Exploring middle school students' and parents' conceptions of excellent teaching

While there have been many western studies about what excellent teaching means, there are far fewer eastern studies. This study explored how students and parents perceived conceptions of excellent teaching in Chinese middle schools. The 77 students' and 67 parents' responses relating to a personal narrative of a time they had experienced excellent teaching were analysed using narrative inquiry. This study identified three major and four minor themes: (1) making classes interesting, (2) achieving student effectiveness, (3) caring for students, (4) having a high level of responsibility and morality, (5) having a breadth of knowledge, (6) being able to control the class, and (7) having a positive relationship with students. These conceptions were shared by the two groups and few significant differences existed between them. The differences from other Western and Chinese descriptions of excellent teaching were discussed. Implications for teaching standards, teacher professional development, and teacher evaluation system were provided. Copyright © 2015 National Institute of Education, Singapore.