Violent primary schools
"Rising violence in primary schools in New Zealand has reached the point where one-in-four teachers feel unsafe in their own classroom."
The Myanmar government, as part of their plan for economic and social development is carrying out a transformation of the Myanmar education system. As with all changes, it is important that the Myanmar people are aware of the problems as well as the advantages of changing the education system to be more like western countries.
New Zealand is a very rich developed country with one of the most advanced education systems in the modern world. However, while educational standards in New Zealand are high, there has been a significant decline in respect and an increase in bad behaviour in schools. This lack of respect is typical of most of the education systems in developed countries. Furthermore, countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, as they have changed their education systems due to globalisation, have experienced a dramatic increase in violence in schools in the last decade.
Read the article below about the situation in primary schools in New Zealand
Complete the summary with the words in the box.
Note: There are two extra words.
Remember: Do the easier ones first.
A ______ study in New Zealand has found that there has been a ________ rise in the percentage of primary school teachers who feel _______ at school and that the majority of teachers want assistance in dealing with ________ behaviour. It is believed this increase may be caused because children are ________ more trauma and also that many lack the skills to ________ their behaviour. Legislation which restricts teachers from _______ intervening when children ________ may also be contributing to the feelings of vulnerability.
The Council for Educational Research study found 24 percent of New Zealand primary teachers reported sometimes feeling unsafe in their classrooms last year, up from 12 percent in 2016. In addition, 23 percent felt unsafe in their school grounds, up from 11 percent in 2016.
The report said 25 percent of teachers often experienced serious disruption from children in their classroom, up from 17 percent in 2016, most teachers (77 percent) dealt with at least one incident of extreme behaviour last year, and most (69 percent) wanted more help to manage such behaviour.
The survey, which runs every three years, found children's wellbeing and mental health was one of the top problems for primary school principals, alongside IT costs but behind funding. The results were based on survey responses from 145 principals, 620 teachers, 126 school trustees, and 395 parents in 2019.
The president of the Educational Institute, Liam Rutherford, said the survey results reinforced reports from the union's members about violence from their pupils. "We're getting the entire spectrum, all the way from language and defiance all the way through to being kicked, hit, slapped, bitten. These are the realities for a large proportion of our teachers," he said.
Rutherford said teachers needed to be able to spend more time with their pupils so they could develop good relationships and avoid misbehaviour.
Principals' Federation president Perry Rush said he was currently visiting hundreds of principals throughout the country, and they had been telling him that severe behaviour was their biggest worry. He said the problem appeared to be caused by an increase in the number of children coming from violent homes. "We have significant challenges in this modern age with young people who are experiencing crisis or trauma in their lives for a range of different reasons. We're seeing the effect of that trauma and crisis in classrooms and we do not have sufficient resource to deploy to deal with it," Rush said.
"We're seeing young people who are exhibiting behaviours that are violent, we're seeing young people melt down in classrooms, we're seeing young people that are disrupting other students around them and in some instances we're seeing teachers and other students who are being hurt physically and of course emotionally harmed by actions in classrooms." Rush said schools needed trained counsellors and others who could help children deal with the trauma in their lives.
Auckland Primary Principals' Association president Heath McNeil said principals were reporting more problems with five-year-olds. "There's been a growing awareness of the lack of self-regulation skills that some of the children are coming in with" he said. "That's often borne out with the kicking, scratching, biting sort of behaviour. I think that's an area where we've seen it grow."
He said said the increase in teachers feeling unsafe was also likely to be due in part to the rules that restricted physical intervention when children misbehaved. "There's a lack of control over the situation, so there's sort of anxiety particularly if the child has a history of these sorts of incidents. As a teacher you're conscious of what could develop and sometimes you're hamstrung by the legislation."
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