Students’ perception of “good” and “bad” teachers—Results of a qualitative thematic analysis with German adolescents

•Adolescent students’ perception of “good” and “bad” teachers.•Students as near experts.•Using thematic analysis.•Huge sample for qualitative research (N = 86).•Academic and (inter-) personal dimensions in teacher–student relationships.

There is a large amount of research concerning the qualities of a good teacher. However, students’ perception is rarely considered in both educational research and practice, although their daily school life is dominated by relationships with teachers. Semi-structured interviews with 86 7th and 8th graders from German secondary schools were conducted to examine how students perceive “good” and “bad” teachers based on their daily school experiences. A thematic analysis was used to extract themes and subthemes that describe the students' perception of “good” and “bad” teachers, and that might function as potential starting points to improve the teacher–student relationship. Interestingly, the qualities of bad teachers were not always opposed to those of good teachers. Overall, the findings show that students prioritize teachers’ (inter)personal dimensions over their academic abilities in everyday classroom interactions when evaluating them as educators. The study discusses practical implications as well as future research direction.