Geography teacher quality and effectiveness: Lower Secondary School Students ’ points of view

Since the middle of the twentieth century the issues of teacher quality and effectiveness have attracted the attention of the educational community. As a result a wide range of studies have focused on this issue and have approached the topic by establishing categories of teacher characteristics, viewed mainly from the perspective of adult-teachers, administrators, teachers educators and educational researchers. There are, however, a limited number of studies that focus on geography teacher effectiveness from the perspective of students. This qualitative research approached and interviewed 8th grade Lower Secondary School students on Lesvos island, in order to explore their understanding of geography teacher effectiveness. Findings suggest that students concentrate on the issues of geography knowledge and pedagogy, while the more technical dimensions of geography teaching also attract their attention. Student perspectives, however, retain a humanistic vision of teaching and learning. Students want teachers who care and respect them, who help them learn and make learning interesting and fun