Teachers' and pupils' attitudes and practices regarding the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools in the Gauteng area.

[摘要] Educationalists throughout the ages have supported thebelief that corporal punishment creates harmful effects andshould be avoided at all costs. Furthermore, corporal punishmenthas been found to be neither effective nor permanent in stoppingundesirable behaviour in the classroom.Despite the evidence however, South Africa frequently usedcorporal punishment for the sake of discipline, social controland even 'moral education'. In the not too distant past, it wassanctioned by law, by parents and by teachers (Rice, 1987).However, in 1994 judicial corporal punishment was outlawed andcorporal punishment at schools became unconstitutional (clause3(n) of the National Education Policy Bill, 1995; clause 22 ofthe Gauteng Schools Education Bill).While policy and legislatlon must play their role, this isnot enough to bring about a change in the practices andperceptions of teacher's at the grass roots. An understanding ofits harmful effects, and recognition of alternatives isnecessary in order to bring about its complete abolishment. Thisstudy investigates teachers' and pupilsattitudes to corporalpunishment as well as what discipline strategies are being usedand are considered effective.A sample of teachers and pupils were randomly selected fromprivate, oommunity and public high school types. A total of 602subjects participated in this study (240 teachers and 362pupils). Responses to an anonymous questionnaire were tabulatedand analysed.Findings demonstrated that teachers are ambivalent towardscorporal, punishment, while pupils are clearly anti-corporalpunishment; and support itsabolishment. Teachers do reportKey Words: corporal punishment , classroom discipline. alternativediscipline strategies used in the classroom.

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand