A Qualitative Study of Excellent Teacher,s Beliefs of Good Teacher

The number of students enrolling at International schools in Malaysia is increasing each year. A number of parents are paying substantial amount of money in order to seek for a quality education for their children. However, the quality of a teacher is not always easy to measure, particularly the personality, attitudes and beliefs of a teacher. There have been numerical quantitative researches on the quality of a teacher but it is argued that a qualitative approach would add to existing knowledge by providing deeper insights and from a different point of views. The purpose of the present study was to explore excellent teachers' views of a good teacher through individual in-depth interviews. Six excellent teachers from different schools were selected for this study. Various themes emerged from the interviews, some of which have not yet been uncovered in past research investigating quality teacher. The findings provide evidence that teacher's personality, student-centred approach, nurturing students, moral and social awareness, level of professionalism and effective management skills are the elements leading to the establishment of a good teacher. This study also provides support for the employment of qualitative methods in the study of a good teacher.