‘Reclaim the classroom’: Catholic school discipline goes back to basics

Students will face a stricter disciplinary regime at Melbourne’s Catholic schools in a bid to “reclaim the classroom” from social media, unruly behaviour, inattention and disrespect.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) will announce its new “Vision for Engagement” that covers its 290 schools and 118,000 students on Wednesday at The Age Schools Summit in the CBD.

Students at 290 Melbourne schools will be expected to meet higher standards of respect and behaviour under a new regime based on the principles of explicit instruction.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

The new MACS framework will be based on the principles of explicit instruction – which was adopted by all MACS schools for maths, reading and writing last year – and will aim to make respectful student behaviour a core focus.

The approach will also feature a “strong stance” against the harmful effects of social media.

MACS executive director Ed Simons, who will outline the vision at the summit, says the objective is to create calm, respectful and inclusive classrooms that give children the best chance of a quality education.

Simons told The Age on Tuesday that explicit teaching in maths, English and reading had shown promising early academic results, and that the approach would be widened to cover most aspects of school life.

“Now, we are intentionally sharpening our focus on student engagement as a key pillar of how we support student growth – through explicit teaching of respectful behaviour, shared expectations and consistent reinforcement,” Simons said.

Expectations of students include “behaving respectfully towards others, attending school every day on time … and listening intently and paying attention”.

Simons says there is a teacher welfare element to the vision.

“We have to ensure workplaces are safe for teachers, and this requires urgent adjustment to improve student behaviour,” he said.

“We want to create an environment that will allow teachers to focus on what they do best, and ensure our students are making the most of their time in the classroom.”

That includes a strong pushback against the influence of screens, Simons said, after overwhelming feedback from MACS teachers, support staff and parents that social media was causing serious harm to children.

“The harm social media causes in and outside classrooms is having a detrimental impact not only on learning but on student behaviour and overall wellbeing,” he said.

“We must take a much clearer stance against the profit-driven motives of technology companies so that schools do not unintentionally contribute to the harm being caused.

“Mobile phones and social media have no role in learning at school, and we are moving beyond words to clear action. Our shift to explicit instruction has already reduced the reliance on screens in our schools, but we are taking that further to minimise the use of technology where it’s not essential as part of learning.”

Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll will deliver the keynote address at the summit, where he will call on the federal government to do more through Australia’s teacher-training universities to support the take-up of explicit instruction in the nation’s schools.

Carroll used last year’s summit to launch the state’s policy of making phonics teaching mandatory in all Victorian government schools.

He says the government has funded La Trobe University and Federation University with nearly $14 million to help train new educators in an effort to tackle the teacher shortage crisis.

But the minister wants the Commonwealth to impose national consistency in accredited teacher training courses to ensure that all graduates have some background in explicit instruction.

“The Commonwealth government must hold university education faculties to account so that when students leave their courses, they can leave with expertise in explicit teaching methods and classroom management,” Carroll told The Age on Tuesday.

“To lift Australia-wide school performance, we need to adopt the evidence and embrace best-practice teaching and learning in every classroom in every corner of Victoria, and indeed Australia.

“Every teacher, no matter where they study, should come from the same base with a nationally consistent, accredited course.”

The office of federal Education Minister Jason Clare pointed out that the government had worked with states and territories to reform teacher training at universities and that a new curriculum was due in 2026.

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