Towards Developing a Theory of Generic Teaching Quality: Origin, Current Status, and Necessary Next Steps Regarding the Three Basic Dimensions Model

In this paper we elaborate upon the relevance of theories of teaching (quality) in quantitative empirical research on teaching. First we introduce, the quantitative empirical research approach. Then, we present the origin and current status of research with respect to a model – the Three Basic Dimensions of teaching quality – that is especially popular in quantitative research on teaching quality in German-speaking countries. Next, we reflect on the extent to which the model fulfills criteria for a good theory, before deriving conclusions for future research that focuses on a process of successive theory building.