Measuring the ability to teach and rewarding it is central to government policies to raise standards in schools. "Successful teaching" is now something to be measured through a set of basic technical and personal skills in the context of the National Curriculum. Teachers are labelled successes or failures based on graded OFSTED inspections. This thought-provoking book explains how different levels or qualities of teaching can be identified and achieved. It outlines the criteria for competent, successful and excellent educational practice, while suggesting ways of achieving the highest possible measure of excellence. The authors separate the classical teaching approaches, teacher and pupil centred, from the more contemporary, partnership approaches. They look at a variety of models of successful and quality teaching and illustrate their virtues and limitations.