Teenage students’ perceptions of teachers: A developmental argument

Using the concept of a developmental lens (Brighton, 2007; Caskey & Anfara, 2014; Davis, 2006; J-F, Pullen, & Carroll, 2013; National Middle School Association, 2010; Peterson, 2010), this article focuses on young teenage students’ perceptions of teachers. School teachers play an important role in the educational development of teenagers but little is known about how teachers cater for teenage students’ social, emotional, physical and cognitive developmental domains. Even less is known about teenage students’ perceptions of their teachers. The current study asked a cohort of Year 9 students in a secondary school in Brisbane, Australia (N=182) to comment on what they “liked” about their teachers. The students’ responses were mapped against each of the four developmental domains. Analysis of the data showed that students’ emotional and social domains were more salient than their physical and cognitive domains. Specifically, the young teenage students reported liking their teachers when the teachers’ were emotionally positive and socially accommodating. The findings of this paper are discussed via a developmental lens with regard to the implications for teacher education.