Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The most recent OECD data on the disciplinary climate has Australia ranked 70th out of 77 countries, meaning we have some of the most-disruptive classrooms by international standards. Disruptive classrooms, of course, lead to disrupted learning for our students, contributing to declining literacy and numeracy results and denying students the opportunity to reach their full educational, economic and social potential.

Data from the Program for International Student Assessment showed that 15-year-old students, so year 10s, in classes with a poor disciplinary climate are around seven months behind in their learning, compared to their peers in more-disciplined classrooms. Research has consistently shown that structured classroom environments are better for our teachers and our students, both in academic terms and for the wider wellbeing.

This is not at all an indictment of teachers or even the schools or educators. This is not a criticism levelled at those who nurture or teach our children. What we want to see is teachers and educators being supported and empowered to help students learn to thrive during their time at school, so it's important for our teachers and educators to be properly equipped with the tools that they need to help manage disruptive classrooms, and it's essential for the government to be able to work together with the relevant state and territory governments to provide the support and training that our teachers and educators need to deliver the best learning opportunities possible for our children.

I look forward to the Senate Education and Employment References Committee's inquiry into how we can best support our teachers and students and address this growing challenge. I encourage all stakeholders to participate in the inquiry. If you've got a view on this, if you've got some experience in this, we want to hear from you. Please make a submission by 31 March.