Teachers believe that possessing enthusiasm for the profession and having the ability to nurture positive relationships with students are two key qualities needed to succeed, according to a major new study into what "inspiring teaching' actually means.

Led by CfBT Education Trust, in collaboration with University of Worcester and the University of Oxford, researchers noted that these two qualities position teaching as an "interactive and social activity that engages the emotions".

Passion matters in the profession for the simple fact of the matter that pupils are more likely to respond positively to a teacher that demonstrates an interest in engaging them in a subject that they are clearly fond of. It can be captivating.

The report, entitled Inspiring Teachers: Perspectives and Practices, observed that teachers believe an enthusiastic disposition is "closely associated" with learning environments that are creative, stimulating and enjoyable.

"I put enthusiasm as one of the top [factors], because I do genuinely think if you’re enthusiastic about your job, that means that your whole profession will become better," a male secondary school teacher was quoted as saying.

"You’ve got to love what you do, and if you don’t like what you do, you’re probably not going to be good at it, it’s that type of thing. So yeah, if you’ve got real enthusiasm to do a bit of research, to go out there and sort of see how other people do stuff, and then take things on board, and be available to, you know, hear feedback, then yeah, that’s going to do it."

Likewise, fostering positive relationships was identified as being a quality inherent in inspiring teachers. Such individuals will make an effort to "build and maintain" excellent rapport with their pupils. Moreover, they tend to view them as being more than just students, but as people, so will, for example, develop an understanding of the family situation.

As one female primary school teacher explained, getting to know pupils as individuals – "where they have come from and where they need to go next" – can help teachers to devise tailored lessons that inspire them in some many different an effective ways.

However, respondents to the study, said that it requires proactive effort on the part of teachers to get to such a position. One of the key ways that this is achieved is through the promotion of mutual respect.

Other features demonstrated by inspiring teachers include positive classroom management, being flexible in teaching methods, creating a safe and stimulating classroom environment, investing in reflection and collaboration and championing purposeful, relevant and innovative teaching.

Students' views were also canvassed. They were particularly impressed with teachers who adopted sensible approaches to error-making – it's okay to make mistakes, so long as you learn from them – and advocated experimentation – getting youngsters to try new things.

Other qualities lauded included teachers who have high expectations of their students, make an effort to develop positive relationships, ensure that the classroom environment was positive and supportive, are approachable and demonstrate their enthusiasm for teaching and their subject.

"Although the term inspiring is a looser concept with broader connotations and strong links with emotions, the research results indicate that the inspiring teachers in this study were first and foremost highly effective practitioners," the report's authors stated.

"It is notable that the sample scored highly overall and on average most teachers showed high scores on most aspects of the two international systematic classroom observation schedules we used, showing particularly high scores in certain components."