The portrayal of “bad” teacher: A phenomenological study of Turkish trainee teachers’ experiences

Abstract

Aiming to contribute towards building a collective picture of “good” teachers/teaching, the present study investigated Turkish trainee teachers’ perceptions of “bad” teachers/teaching. 182 trainee teachers completing a postgraduate certificate in education in a medium-size university in Turkey participated in the study. The data was collected via an assignment and the participants were asked to provide situational examples of their experiences with their teachers. Stages of Thematic Analysis were followed during the analysis. In relation to “bad” teachers/teaching, around one-fourth of the extracts were coded within the theme of professional (in)competencies (i.e. not paying attention to students’ skill levels), and almost three-fourths within affective qualities theme (i.e. discriminating among students) which indicated the perceived importance the latter played in student learning. The identified categories can be treated as a list of actions that can be avoided by teachers to create a more productive teaching/learning environment. The study concludes that consideration can be given to non-cognitive aspects in creating professional teaching standards and/or criteria during teacher recruitment processes.

Keywords

• “bad” teacher
• “good” teacher
• effective teaching
• teacher education

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