MEDIA RELEASE – SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 – R0106

Expectations for how people treat one another in public spaces have recently moved beyond unspoken social contracts and into more formal codes of conduct.

A civility policy rolling out in Quebec schools this winter and the recent signing of an Elect Respect pledge by municipalities across Ontario are among examples of organizations seeking to create safer and more respectful learning and working environments, says Natalie Spadafora (BA/BEd ’13, MA ’15, PhD ’21).

 “No matter who you are or what environment you’re in, civility makes a difference in how you go about your life,” says the Assistant Professor in Brock University’s Department of Child and Youth Studies. “Although doing things like saying please or holding a door open for someone may take extra time or consideration, we’ve collectively decided that it’s worth it and makes for a better functioning society overall.

“Engaging in civil behaviours is a signal that we’re open to co-operating as part of a wider group.”

Spadafora’s work focuses on incivility — the breach of the basic rules of social life — and low-level antisocial behaviour in school settings. She’s investigated the rationale behind and increased engagement in actions like talking or texting on a cellphone while a teacher is talking or packing up books before a lesson is done, for example.

She and her research team found that these and other similar acts of incivility, although seemingly harmless, can be predictive of future bullying and more serious acts of violence.

“One instance of incivility is often not a big deal; almost everyone engages in incivility to some degree,” she says. “But if individual actions continue and then everyone starts doing them, that has a cumulative effect and becomes disruptive.”

These actions, when left unchecked, are also a potential precursor for escalated — and even more concerning — behaviour, Spadafora says.

She says intervening in lower-level incidents of incivility early is often easier than trying to curtail bullying or other school violence down the road, which can then spill out of the classroom into broader society.

“In our research team’s most recent focus groups, teachers have talked about the importance of setting expectations and enforcing school rules at the beginning of the school year, and of coming up with these together as a class,” she says. “It’s not just about promoting basic manners like calling teachers Mr. and Mrs., it’s about what doing that represents. Although rules don’t necessarily solve everything, reinforcing these seemingly basic actions is part of teaching civility overall, which is a skill that children don’t just learn on their own.”

She says educators have also highlighted the importance of taking a “team approach.”

If a student is sent to the principal’s office for acting out in class, for example, Spadafora says the administration and student’s parents must be on the same page when it comes to recourse.

“Teachers have told us that it makes a big difference in their abilities to address these acts of incivility when everyone has their back,” she says.

Just as important, Spadafora says, is understanding why students are engaging in these actions in the first place.

The motivation behind a student packing up their books early because they’re excited to get to see their friends at recess, for example, is often different than someone calling a teacher a hurtful name.

“Behaviours aren’t isolated. There’s always a broader context to consider and thinking about those differences is important,” she says. “Individually, there might be reasons to engage in incivility, but cumulatively, we have to think about how we work together as a group to best address these things co-operatively.”

Natalie Spadafora (BA/BEd ’13, MA ’15, PhD ’21), Assistant Professor in Brock University’s Department of Child and Youth Studies, is available for media interviews on this topic.

For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

*Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

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