10 February 2025
The federal government’s Engaged Classrooms initiative has provided a further set of free resources for teachers to help manage classroom behaviour.
The resources, developed by the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), are an important part of a wider program of reforms needed to support teachers and school leaders and build on the essential training provided in initial teacher education programs.
Additional classroom behaviour tools will be welcomed in many schools given the impact of disruptive behaviour on both student learning and wellbeing.
In submissions and discussions with the federal government, the IEU supported the central development of best practice teaching resources. It’s essential that such material is developed in collaboration with practising teachers to ensure they are fit for purpose.
Nationally endorsed resources should also operate on an ‘opt-in’ basis. School employers must be encouraged to endorse such resources, or alternatively, supply their own resources while avoiding unnecessary duplication or overlay of tasks.
Where school employers are considering using the Classroom Observation Tools included in the federal resources, they must ensure that the need for such observations are carefully evaluated and only occur after consultation with teachers. Observations undertaken injudiciously are likely to be time-consuming and negatively impact classroom teaching and learning time.
The principles that underpin our call for a national rollout of workload impact assessments on all areas of education policy are relevant to initiatives such as the Engaged Classrooms program.
Any new resources or initiatives must be mindful of unintended consequences on workload. Preparation tasks, data collection requirements or professional development needed to implement new programs must be accompanied by additional release time and other necessary supports for teachers at the local school level.
Teacher burnout and escalating workloads remain the priority issues that need to be tackled in our schools. Employers and policy makers must take every opportunity to stem the creep of administrative tasks that detract from quality teaching time.