Classroom crisis as teachers head for exit, survey finds

Violent students and ‘entitled’ parents have made three-quarters of teachers feel unsafe at work, and many plan to quit, a new survey shows.

Student and parental violence makes three-quarters of teachers feel unsafe in schools. Picture: iStock

Violent students and “entitled” parents have made three-quarters of teachers feel unsafe at work, and many plan to quit due to burnout-level stress and workload, a new survey shows.

Barely a quarter of 5497 teachers surveyed in the new Monash University poll plan on staying in the profession – a finding that will exacerbate the ­already crippling shortage of teachers in Australian schools.

As federal, state and territory education ministers work on ways to train and retain more teachers, the Australian Teachers’ Perceptions of their Work Report 2022 shows that fewer than half the teachers surveyed are satisfied with their roles.

The proportion of teachers planning to quit before retirement age soared from 58 per cent in 2019 to 72 per cent this year.

More than 38,000 comments were received by teachers, who explained how they felt appreciated when students and parents thanked them for their work, and satisfied when students “finally get something they’ve been struggling with’’.

But abusive and demanding parents and students made three-quarters of teachers feel unsafe at work. One teacher complained of “hitting, punching, shouting, screaming, tantrums’’ in class and the playground.

“Student behaviour is wild and unpredictable at times,’’ another wrote. “I have been ­assaulted by a student which involved both physical, sexual and emotional attacks for an ­extended period of time.”

Some teachers blamed a “lack of discipline at home” for students’ bad behaviour. “Families have become extremely entitled and disrespectful over the years, and the children’s behaviours and anxieties have increased tenfold,’’ one wrote.

Paperwork and data collection are bugbears for most teachers, with one stating that “I became a teacher to educate and inspire students, not to push agendas and collect data’’.

The survey found that 72 per cent of teachers plan to leave the profession early – with one in 10 teachers planning to quit within a year and one in five wanting to leave within five years.

“I love teaching and I love working with the children but the admin burden is beginning to outweigh the teaching,’’ one respondent wrote.

The report’s lead author, Fiona Longmuir of Monash University’s faculty of education, warned the findings were a “wake-up call’’.

“We need to respect (teachers) as people and professionals, trust them to do their jobs and create safe workplaces to ensure we not only retain them, but encourage others into the profession,’’ she said.