‘A good teacher should…’: exploring student perceptions of teaching quality in Rwandan secondary education

There have been significant efforts to enhance teaching quality in Rwandan secondary schools. Despite this focus, there has been little attention to understanding this construct, and especially what it means for students who are most affected by it. To address this gap, this study explored with students comprehensively what they valued in a ‘good’ teacher. Data drew upon 75 group discussions involving 419 students across 12 schools from six Rwandan districts. Through thematic analysis, findings revealed an understanding of ‘good’ teachers via multiple dimensions. Students highlighted the importance of teacher disposition and responsible behaviors. Teacher–student relationships were also strongly valued as was holistic learning including positive values and being influenced cognitively and affectively. These results provide important implications for teacher professional development and policies in response to the contextualized preferences.