Almost one third of lesson time is lost to student misbehaviour in Australian classrooms, a CIS study released in September found, with teachers grappling with repeated low-level disruptions that threaten to derail learning and that can escalate into more violent behaviour.

Blaise Joseph, CIS education director and the study’s author, told EducationHQ the scale and frequency of the problem amounted to a crisis.

“[Student misbehaviour is] severely eating into the amount of time that teachers have to teach and students have to learn, and I think it explains a large part of why such a large portion of Australian children don’t have adequate literacy and numeracy skills.

“It’s a huge part of [our education system’s] problems in this country…” Joseph said.

The latest PISA data also paints a concerning picture of the learning climate in classrooms across the country.

Among 38 OECD countries, Australia had the fifth lowest disciplinary climate in science lessons, scoring below most comparable systems when students were asked how often they encounter noise and disorder, classmates ignoring the teacher, time lost waiting for the room to quieten down, and delays before work begins.

A growing body of research has also flagged the widespread escalation in sexist and misogynistic behaviour directed at teachers from students – a phenomenon that has been reported across all states and school sectors, and which most often echoes the language, attitudes and worldview of online ‘manfluencers’, the likes of Andrew Tate. 

A new Monash University study involving more than 2600 AEU members recently confirmed the extent to which sexism and misogyny dictate teachers’ everyday reality in their schools.

AERO’s resources include a 10-minute introductory course which provides teachers with an overview of seven key classroom management skills, including acknowledgement and praise, circulation, clear communication, a deliberate pause, scanning your class, and voice control.

AERO CEO Dr Jenny Donovan said that all students deserve to learn in safe and supportive classrooms where the expectations are clear and consistently reinforced.

“However, we also know that managing behaviour is one of the more demanding parts of a teacher’s job,” she added.

“These resources have been tested in Australian schools and refined with input from teachers and leaders, so they are practical and ready to use.”

Donovan said the resources would also help school leaders to build a shared understanding of what effective classroom management entails across their whole staff.

“When a whole school is working together to ensure a consistent evidence-based approach to managing behaviour, students experience clear and predictable expectations from one classroom to the next, and teachers feel better supported,” she said.

“School systems and sectors can also draw on these resources to support professional learning and help embed effective practice at scale.”

The new offerings also include guidance summaries on key topics, including proactive and preventative approaches, responding to escalated behaviour, responding to persistent disengaged and disruptive behaviour, and teacher wellbeing in the classroom. 

For example, a 10-minute introductory course outlines what effective practice looks like when establishing routines designed to gain students’ attention in class.  

Meanwhile, a practice guide outlines how teachers can respond to low-level disruptive behaviour, firstly advising:

“When responding to student behaviour, always interact with students with a calm tone, respect and politeness – for example:

  • Asking if students misunderstand something about what they’re required to do and regularly using ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’.
  •  Positively framing communication, stating what students are being asked to do rather than what they shouldn’t do so that students understand what’s required of them. For example, providing the instruction ‘Start the task’ instead of ‘Stop messing about’.

“This models respectful and polite interactions for students and creates a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment,” the guide states.

Noted as being quick and less intrusive than other responses, teachers are also given guidance on how to use effective non-verbal corrections to address low-level disengagement and disruption when they first arise without interrupting the flow of their lesson.

Non-verbal corrections include:

  • Proximity – moving near the student or group of students to gain their attention to correct their behaviour, while respecting their personal space.
  • Deliberately pausing – stopping what you’re doing to gain the attention of the student or group of students to correct their behaviour
  • ‘The look’ – turning and looking at the student or group combined with a gesture. For example, shaking your head, then nodding when they correct their behaviour, or pointing to your eye and then pointing and looking at where they should be looking.
  • A gesture to communicate expected behaviours – for example, putting your finger to your lips to signal ‘silence’, raising your hand when students call out to remind them of the expectation, or pretending to write to prompt students to continue to complete learning tasks.

“Combining a deliberate pause with proximity, ‘the look’ or a gesture can be powerful in helping to address low-level disengagement and disruption.

“Students will often notice you’re aware of their behaviour and respond with a positive change…” the guide asserts.

Another guide details how best to respond to escalated behaviour and proactive strategies to prevent it. 

The resources also offer support for a whole-school approach, such as materials to help leaders run practice development sessions with staff, and ‘reflection’ resources to help teams identify both strengths and areas for improvement.

Student behaviour expert Dr Tim McDonald, who helped to shape the resources, recently told EducationHQ that his CORE framework for managing behaviour brings about a ‘profound’ change in classrooms – and in teachers’ enjoyment of the job.

“I’ve had teachers crying when they’re talking about the difference, because they remember the struggle of what it was like before.

“One teacher quoted to me that they’re now up to week six or seven in their teaching content, whereas last year they would have been at week two or three.

“And this teacher was visibly very upset, but because of the pain they’d gone through previously and now the joy of going back to teaching their subject matter – it was the reason they joined (the profession), but also to have those relationships with students, which you can do when there’s calm and orderly classrooms.

“It’s hard to do that in chaos,” McDonald said.