Aussie teachers feel disrespected and unsafe from violent students and abusive parents

Hostile parents and violent students have made one in four teachers feel unsafe, with calls for more respect for the profession.

One in four teachers say violent student behaviour and parent abuse makes them feel unsafe on the job.

A new study by Monash University, released on Monday, has revealed that 75 per cent of teachers around the country experienced “verbal abuse” and “hostility” from school parents.

The Australian Teachers’ Perceptions of their Work Report analysed 38,000 submissions from 5000 teachers across the country, finding that parent abuse made up one third of the unsafe behaviour teachers dealt with.

Teachers said “aggressive”, “violent” and “threatening” behaviour from students made it impossible at times to feel safe on school grounds, with some detailing shocking accounts of physical and sexual assault at the hands of pupils.

One teacher said: “Student behaviour is wild and unpredictable at times”.

The report has sparked calls for the public and education stakeholders to respect teachers more.

Another reported: “I have been assaulted by a student which involved both physical, sexual and emotional attacks for an extended period of time”.

“Often, I have to make a decision on if I should protect students from other students and put myself at physical risk,” she said.

The national study found that three quarters of teachers felt the public did not respect their job, and more than 90 per cent said politicians did not respect them.

Risks associated with Covid-19 also made some staff feel unsafe.

The report’s lead author and Education lecturer Dr Fiona Longmuir said more structured guidelines needed to be put in place to stamp out the growing abuse against teachers.

“There’s still so many wonderful families and parents that work beautifully with schools, but there is increasing reporting of that kind of thing happening as students have more complex needs,” she said.

Students being aggressive, violent and threatening made it impossible for teachers to feel safe.

“It’s a basic workplace right to feel safe, but teachers deal with that kind of abuse every day. And often it’s just seen as part of their job. It’s absolutely not acceptable.”

Teachers reported a steep drop in job satisfaction, with overall job happiness falling from 66 to 49 per cent since 2019 – prompting a potential mass exodus from the profession.

Just 30 per cent of teachers plan to remain in their roles in the coming years.

In what researchers have branded a “wakeup call” amid the national shortage gripping the sector, the report has prompted calls for key stakeholders to show a greater appreciation for the role by reducing teachers’ workloads and class sizes.

Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said teachers were pushed to the brink by excessive amounts of work and a lack of support.

She said staff in public schools were worse off because funding was not distributed evenly across schools.

“We as a nation need to rethink our approach to the teaching profession. Teachers are vital to the development of our society because they are responsible for educating and shaping the young minds that will dictate Australia’s future,” Ms Haythorpe said.

Independent Education Union Victorian general secretary Deb James said the report confirmed the sector needed “urgent reform” that saw teachers treated with respect.

“Ignored, undervalued education staff cannot go on working themselves into the ground, and they won’t. Every day now, we are hearing from great teachers who are burning out or have simply had enough and are making plans to leave,” she said.

Dr Longmuir said: “We need to think about the ways that we’re resourcing schools and resourcing teachers, and that includes paying them wages that are equivalent to their value to our society”.

It comes after the federal government endorsed performance-based pay rises to keep top teachers in schools after a landmark meeting with state ministers in August.

The Herald Sun revealed in June that one in five Victorian teachers leaves the classroom within five years of graduating.