This paper draws upon data from ongoing research on teacher quality and teachers who a made a difference from a student perspective. The importance of listening to student voice has been recognized as a key issue in improvement efforts (see, for instance, Rudduck, 1997, Rudduck and McIntyre, 2007; Day, 1999; Flores, 2004; Goodson, 2000; Lapo, 2007). As Day (1999, p. 18) stated, “teachers’ and schools’ development will be enriched if they take account of the views of other stakeholders, in particular those of the students”.Yet, students’ voices (and those of other stakeholders) have sometimes been neglected especially when changes in curriculum and teaching practices are to be implemented. The goals of the research project presented here are: to understand the qualities of the teachers who made a difference in students lives; to analyse in which ways teachers were seen as “the most remarkable ones” in students’ lives; and to identify the kinds of influences teachers exert upon their students.

Data were gathered through narratives with 106 higher education students from different programmes (e.g. education, engineering, law). They were asked to write a short essay/narrative about the most their most remarkable teacher stating what were their main characteristics and why they have chosen him/her.

Findings suggest the key influence of personal and relational characteristics, which is in line with literature on this topic, but they also draw attention to their competence. Findings corroborate that education is a complex task which involves knowledge, communication, values and principles and personal qualities. These have an impact on students influencing in many ways their career choice. These and other results are discussed further in the paper as well as their implications upon teacher professionalism and teacher education, both initial and in-service.