Ella Kozman¹, Nancy Maynes^2,

It has become common for teachers in public education systems to express concerns about the increase of behaviour issues in their classrooms, at all age levels. Indeed, the recent annual meetings of teacher union provincial representatives in Toronto, Ontario in August 2025, focused on the one key issue of student needs and their impact on classroom functioning as the outcome of several days of discussions. Following these meetings, teachers’ unions in the province have used public media such as television, to express concerns about the link that is perceived between class sizes and the ability of teachers to see and address the wide range of needs of their students. While the extent of needs is not being directly connected to mental health issues in these media campaigns, it is certainly evident that needs like individual learning supports, and poor nourishment are being seen as risk factors to academic and social success related to schooling. A key takeaway from the messaging is that students’ academic success is being compromised by classroom conditions that could be improved and made more visible, in the teachers’ opinions, by smaller class sizes. Mental health of the students is at the core of the concerns about classroom conditions, and it is argued in this paper that teachers need to see the disruptive behaviours that are exhibited in their classrooms as expressions of diminishing mental health due to stressors. In addition, it is argued that all teachers need to learn to address disruptive behaviours as stress responses rather than choices, which is a key focus of professional development about mental health impacts on education.

student mental health, teacher professional development, sociological approaches to student behaviour