What pupils want from their teachers

Victoria WalderseeData Journalist
September 03, 2018, 11:00 PM GMT+0

Kids most want teachers to be kind, to listen, and to be fun – but fewer than one in ten want them to be knowledgeable

As the new school year approaches, many pupils will be thinking about what type of teachers they will get.

New YouGov Children’s Omnibus research among 6-15 year-olds shows what attributes they think make a good teacher.

The most common response is being kind (27%). This trait is a fair distance ahead of the other characteristics, such as having a teacher who listens (15%), is fun (13%), or is funny (10%).

However, just one in eleven pupils (9%) feel that a teacher being knowledgeable is a priority.

An equal proportion (9%) believe it is most important for a teacher to be helpful, just ahead of having someone leading the class being ‘clear’ (7%). Other characteristics of a good teacher include being engaging (8%), and fair (6%).

A small number of students – around one in twenty (4%) of 6-15 year-olds – think a good teacher is a strict teacher.