Recently much research has focused on student engagement, both at school and at university. This attention is motivated by the role that engagement plays in student learning and in the student experience. Acknowledging that student engagement is a multifaceted construct we focus on the contribution that teaching and teacher traits make to the quality of student engagement, from the student's perspective. In this small scale study, we adopt a qualitative methodology to investigate students' perceptions of what factors impact on their engagement and what role the students themselves have in fostering such engagement. Focus group and one-to-one interviews with students in the last year of school and at university were analysed to reveal four overarching themes related to engagement in classroom life including the importance of active listening on the part of both students and teachers. The resulting Refined Quality Teaching Initiatives Framework outlines how dual engagement and active listening can be viable pedagogical strategies both at school and university. The framework also brings to the fore the active role and responsibilities that students have, in their own perceptions, for engagement in the classroom. We conclude with a reflection on the implications of our findings for teaching and teacher training.