The Preferred Teacher: A Content Analysis of Young Adolescents' Writings

Abstract

Middle school students described preferred teachers in terms not unlike those used by Carl Rogers in his depiction of the client centered therapist or the person centered teacher. A characterization of the preferred or ideal teacher was derived from a content analysis of 1,305 students' statements. The young adolescents, ages 12 to 14 years, represented the preferred teacher as good-humored and non-threatening ("nice' was the most frequently used term); easy to talk to, willing to listen to his or her students (communicates well); as being fair, showing neither prejudice nor favoritism (accepting); and as respecting student needs, as providing a caring supportive atmosphere in the classroom (empathic support). Some gender differences were found: boys showed a stronger preference for male teachers than girls and girls' statements tended to be 50 percent longer than boys.