Disruptive Behavior in Australian Classrooms Linked to Poor Class Management

Performing arts class at Lysterfield Primary School in Melbourne, Australia, on May 26, 2020. Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Education experts have blamed a lack of good classroom management skills behind a rise in disruptive behaviour by Australian students.

During a parliament inquiry into classroom disruption, Glenn Fahey, director of the education program at the Centre for Independent Studies, said Australian classrooms were among the world’s most disruptive.

According to the OECD’s disciplinary climate index, Australia ranks 69th out of 76 countries.

“That puts us effectively at the bottom of the ladder, particularly when we look at other developed economies and school systems,” Mr. Fahey said.

The director said the impact of high levels of classroom disruption could be seen in Australia’s declining student achievement.

“On a really micro classroom-level basis, disruption impacts both the quantity and the quality of the learning time available,” he said.

“Significant lesson time can be lost when there’s disruption/disorder. Even seemingly low-level disruption, such as students tapping on a desk, students being distracted or distracting their peers can amount to significant lost time in learning, and every minute is really valuable within classrooms.”

Mr. Fahey noted that there appeared to be an instructional gap in the knowledge and practice of classroom management in Australian schools, which contributed to students’ disruptive behaviour.

Teachers Unable to Control Classes

Jenny Donovan, CEO of the Australian Education Research Organisation, told the inquiry surveys showed that classroom management was the least implemented practice among teachers.

The CEO said 60 percent of Year 4 teachers enforced their school’s rules fairly and consistently in the classroom environment, while only 38 percent of Year 8 teachers did so.

“Our research shows that teachers are very keen to implement evidence-based approaches in their practice, but they lack time, and they lack confidence,” she said.

In addition, Mr. Donovan said there was a lack of training content about classroom management in the curriculum for pre-service teachers.

“In surveys of initial teacher education students, one of the things they have found to be absent from the training in too many instances is attention to classroom management,” she said.

“To summarise, we aren’t preparing teachers to be classroom-ready as they graduate.”

Students play at recess at Lysterfield Primary School in Melbourne, Australia, on May 26, 2020. Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Mr. Fahey said there was a tendency for teachers to be left to their own devices to figure out behaviour management rather than receiving standard training.

“A behaviour curriculum would be a really valuable way to set consistent standards and expectations across a system about what we expect all 10-year-olds to be able to do confidently without further guidance, and what things we expect all five-year-olds to be able to do,” he said.

“I think that would be a valuable way to signal to educators what’s really valued for children at each age.”

Children Taught What Acceptable Behaviour Is, Fahey Says

Mr. Fahey said really effective schools had great instructional models to deliver classroom management skills. In turn, delivering good student performance.

He pointed to the United Kingdom where all children were taught what acceptable behaviour was expected of them, even for the most simple tasks, like how to line up or how to transition from one class to the next.

“Leaving nothing to chance is what highly effective schools do when it comes to habits, routines, and expectations around behaviour, conduct, and how peers interact with each other,” he said.

Regarding training for teachers, Mr. Fahey said Australia could learn from the UK, where education authorities appointed a behavioural advisor to ensure that all teachers received proper training.

“That sort of emphasis and valuing of behaviour in classroom management hasn’t yet been a major focus for teacher preparation or for professional development in Australia,” he said.

Mr. Fahey’s remarks come as student performance continues its decline in Australia.

A national school reform review showed that school engagement fell from over 80 to 76 percent between 2015 and 2019 for Year 1 to 6 students, and 74 to 68 percent for Year 7 to 10 students.

School attendance also decreased by four percent among primary students and 10 percent for Year 7 to 10 students.

Meanwhile, in August, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority revealed that one in three students who sat the NAPLAN (National Assessment Program–Literacy and Numeracy) exam failed to meet its new benchmarks in literacy and numeracy.

Rebecca Zhu contributed to this article.