Australian children must be taught how to behave in school, Senate inquiry finds

A Senate inquiry has recommended sweeping reforms to manage disruptions in Australian classrooms, laying out a “behaviour curriculum” to teach children how to act.

Australian children need to be taught how to behave at school via a national “behaviour curriculum”, a Senate inquiry has recommended.

A sweeping series of reforms designed to curb classroom disruptions was released on Friday in federal parliament.

These include an end to open-plan classrooms and a return to traditional classrooms and more school-based psychologists, social workers, and behaviour specialists to help identify and manage disruptive behaviour.

Most controversially, the interim paper suggests the introduction of explicit class-based instruction “to help students understand their school’s behavioural expectations and values, allowing them to navigate their school’s social environment successfully while ensuring that the best possible learning climate is achieved”.

A sweeping series of reforms designed to curb classroom disruptions was released on Friday in federal parliament. Picture: iStock

The Centre for Independent Studies recently reported that three quarters of Australian parents, and 69 per cent of people overall, are concerned that school teachers are not being trained to properly manage behaviour in the classroom.

“The committee recognises that the intent behind a ‘Behaviour Curriculum’ is not to dictate a list of unwanted behaviours but to represent the essential habits and routines that are conducive to learning in a school environment,” the report states.

Other recommendations include the fast-tracking of support and practical experience for beginning teachers and more modelling of teaching styles that “create a learning climate that manages disruptive behaviour in classrooms and provides the best possible learning conditions”.

The report also recommends that Education Ministers commission an annual national survey of students and staff on behaviour in schools, including school learning climate, behavioural culture and policies, and the frequency and impact of classroom disruption and schools’ responses.

Strategies for addressing disruptive classroom behaviour should also be one of the priorities for the next National School Reform Agreement.

Three-quarters of Australian parents are concerned that school teachers are not being trained to properly manage behaviour in the classroom. Picture: iStock

The recommendations come as the Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Positive Psychology and Education annual survey of school leaders revealed 65 principals planned to quit or retire early in 2022 — more than triple the number in 2019.

Director of Education at the Centre for Independent Studies, Glenn Fahey, said international comparisons show that Australia’s classrooms are among the most disruptive and disorderly in the world — ranking at 69th out of 76 school systems on the OECD’s Disciplinary Climate Index.

The Senate inquiry received more than 80 submissions focusing on ways to curb disruptive behaviour, described as varying from low-level disruptions to more challenging behaviours. The most common low-level disruptions can include students: talking unnecessarily and calling out without permission; being slow to start work or follow instructions; showing a lack of respect for each other and staff; not bringing the right equipment; and using mobile devices inappropriately.