The purpose of this project is to examine students' pespectives on quality in teaching. The characteristics that are described to denote a 'good' and 'less good' teachers are linked to ideas about types of corresponding leadership styles in the classroom. The report is based on surveys of students in Upplands-Bro high school outside Stockholm. In order to get better insight and further knowledge of the subject, the student accounts have been related to current discussions in the literature about good leadership and teaching quality.

Following the methodology of grounded theory a pilot study was constructed to design the research instruments. In the pilot study I collected students' perceptions on quality-related categories in teaching and leadership which then formed a bases for a survey which was distributed to a larger student sample. The survey includes questions that relate to the middle order, which is based on three criteria that make up the characteristics of a 'good'/ 'less good' teacher and the leadership style that suits students descriptions of good teacher characteristics.

The results of the study show that a good teacher should have subject knowledge, be good at writing and illustrating the curriculum on the whiteboard and explain and clarify their instruction through good communication. Results of the category 'a less good teacher' show characteristics of a teacher who does not have subject expertise, and who does not vary their teaching styles as well as favors some students over others.

The discussion concludes the study by highlighting significant implications of the survey for teaching practice. The student perspective reported on in this study, gives evidence for the importance of considering students' perspectives in maintaining quality in teaching practice and classroom leadership.