Teaching morals, values and respect is more effective than responding to misdemeanors in the classroom, according to the convenor of a 'Childwise' conference at CQUniversity Bundaberg on the weekend of March 19-20...

Lecturer Dr Rosie Thrupp says she has been working with Peirson Services representative Sean McCartney in Bundaberg on a project known as 'Teachers being Childwise'.

Lecturer Dr Rosie Thrupp is ready for the Childwise conference

"As a result we have produced a professional learning package for educators, based on a parenting program called 'On Becoming Childwise'.

"At the conference we will be launching the professional learning package that we have developed called 'Teachers being Childwise'. This is a package initiated by some Bachelor of Learning Management students 18 months ago. I have now worked on it with my industry partner, Peirson Services to develop it in its current form.

"The program is aimed at explicit teaching of morals, virtues, values and beliefs as a means of approaching behaviour management issues in schools," Dr Thrupp said.

She said the authors of the original parenting program - Anne-Marie and Gary Ezzo - will fly from the USA at their own expense, especially to be keynote speakers for the conference.

Dr Thrupp said the conference participants would discuss how classroom behaviour relied on relationships between learner, teacher and home.

"The teacher has to focus on all spheres of development for a child to achieve in learning subject content and school learning.

"Children are complex beings of social, emotional, spiritual, moral and cognitive elements. These are interconnected. The academic self cannot be isolated because children find themselves at school," she said.

"Productivity in school learning can be increased by explicit teaching of expectations and behaviours."

Dr Thrupp said conference participants would discuss ways to develop the moral infrastructure - or 'habits of the heart' - of their students.