Abstract this research investigated the perceptions of parents and teachers towards the abolition of corporal punishment cp in three primary private schools in botswana. Alternatives to corporal punishment discipline is an ongoing process and. For example children in turkey who report corporal punishment at school. Teachers can also use corporal punishment to enforce discipline, although its use will soon be banned in all south african schools, following world trends. Corporal punishment should be reintroduced debatewise.
Corporal punishment and school leadership implications. This thesis will examine attitudes and opinions to the existing problem and the connection to childrens rights in two societies, south africa and sweden. The south african schools act and national education policy act nepa of 1996 created a single, unified system of schooling in south africa. Corporal punishment should be counterpoint allowed in. Giteacpoc pdf notes that corporal punishment is lawful in schools under article 2954 of the criminal code south. The abolition of corporal punishment remains a contentious issue within. Twenty years on, corporate punishment in schools is ali.
Thus, the claim that the prohibition of corporal punishment in schools has led to. The intersection of school corporal punishment and. In the south african context, this idea and belief has become defunct, in that it is contrary to the bill of rights entrenched in the countrys constitution and the south african schools act. Schoolbased corporal punishment schoolbased cp is a discipline method in which a supervising adult deliberately inflicts pain upon a youth in response to the youths unacceptable behavior p. In most of continental europe, school corporal punishment has been banned for several decades or longer, depending on the country see the list of countries below. The south african education system historically has used corporal punishment to maintain discipline.
Corporal punishment was widely accepted in us public schools in the latter part of the. According to child rights activist carol bower, parents should lay charges against teachers who use corporal punishment as a means of discipline. Corporal punishment and school outcomes springerlink. Although corporal punishment is illegal in south african schools, it remains a contested issue in some communities. The predominant christian national education policy affirmed the.
University of cape town,faculty of humanities,school of. While similar patterns of student problem behaviours were observed among rural schools, rural schools with corporal punishment policies had more students who were involved in offenses and more frequent disciplinary actions for student insubordination and physical. Analyzing data from the ssocs, rural schools outcomes and corporal punishment policies were examined. This article offers an explanation for the ongoing use of corporal punishment. Corporal punishment can be described as any physical action that hurts a child in the name of discipline. The issue of corporal punishment in zimbabwe is a serious matter since the ruling by justice esther muremba who ruled that corporal punishment or the caning of students in unconstitutional. It should be noted here that this study formed part of a larger study of intimate violence that examined the prevalence of, and links between, partner violence and corporal punishment. Data collection was done in respect of the study specific objectives through data collection methods which include questionnaires and interviews. Despite the legal ban, newspapers and limited research reveal that corporal punishment practices are sill occurring in schools.
The social and economic impact of corporal punishment in south. South african schools act 84 of 1996 education labour relations council b 2 south african schools act 84 of 1996 assented to 6 november, 1996 english text signed by the president date of commencement. This act states quite clearly that corporal punishment at schools is prohibited section 101 and that contraventions of this subsection are criminal offences. The study to be reported here is the first south african national survey of attitudes to the use of corporal punishment by caregivers. Adah maurer, the case against corporal punishment in schools, in john cryan ed. As to the effects of corporal punishment, the study addressed only its impact on education. Corporal punishment is a form of contrived punishment in which physical pain or discomfort is intentionally inflicted upon an individual for the purpose of trying to get that individual to regret. In schools, corporal punishment is prohibited in over 30 countries globally, including canada. Corporal punishment in schools has been formally prohibited since 1997 when the south african schools act came into force. Corporal punishment is prevalent and occurs because of interrelated social, cultural and educational factors, and can be due to a power imbalance, such as power differentials between different ethnic groups, castes and classes, and oppression of ethnic minorities. The south african council of educators sace has called on educators to refrain from applying corporal punishment on learners. Since 1996 newspapers have routinely reported that corporal punishment continues to be used in schools, sometimes resulting in hospitalisation. Since the banning of corporal punishment most public schools have been unable to manage discipline.
Section 10 of the schools act prohibits corporal punishment in schools, and states that. Abstract many south african and some schools elsewhere are consumed with violence. Morrell 2001, however, states that even after the banning of the use of corporal punishment in schools, educators still used it as a strategy to discipline learners. The wced views incidents of corporal punishment in a very serious light, and while the number of cases reported independently to stats sa remains low, the department takes all allegations brought to its attention extremely seriously. However, most literature, as reported in this paper, suggests that corporal punishment has negative consequences on the victim. A study on the extent of the use of corporal punishments. But this legislative intervention did not end the use of corporal punishment in schools. Many schools in singapore and malaysia use caning for boys as a routine official punishment for misconduct, as also some african countries. No person may administer corporal punishment at a school to a learner.
Educators disciplinary capabilities after the banning of. In the last decade, corporal punishment in south african schools was banned. Morrell and others published corporal punishment in south african schools. Corporal punishment contestations, paradoxes and implications for. It became acknowledged as an essential part of the schooling system. In this regard, corporal punishment beating by teachers was mentioned only by two out of 21 groups as a reason for children not going to school. The research findings demonstrate that corporal punishment in schools is highly correlated to family acceptance by practicing corporal punishment at home and lack of parental reporting of corporal punishment practiced by teachers, in addition to the school acceptance through having school principals practice corporal punishment and. Longitudinal evidence from ethiopia, india, peru andviet nam. Later, he felt bad and made tolstoy farm where any kind of corporal punishment did not exist. South african policy documents assert rather than explain why. Despite it being banned since 1997 some teachers in south african schools continue to dish out corporal punishment often for everyday offences it said in a statement.
There are many reasons to prohibit corporal punishment of children in south africa. Section 10 of the south african schools act 1996 reflected this finding by banning corporal punishment in schools. Paddling being spanked with a paddle is common way of administering corporal punishment in the us. The use of corporal punishment in south african schools. A survey among children in south africa indicated that the corporal punishment of children in school can elicit aggressive feelings, mostly directed at other.
South african society has undergone major social, economic and political changes over the past few years as we have sought to establish a democratic and humane nation. Watch new school corporal punishment video emerges. Among the changes in the education sector has been the banning of corporal punishment in. South africa has a number of laws that protect learners from corporal punishment and abuse. Corporal punishment means the intentional infliction of physical pain as a disciplinary measure upon the body of a minor child under the age of 18 or under the age of 23 who is receiving. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of the use of corporal punishment. Unicef calls attention to international and national legislation protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse and maltreatment. Corporal punishment within the education sector has been prohibited since 1997, by the south african schools act no. The impact of the abolition of corporal punishment on teacher. Code r277608 prohibition of corporal punishment in utahs public schools. The perceptions of parents and teachers in botswana towards the abolishment of corporal punishment dr. This is despite the fact that education is supposed to inculcate and instill discipline to learners critical for their success both during school time and after school.
The unpalatable truth is that 20 years since corporal punishment was abolished in south african schools, many teachers continue to dish it out, often for the most mundane of offences. Section 10 of the south african schools act 84 of 1996, however, prohibits all forms of corporal punishment in schools rsa, 1996. The south african schools act 84 of 1996 section 10 prohibits the administration of corporal punishment. This is due, in part, to the fact that parents who use alternative and positive methods of discipline teach their children more communication and problemsolving skills. Corporal punishment has been prohibited in educational settings, the justice system as a punishment and as a.
Criticism of its effects led, in 1996, to the banning of this form of punishment. Educators disciplinary capabilities after the banning of corporal. Corporal punishment in south african schools african journals. Wittingly or unwittingly educators may be unaware that they are committing crimes under the guise of. Teachers saw corporal punishment as the only solution that can be used to discipline a child. Corporal punishment has huge consequences voice of the cape. Pinnoc k, 1997 to a situation where sch ools promote health and wellbeing. Pdf corporal punishment and school leadership implications. Vc ngwenya, mophato private school, p o box 605, francistown, botswana. Corporal punishment in the south african context historical overview of corporal punishment in south africa prior to 1994, corporal punishment was frequently relied on to ensure discipline in south african schools.
Arguments against the use of corporal punishment the above argument highlighted the. Basic education rights handbook education rights in. The impact of the abolition of corporal punishment on. The dilemma confronting the south african teacher is that the south african education system is in a stage of transition from a system that supported corporal punishment and the promotion of an inhumane retributive ideology gladwel l, 1999. Campaigns for the prohibition of corporal punishment in the home are ongoing in south africa, as well as other african countries including angola and tanzania pan. United states department of education, office for civil rights, 2006 civil rights data collection. Corporal punishment is a common problem all over the world. It was recently reported that a total of 269 teachers in. Although corporal punishment is illegal in south african schools, it remains a contested issue in. Here are various ways learners ought to be disciplined in. Corporal punishment in both the home and school are prohibited in five african countries south sudan, kenya, tunisia, tongo and the democratic republic of congo. Rights of the child in nigeria doc corporal punishment is explicitly permitted in nigerian schools, for students under 18, under article 55 of the penal code north. So any kind of mental or physical punishment has an exponential and. Corporal punishment of children in us public schools hrw.
This is in keeping with international trends of recognising of the rights of the child and the south african constitution. Severe corporal punishment still carried out at many sa. Parents have a right to discipline their children, including the use of reasonable corporal punishment. However, it is still considered legal in the home by virtue of the common law provision for caregivers to reasonably chastise the children. For example, the palm of a hand might be hit with a ruler. Despite this ban, many schools continue to practise it widely. Children have a right to be protected from corporal punishment. In schools, teachers used corporal punishment to main order amongst pupils.
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