The teacher who engages: Implications for teacher education from the perspective of school students and aspiring teachers

The purpose of this research is to identify the elements and circumstances related to the teaching staff that stimulate students' engagement with school and their learning and those that hinder it. To this end, a qualitative study is carried out using a biographical-narrative approach. We analysed the accounts of the different qualities of teachers that 138 university students who were training to be primary and secondary school teachers during the 20-21 and 21-22 academic years had experienced during their time at school. By way of contrast, narratives on the same issue were obtained from 90 schoolchildren from a school in a low socio-economic context. Once the data were categorised and coded, a number of positive and negative traits of the teacher in relation to school engagement were identified from the perspective of the informants. The results indicate that both groups of students, especially school students, consider that the personal aspects of the teacher, such as his/her attitude towards the profession and the relationship with the students, are much more important for student engagement than aspects related to the pedagogy used in the classroom. It is concluded that the teacher-student relationship is an essential pillar in students' engagement in school, followed by the pedagogical aspects. These results have implications for teacher training and future lines of research.