The article, “The Conditions that Make Being a Teacher Almost Unmanageable”, by Martin McKenzie-Murray published in The Saturday Paper, explores the increasingly untenable conditions facing Australian teachers.
McKenzie-Murray outlines 2 key factors:
- Inclusion & Participation
- Expanding responsibilities
Circa 2000, the walls of adult and youth mental health institutions were demolished and those locked within were absorbed into the community, many into the education system. This monumental shift toward inclusion in schools has resulted in the emergence of teachers seeking and employing management strategies for the specific needs of high and complex support needs students within mainstream settings.
In addition, the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability proposed that segregated schooling (the existence of specialist disability schools) be phased out by the year 2051. This combined with a marked increase in violent and disruptive behaviour (almost 1 in 12 high school students in NSW were suspended last year), the conundrum of inclusion inexorably falls at the feet of the everyday teacher.
This begs the question, does inclusion increase participation?
The evidence is unclear as teachers often report having limited resources to both manage behaviour and provide tailored learning plans across classes where students display significant differentials in capacity. To add to the difficulty, the efficacy of suspensions and expulsions continues to be debated. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranked Australia 33rd out of 37 developed countries for ‘disciplinary climate’. However, education is split on this issue as some feel suspensions and expulsions are exclusionary and punitive while others view them as necessary ‘circuit breakers’.
Whilst inclusion remains at the forefront of policy, the current educational climate suggests students and teachers are facing more challenges participating in education.
The difficulties arising from issues of inclusion and participation dovetail with added responsibilities teachers are burdened with. Parent-teacher relations are frequently problematic and many teachers describe parent-teacher interviews as combative. The expectations of a teacher’s professional repertoire have now come to include those of social worker, counsellor, mediator and administrator. Teachers are now tasked with addressing dysregulated behaviour whilst maintaining and fostering safe environments where the students’ rights to safe and effective learning must be upheld.
Teachers are searching for a panacea.
One answer is the management of inclusion and participation across all systems – Family, Health, Education and Human Services This is paramount to academic and developmental progress in students in conjunction with the protection and safety of both teachers and students in and out of the classroom. The sharing and realignment of responsibility can produce real inclusion with the participation of all stakeholders. Schools, families, teachers, and all other service providers must participate in the management of safe and effective learning environments within schools. Not only will this guarantee the academic and social development of our children, but it will also ensure someone will be there to teach them.
To learn effective protocols for the management of inclusion and participation of high and complex needs students, their families, and the wider systems that surround complex matters, sign up to bower(note) for Complexity and Crisis on Friday 21 February 2025.
Previous participants feedback: “This is a workshop that every school leader needs to engage in. Mind blowing and empowering!” (Deputy Principal, Brompton Primary)
