classroom atmosphere
supported by the teacher’s sense of humour. It is important to point out that

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humor in teaching should not be based on ridiculing students for their mistakes.
It is also important that the teacher approaches each student in a personalized
way, respecting their specific needs. In addition, teachers should leave their
emotional problems outside the classroom. Furthermore, the teacher needs to
be able to talk to students after class regarding questions and ambiguities they
have (Miller, 2012). Therefore, the desirable characteristics of the teacher were
highlighted as follows: “enthusiasm, encouragement, humor, interest in the
student, availability and mental health.” (Miller, 2012, p. 38). Likewise, Azer
(2005) lists twelve qualities he believes a good teacher should have. First, a
good teacher should be committed to the work, that is, work-focused and ent-
husiastic. In addition, he should respect and encourage the differences among
his students. He should communicate and interact with respect. Furthermore,
he should be a good motivator who encourages critical thinking, group work,
creativity, open and confidential learning environment and further progress in
learning while giving constructive and positive feedback on students’ work and
learning process. In addition, a good teacher should possess a wide range of
undefined abilities that enable him to teach successfully, but he should also
strive to constantly improve his teaching skills. Finally, a good teacher should
show leadership in teaching. Similar to the views of various authors, the desira-
ble personality traits of an effective teacher can be considered indicators of his
quality: “care, fairness and respect, interaction with students, enthusiasm, moti-
vation, commitment to teaching and reflective practice.” (Stronge & Hindman,
2006, p. 18) According to the above cited authors (Azer, 2005; Miller, 2012;
Stronge & Hindman, 2006), it is clear that their concept of the desirable quali-
ties of a good teacher largely agrees with the previously emphasized desirable
virtues of a good man throughout the world (Miljković et al., 2019; Rijavec &
Miljković, 2006). Consequently, it is noticeable that a good teacher is expected
to possess the virtues characteristic of a good man throughout the world.

DESIRABLE COMPETENCIES OF TEACHERS

Koster and Dengerink (2008) state that a competent person must be prepa-
red to use his knowledge, skills, attitude, personal characteristics and values
effectively and professionally, but with caution in a given situation. Papenkort
(2014) points out that competencies help attain achievement when a particular
requirement is met. It is evident that the notion of competence and a competent
person is in common that a competent person must have certain knowledge
and abilities to respond appropriately to a certain situation. According to the
European recommendation of key competences for lifelong learning (European
Commision, 2019), competencies change regarding period time and circum-
stances in which we live, and they differ among generations.

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In the document about key competences for lifelong learning (European

Commision, 2019, p. 5) it is defined eight key competencies that every indivi-
dual needs to possess if he wants to achieve personal development and social
inclusion and if he wants to be an employed active citizen. They are a combina-
tion of knowledge, skills and attitudes and are named as follows:
1. Communication in the mother tongue
2. Communication in foreign languages
3. Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and
technology
4. Digital competence
5. Personal and social competences and learning to learn
6. Civic competences
7. Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship
8. Cultural awareness and expression.
Similarly, the teacher competencies are specified. According to Jurčić
(2014), teacher competencies imply a connection between knowledge, abili-
ties, values and motivation that must be at a functional level. Jurčić (2014)
divides the desirable teacher competencies into pedagogical and didactic ones.
Pedagogical competencies include personal, communicative, analytical, social,
emotional, intercultural and developmental teachers’ competencies and pro-
blem-solving skills. On the other hand, didactic competencies include the abi-
lity to shape the classroom atmosphere, determine student achievement in sc-
hool and develop an educational partnership between school and parents. Jukić
(2010) points out that the teacher must be well acquainted with the teaching and
learning process, teaching strategies and methods and procedures he uses in his
work. What positively contributes to the competencies’ development is the high
level of knowledge in the field of didactics, general pedagogy, methodology,
knowledge of the curriculum and the subject matter (Jurčić, 2014). Jukić (2010)
further states that competencies differ from one person to another because they
depend on personality and personal experiences.
Zrilić and Marin (2019, pp. 391–392) summarized from different sources
five areas of teacher competencies in the modern school:
1. teacher competencies in the field of curriculum construction
methodology
2. teacher competencies in the field of organization and management of
the educational process
3. teacher competencies in the field of determining student achievement
in school
4. teacher competencies in the field of shaping the classroom atmosphere
5. teacher competencies in the field of an educational partnership with
parents.

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Yue and Ji (2020, p. 9) conducted a content analysis and concluded that a

21st century teacher should:
- collaborate with peers (work interactively and cooperate with colleagues
and students)
- actively learn (learn about new methods and procedures in the
educational process and apply them)
- apply learning sustainability models in practice (apply theories and
concepts to actual classrooms and learn how to teach students the skills
of the 21st century)
- peer guidance (share knowledge with colleagues in different skills)
- give feedback and evaluation (ensure the quality and efficiency of
teachers’ professional development).
A good teacher is supposed to possess certain knowledge and skills. Carre
(1995, as cited in Vizek Vidović et al., 2003) points out two types of knowledge
that a good teacher should have. The first type of knowledge refers to the con-
tent knowledge and the knowledge of research methods within a particular tea-
ching area. The second type of knowledge refers to the knowledge of cognitive
and motivational processes and students’ cognitive development. Furthermore,
the authors emphasize which skills a good teacher should possess: “skills of
planning and teaching, skills of determining outcomes and skills of managing
classroom as a social community” (Vizek Vidović et al., 2003, p. 332). Also,
Stronge and Hindman (2006) list the knowledge and skills that they consider
indicators of teacher quality: verbal abilities, knowledge of teaching content,
knowledge of learning and teaching, organization, classroom management, stu-
dent discipline, time organization, response to student needs and abilities, etc.
Furthermore, Miller (2012) says it is important that teachers can set sufficiently
challenging expectations for their students, which should however be within
the limits of students’ abilities. In addition, it is important that teachers can
explain the teaching content. The abilities considered desirable in a good teac-
her are also: “creativity and challenge” (Miller, 2012, p. 38).
Teachers’ pedagogical characteristics are a significant predictor of the qua-
lity of the teaching process. According to Strugar (2014), pedagogical characte-
ristics can be divided into three groups:
1. general, didactic-methodical characteristics and psychological educa-
tion of teachers
2. characteristics important for organizing the educational process
3. characteristics important for establishing interactive relationships
between students and teachers.
Strugar (2014) further states that an effective teacher should present a syn-
thesis of all three groups of pedagogical (teaching) characteristics that are in-
tertwined in everyday teaching.

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K. Vanek, A. Maras, P. Karabin: What makes a good teacher?

Teachers’ knowledge and skills are reflected in the effectiveness of their

teaching. Teachers’ organizational skills are reflected in students’ success in sc-
hool, where the teacher’s better organization of school time contributes to stu-
dents’ better school success. Also, the teacher’s skill in planning the difficulty
of teaching content is extremely important so that the teacher’s expectations are
set high enough to challenge the students, i.e. so that they are not beyond their
abilities. For teachers to achieve this, it is important to take into account stu-
dents’ prior knowledge and abilities when planning. A teacher who possesses
this skill contributes more to the development of students’ self-confidence and
their positive attitudes towards teaching and learning. In addition to that, teac-
her ability to create concrete and achievable teaching outcomes and goals also
contribute to the effectiveness of teaching (Vizek Vidović et al., 2003). Also,
Austin (2015) points out that good teachers can build trusting and stimulating
relationships with their students and they possess pedagogical competencies
and subject matter knowledge. McKnight et al. (2011) conducted a survey to
recognize the qualities that participants in the English education system expect
from their teachers. The participants in the research were students aged 15–19,
parents of primary and secondary school students, teachers and principals of
primary and secondary schools, education researchers and policymakers. The
survey, which shows a hierarchy of valued qualities of an effective teacher whe-
re it is evident that the foundations for building competencies are personality
traits, indicates that teachers’ knowledge and skills are at the very top of the
pyramid (Graph 2). However, neither competencies nor personality traits are
the only things that define a good teacher, because a stimulating and supportive
social environment is also required (Korthagen, 2004). Finally, a competent
teacher should enjoy his work, have authority, be accepted by his students and
colleagues and have pedagogical tact that will increase students’ satisfaction
with teaching (Jurčić, 2014). Considering the expected valued knowledge and
skills that the authors (Austin, 2015; Jurčić, 2014; McKnight et al. 2011; Vizek
Vidović et al., 2003) pointed out, it is noticeable that they can largely be placed
within the European recommendation of key competences for lifelong learning
(European Commision, 2019).

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Graph 2. Hierarchy of valued qualities of an effective teacher

(McKnight et al., 2011, p. 44)

INFLUENCE OF TEACHER ATTRIBUTES AND

COMPETENCIES ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Areas that affect student achievement were identified in an analysis
(Corwin, 2019) conducted in a study that lasted for more than 25 years and
included the results of more than 95,000 surveys, with about 300 million stu-
dents worldwide. One of the areas that influence student achievement is the
teacher, including areas of teacher attributes, teacher-student interactions, and
teacher education (Table 1). Research has shown that teacher attributes, their
education and interaction with students affect student achievement to varying
degrees: potentially significant acceleration of student achievement, potential
acceleration of student achievement, likely positive impact on student achie-
vement, and likely small positive impact on student achievement. What can
potentially significantly accelerate student achievement are teacher estimates
of achievement, teacher credibility, teacher clarity and the implementation of
micro-teaching, i.e. video review of lessons. Teacher expectations, teachers
who do not “label” students, teacher-student relationships, and student rating
of the quality of teaching have the potential to accelerate student achievement.
Teacher verbal ability, personality, professional development programs, subject
matter knowledge and average teacher effects have a probable positive impact
on student achievement. A likely small positive impact on student achievement
is the result of initial teacher training programs and teacher pay (Corwin, 2019).

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K. Vanek, A. Maras, P. Karabin: What makes a good teacher?

Furthermore, the results of numerous other studies show similar factors that
affect student achievement: teacher competencies, teacher self-efficacy, teacher
knowledge of teaching content, years of school experience, student-teacher re-
lationships, use of educational computer programs, and use of information and
communication technology in the teaching process, etc. (Bakar, 2018; Hughes
& Kwok, 2007; Kosgei et al., 2013; Mojavezi & Tamiz, 2012; Odadžić et al.,
2017; Rowan et al., 1997; Solakovic et al., 2017). The importance of these fa-
ctors is reflected in the aspiration of institutions that educate future teachers to
focus on initial teacher education programs to encourage and develop teacher
competencies (Vizek Vidović & Domović, 2013). Considering these influences
that teacher attributes and competencies have on student achievement, their
exceptional importance in the educational process can be seen.
Table 1. Teacher influence on student achievement. (Corwin, 2019, p. 2)
Teacher-student
Teacher attributes Teacher education
interactions
average teacher effects
teacher clarity initial teacher training
teacher credibility programs
student rating of quality of
teacher estimates of micro-teaching / video
teaching
achievement review of lessons
teachers not labelling
teacher expectations professional
students
teacher personality development programs
teacher-student relationships
attributes teacher subject matter
teacher performance pay knowledge
teacher verbal ability

WHAT DO THE BEST TEACHERS DO AND HOW THEY

DO IT?
Teachers differ significantly in the quality of their work. Personality traits,
skills, attitudes, level of education and attitude towards work are just some of
the predictors that affect the quality of educational work of teachers. While vi-
siting a multitude of schools, Whitaker (2004; 2012) aimed to determine what
sets the best teachers apart from the rest. He has found that the set of different
teacher personality traits, his desire for professional growth and his focus on
student achievement, is what sets him apart from other teachers.
As a result of his research, Whitaker (2004; 2012) provides a summary of
what best teacher do and how they do it:
- they strive for continuous professional development
- they are aware that the quality of the school depends on school
employees, not on a school program
- they are consistent and thoughtful in classroom management

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- their students always come first

- they place high demands on students, but also on themselves
- they continuously work on eliminating unacceptable behaviour
- they show empathy towards others and they know how their students
perceive them
- they show respect to each student and develop a positive classroom
atmosphere
- they have a clearly defined goal and they do not give up, but they can
also be flexible if something does not go according to the plan
- they are focused on the personal progress of each student with clearly
set expectations
- they have a positive relationship with their students and share positivity
with others
- they are guided by student progress, not by checking their achievement
- they show care for their students
- they have a developed strategy on how to deal with and respond to
unacceptable behaviour
- they try to be fair to everyone.
Furthermore, we want to emphasize the importance of classroom manage-
ment when it comes to a good teacher. Stronge and Hindman (2006) created
a list of teacher quality indicators, and one of the six categories is classroom
management. It is clear that it has been singled out as one of the categories
that reflect the desirable characteristics and competencies of a good teacher.
Classroom management should ensure “establishing and maintaining a safe,
orderly, and productive learning environment” (Stronge & Hindman, 2006, p.
13). For Miller (2012) classroom management is also extremely important and
he emphasizes the importance of teacher’s fairness and their ability to establish
a pace of work in the classroom. There are three different styles of classro-
om management: authoritarian, democratic or authoritative, and laissez-faire.
An authoritarian teacher sets rules in the classroom that he considers impor-
tant but leaves no room for students to question them or negotiate those ru-
les. According to Barnas (2000), authoritarian teachers generally do not talk to
students, do not lead discussions, and are characterised by one-way commu-
nication. These are teachers who do not encourage students or provide them
with any kind of support. Authoritarian teachers have high expectations of their
students, reward high achievements with high grades, and punish any failure
and weakness with low grades. Unlike the authoritarian, the authoritative teac-
her sets the class rules in cooperation with his students who can negotiate and
influence the rules (Vizek Vidović et al., 2003). Research shows that teachers
who have an authoritative classroom management style encourage critical thin-
king, learning, and personal development of students (Bernstein, 2013). Quite
the opposite of these two styles, a laissez-faire teacher does not set any rules

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(Vizek Vidović et al., 2003). Each of these classroom management styles can
be associated with specific characteristics of teachers who use them in their cla-
ssrooms. Thus, authoritarian teachers are potentially more persistent and that
is why they insist on rules, but they are not very open-minded. Teachers with
an authoritarian style potentially have higher social and emotional intelligence
and social responsibility, while their persistence is less pronounced because
they do not insist uncompromisingly on the set rules. Finally, teachers with a
laissez-faire approach have low persistence, integrity, social responsibility, and
leadership ability. Research suggests that, in a class led by a teacher with an
authoritative style, better results are generally achieved, which is why it can
potentially be characteristic of good teachers. Successful classroom manage-
ment, among other things, should have a positive impact on the development
of students’ self-control and social responsibility (Rijavec & Miljković, 2006;
Vizek Vidović et al., 2003).
Classroom management also includes school discipline and cooperation
with parents. Teachers’ traits and skills are manifested in achieving discipline,
i.e. solving classroom problems. One of the examples of achieving school dis-
cipline is the principle of least intervention, which will be explained in more
detail below. Guided by this principle, it is possible to solve everyday problems
in the classroom environment. Table 2 shows an example of the implementation
of the least intervention principle in the classroom (Wolfgang, 1995, as cited
in Vizek Vidović et al., 2003). For example, the teacher’s courage, which inc-
ludes his enthusiasm, is very important in the prevention process (Rijavec &
Miljković, 2006; Vizek Vidović et al., 2003). By further observing the procedu-
res in Table 2, it is possible to relate them to the results of research conducted
by McKnight et al. (2011), who highlighted the characteristics of a good tea-
cher that can be a kind of prerequisite for implementing the procedures of the
principle of least intervention: confidential relationship with students, kindness,
understanding, calmness, and patience. It is precisely these qualities of a good
teacher that are necessary to establish interactive relationships with students
(Strugar, 2014).

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Table 2. The principle of least intervention with an example of its implementation

in the classroom. (Vizek Vidović et al., 2003, p. 295)
Step Procedure Implementation
teacher enthusiasm, the dynamism of
0 prevention teaching, encouraging and maintaining
interest
Bojan is late with the task; the teacher leans
1 nonverbal cues
towards him
praising appropriate Bojan, I heard that you were the first to finish
2
behaviour your plaster sculpture work.
3 praising other students Most of you have almost finished; great!

4 direct request Bojan, please, hurry up!

5 repeating the request Bojan, it is important that you finish on time.

after class Bojan stays for 15 minutes and
6 consequences
starts a new task to have more time tomorrow

COOPERATION BETWEEN PARENTS AND SCHOOLS

Furthermore, parent-school cooperation is extremely important for stu-
dent success. An important basis for successful communication between tea­
chers and parents are teachers’ appropriate competencies and personality traits.
Although teachers and parents of a particular student have the same goal, they
often disagree and a conflict might arise in their communication. The sources
of their conflicts can be different, and to avoid them it is important to educate
teachers to work with parents. Such education can be divided into methodo-
logical contents that include the acquisition of skills on the organization and
implementation of cooperation and educational contents that are “related to
the immediate, practical improvement of parental role and pedagogical culture
in general.” (Vizek Vidović et al., 2003, p. 312) According to this division, it
is clear that teachers should have a lot of knowledge and skills to successfully
communicate with parents, such as knowledge of various forms of cooperation
with parents, organization of parent-teacher meetings, communication culture,
appropriate behaviour in conflict situations, etc. (Vizek Vidović et al., 2003).
The results of a 2009 survey (Pahić et al., 2010), which included 1,122 parents
from all over the Republic of Croatia, have shown that the relationship between
schools and parents in Croatia in most cases belong to the traditional partner-
ship orientation. Kosić (2009) describes the partnership as a voluntary relati-
onship between parents and teachers whose interest is to improve children’s
educational environment through cooperation so that the child could develop

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adequately. There are two types of school-family relationship: the already men-
tioned traditional orientation and the partner orientation (Pahić et al., 2010). In
the traditional orientation (Pahić et al., 2010), parents are not directly involved
in the operation of the school. In addition, they are not responsible for the edu-
cation of their children and they leave it to the system, i.e. the school. In this
form of partnership, communication between school and parents is rare, often
initiated by the school, and is based on individual problems that may arise. In
contrast, there is a partnership orientation (Škutor, 2014) in which both school
and parents equally contribute to the education of children, maintaining a po-
sitive climate and mutual respect of all participants in the educational system.
This form of the partnership involves frequent communication, respect for cul-
tural differences and acceptance of the roles of all members of the system.
Although the traditional form of partnership prevails in the Republic of
Croatia, according to the results of Kolak’s research (2006), the attitude of pa-
rents (N = 237) of lower primary school students towards cooperation with
teachers and the school is mostly positive. The results also showed that the re-
lationship between parents and school was conditioned by three factors, namely
the factor of cooperation, the factor of action and help and the factor of evalu-
ation. But the results also showed that parents’ attitudes differed depending on
their engagement in school. Kolak (2006) points out that there is no proportion
of parents’ attitudes to cooperation with the school and their involvement in the
implementation of that cooperation. The reason for this may be the traditional
form of partnership between parents and the school, according to which parents
rarely communicate with school staff, while expecting a lot from them. 1,052
parents from 30 primary schools participated (N of schools from urban areas =
16, N of schools from rural areas = 14) in the research conducted by Miljević-
Riđički et al. (2011). The results of this research (Miljević-Riđički et al., 2011,
p. 181) have also shown that parents have a traditional form of partnership
with the school. Parents believe that the school’s responsibility is to ensure
the quality of teaching and safety of children, but they believe that parents and
the school have a mutual responsibility for the upbringing of the child and the
child’s satisfaction with the school. The authors further state that parents feel
respected by the school and are satisfied with the amount and type of informa-
tion they receive and the different ways in which they can be involved in the
child’s educational process. The results of the research have shown that parents
whose children attend schools in rural areas are more connected with the parti-
cipants of the educational process and are more satisfied with communication
and impact on the school. Finally, successful classroom management reflects
teacher’s competences: social competence, the competence of cultural aware-
ness and expression, organization and management of the educational process,
an educational partnership with parents, shaping the classroom atmosphere and
cooperation with students (European Commision, 2019; Yue & Ji, 2020; Zrilić

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& Marin, 2019). Teachers’ competencies, continuous development, and acqu-

isition of the new skills would lead to a quality partnership among teachers
and parents (Kosić, 2009). Consequently, such a partnership can bring parents
closer to the school, more precisely, make them the co-constructors of the edu-
cational process.

FROM A TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE

The results of a study conducted by McKnight et al. (2011) have shown
that teachers think that the most important competence of a good teacher is the
ability to develop trusting and productive relationships with their students. As
prerequisites for establishing a good relationship with students, the participants
stated that the teacher should be kind, encouraging, patient and caring and that
he should have understanding and help students solve their problems. The se-
cond most important quality was the teacher’s professionalism, which meant
that the teacher was calm, well-mannered, respectful, responsible, etc. In the
third place, teachers mentioned patience and care, which include tolerance, pa-
tience, kindness, a sense of humour, empathy, understanding, etc.
Furthermore, the research conducted by Arthur et al. (2015) pointed out
five-character strengths of an “ideal” teacher listed by more than 40% of sur-
veyed teachers: fairness, love of learning, creativity, humour, and perseverance.
It is interesting to point out that the male participants emphasized teachers’ hu-
mour more significantly than the female ones. Also, the research conducted by
Plavšić and Diković (2016) highlighted the five most important characteristics
of a good teacher based on teachers’ opinions: fairness, patience, control of
di­scipline, ability to teach, creativity and sensitivity towards students. It is evi-
dent that some of the prominent qualities of good teachers are their personality
traits and their knowledge and competencies.

FROM A PARENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Parents perceive teachers in different ways. Lowery (1969) used a word
association test to examine parents’ perceptions of teachers at the time. The
study involved 216 parents in a middle socio-economic area. Regarding tea­
chers’ gender, the most common word used by the participants was “female” (N
= 109). The most common words expressing the negative qualities of a teacher
were: “disciplinarian” (N = 52), “strict” (N = 51) and “unfair” (N = 40). In both
cases, the key stimulus word for the word association test was the word “teac-
her”. Almost half a century later, parents consider teachers’ personal qualities
and the teaching process organization to be the most important, followed by
teachers’ educational competencies. Dozza and Cavrini’s study (2012) included
parents (N = 3669) of pre-school, elementary, middle and high school chil-
dren from three different national groups (Italian, German and Ladin) from the

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province of Bozen-Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy. On a 10-item Likert-type scale,

parents indicated the importance of the competences a teacher should possess.
The results showed the following: disciplinary competences (M = 8.37; SD =
1.24), teaching competences (M = 8.29; SD = 1.17), managerial and organizati-
onal competences (M = 8.05; SD = 1.23), communicative and relational aspects
in the classroom (M = 8.30; SD = 1.14), communicative and relational aspects
with students’ families (M = 7.96, SD = 1.37) and personal aspects (M = 8.40;
SD = 1.40). According to the results of the questionnaire, what is also important
to parents are teachers’ knowledge, enthusiastic teaching, motivating students,
involving families in the educational process, respecting diversity and effective
classroom management. It is important to note that parents’ perceptions differed
regarding ethnicity. The authors believe that the reasons for this are different
parents’ beliefs and their expectations of teachers. The results of the research
conducted by Tatar and Horenczyk (2000) partially coincide with the afore-
mentioned results. Namely, in their study, Tatar and Horenczyk (2000) included
parents (N = 765) of primary and secondary school students in the broad central
Israel area. The results of the questionnaire showed that the most important as-
pect for parents was that the teacher helped their child. After that, the teacher’s
competence is important to them, while the least important aspect is the one of
fairness. The authors have also found that mothers have higher expectations
of teachers than fathers. In addition, the authors state that parents have higher
expectations in terms of help and competence when it comes to girls.

FROM A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Teacher-student relationships are very dynamic and complex, especially
in primary school when students are in the most intense phase of cognitive,
psychological, social, and emotional development (O’Connor et al., 2011).
According to Glasser (1994), students respect those teachers who care about
them and the subject matter, teachers who conduct two-way communication
with them, and teachers who listen to their students and strive to be entertai-
ning. Furthermore, he points out that students believe that the essential qualities
of a good teacher are kindness, care and tolerance.
Beishuizen et al. (2001) wanted to find out how students (N = 198) of diffe-
rent age perceived a good teacher. According to the results, they concluded that
primary school students believed that the best teachers were the ones with tea-
ching knowledge and skills, while high school students emphasize that a good
teacher strives to establish a pleasant and friendly relationship with students. It
is interesting to note that girls and boys differ in assessing the desirable traits
and competencies of teachers (Basow et al., 2006). Girls highly value teachers
who have good subject matter knowledge, while boys consider teaching met-
hods to be the most important in the teaching process (Basow, 2000).

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Thompson et al. (2004) conducted a study aimed at examining students’

opinions about which qualities and competencies a good teacher should have.
The research results showed that a good teacher must be fair, have a positive
attitude, be prepared for teaching, possess creativity and a sense of humour,
admit mistakes, respect students, maintain high expectations for achievement,
show compassion and develop a sense of belonging. In their research, which
included first-year (N = 90) and fifth-year students (N = 90) at the Faculty
of Teacher Education, the University of Zagreb, Drvodelić and Rajić (2011)
wanted to examine future primary school teachers’ opinions on the desirable
qualities of a good teacher. In the research, they obtained similar results as
the previously mentioned authors. Namely, the participants highly position te-
achers’ fairness, competencies and respect. The students’ answers about the
desirable qualities of a good teacher are divided into two categories: personal
and professional (Table 3).
Table 3. List of desirable teacher qualities (Drvodelić & Rajić, 2011)
Personal traits Professional traits
patient fair
creative professional
tolerant reliable
outgoing objective
communicative diligent
positive authoritative
a good speaker motivator
resourceful open to new ideas
loving organiser
reasonable persistent
interesting determined
honest expert in his field
altruist has a broad general knowledge
empathic
fair

Recent research by Labak et al. (2017) aimed to examine some of the chara-
cteristics (learning style, communication, personality) of favourite teachers of
primary and secondary school students (N = 1035). The results of the research
indicate that favourite teachers are those who explain new concepts based on
existing knowledge, who establish collaborative relationships with their stu-
dents, those with developed organizational skills and those who continuously

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K. Vanek, A. Maras, P. Karabin: What makes a good teacher?

monitor student progress. The research emphasized that students’ perceptions

of favourite teachers are influenced by their gender and age. Younger students
rated all the variables significantly higher than older students.
Recent empirical research shows that a cheerful, warm and friendly per-
formance of teachers who build a positive and inclusive classroom atmosphere
is equally important to younger and older students. They also point out that it
is important for a teacher to be an expert in his field and to be fair, consistent,
objective and empathic.

CONCLUSION
Who are good teachers? It is always a current topic and everyone can expre-
ss their opinion, their attitude and their prediction. The teacher as a public per-
son is subject to constant assessment, but also to self-assessment: what he is
like and which personal and professional qualities need to be improved (Antić,
2000). Today, more than ever before, it is impossible to unambiguously define
a good teacher. By reviewing the relevant literature and empirical research, we
tried to answer this question and describe who a good teacher is, starting from
his desirable professional competencies and personality traits. To arrive at the
most relevant and precise findings, we were also interested in the perception of
other participants in the educational system, which is their opinion about what
makes a good teacher.
The teacher as a coherent combination of personal and professional cha-
racteristics has a significant role in the process of upbringing and education,
in building a value system and preparing students for modern times. Previšić
(1999) calls the teacher “Prometheus of the New Age” who took on the role of
intercultural mediator with the aim of personal progress of the young person in
the socio-cultural environment. A review of recent literature and previous rese-
arch tells us that a good teacher is characterised by: developed speaking skills,
knowledge of a wide range of teaching strategies and teaching methods, con-
fidence in his field of teaching, and focus on systematically developing positi-
ve relationships with students. Furthermore, a good teacher has the following
qualities: he is skilful in classroom management, recognizes the importance of
motivation and emotions in the learning process, clearly presents his ideas and
plans, cares for each student’s pace of learning and tries to develop a positi-
ve school environment with colleagues (Looney, 2011, pp. 441–442). Strugar
(2014) points out that teachers’ personality can be seen in their empathy and
understanding of students’ problems and their interpersonal relationships with
students, parents and other participants in the educational process.
The desirable professional knowledge and skills cannot be achieved and
developed without permanent professional training in the fields of general
knowledge and culture, didactic-pedagogical competencies, communication

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styles and ways of acting and personal quality (Previšić, 2003). Social changes,
modern society demands and globalization have changed the teaching professi-
on, but not its impact and responsibility for the quality of the whole education
system. Domović (2011) emphasizes that these complex requirements can be
successfully and appropriately met only by a person of great professional ethi-
cs, who does not view his profession exclusively through the prism of subject
matter knowledge, but through autonomy regarding work, setting criteria and
making decisions.
The results of this research can contribute to practice, primarily in terms
of the professional development of teachers and teacher training in colleges.
Based on the literature, this paper highlights the characteristics and competen-
cies that a social community expects of a good teacher. Teachers, as well as
creators of curriculum at faculties, should strive for this idealistic social expe-
ctation when planning their professional development to encourage the deve-
lopment or improvement of exactly those characteristics and competencies that
modern society expects from them.
Finally, the question of who a good teacher is should be answered. A good
teacher is a person who possesses virtues such as enthusiasm, commitment to
students and teaching, a sense of humour and care for others. In addition to the
eight competences proposed by the European Commision (2019), a good teac-
her is a person who is particularly competent in the areas of didactics, general
pedagogy, methodology, curriculum knowledge and subject teaching. A good
teacher is a person who is ready to help, who has a broad general knowled-
ge, who is open and communicative, fair, patient and polite in communication
with all participants of the educational process. In conclusion, a good teacher is
anyone who, with their excellent professional competencies and positive perso-
nal characteristics, contributes a lot to the process of upbringing and education.

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