Good teaching: Aligning student and administrator perceptions and expectations

Abstract

Extant literature attests to limited systematic inquiry into students’ perceptions of good teaching in higher education. Consequently, there have been calls for engaging students in construing what makes good university teaching. This interpretivist study investigated final year undergraduate students’ perceptions of good teaching at Makerere University in Uganda. Results suggested that students conceived good teachers as being student centered, demonstrating strong subject and pedagogical knowledge, being approachable, being responsive, being organized, and being able to communicate well. Most perceptions of good teaching by students depend on what the teacher does (the means) rather than affording high quality student learning (an end). The findings further demonstrate a troubling gap between students’ perceptions of good teaching and the items in the university’s student evaluation of teaching. We recommend ensuring congruence between perceptions of good teaching by the students and the items listed in Makerere University’s student evaluation of teaching.