Students’ behaviour driving teachers away

Australia is facing a teacher shortage, with uni students forced to take over Queensland classrooms and the Victorian government making secondary teaching degrees free to attract more would-be educators.

One of the causes deterring people from teaching is students' behaviour.

A Reddit forum for Australian teachers sees teachers reporting that pupil behaviour is driving staff away.

One of the teachers wrote: "Teaching is not a bad job at all. The only thing that makes it uniquely difficult are the rude kids."

Another said: "I've been teaching for 22 years. Over that time, student behaviour gradually worsened, but this has dramatically accelerated since COVID."

A Monash University survey backed up the findings, showing one-quarter of teachers did not feel safe in their job, with chairs being thrown, weapons being brought to class, and physical aggression making it hard for teachers to do their job properly.

Evidence presented to a Senate inquiry showed Australian classrooms are some of the most chaotic globally, ranking 69th out of 76 jurisdictions.