A study of practices in the alternatives to corporal punishment strategy being implemented in selected primary schools in Buffalo city metro municipality: implications for school leadership
- Khewu, Noncedo Princess Dorcas
- Authors: Khewu, Noncedo Princess Dorcas
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: School discipline -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rewards and punishments in education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Corporal punishment of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Classroom management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Discipline of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Primary school teachers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , School children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:16170 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/533 , School discipline -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rewards and punishments in education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Corporal punishment of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Classroom management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Discipline of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Primary school teachers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , School children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Attitudes
- Description: The problem of indiscipline in schools has attracted the growing attention of researchers in South Africa and the world at large. Learner indiscipline has been variously reflected in behaviours which range from serious ones such as drug abuse, assault, theft, rape and murder, to minor ones such as truancy; all of which negatively affect teaching and learning. While there is agreement on the need to address the problem, there is a great deal of contestation around what strategies and practices are appropriate to instil discipline in schools. Within this debate many countries, including South Africa, have decided to move away from punitive approaches such as corporal punishment and replace them with what is called Alternatives to Corporal Punishment (ATCP). The main aim of this study was to interrogate the consistency that prevails between disciplinary practices and principles of alternatives to corporal punishment and the implications of this for school leadership. A mixed method design was used. The study was conducted in two phases: the first was a survey during which trends in disciplinary practices were established; the second was a multiple case study where in-depth interviews were conducted in five primary schools across different contexts which included farm, suburban, township, rural and informal settlement locations. This study has seven main findings. First, it was found that primary schools in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality experienced minor offenses which clustered around levels 1 and 2 of the ATCP classification. Second, although statistically there was a weak negative correlation (r = - 0.11) between location and behaviour which is not significant (p >. 05) or (p = .46), qualitative evidence suggests a relationship between context and disciplinary offences. Third, principals’ roles in instilling discipline were focused mainly on reactive administrative and management functions rather than on giving leadership designed to inspire alternative ways of behaving. Fourth, principals’ and teachers’ belief in the use of alternatives to corporal punishment revealed ambivalence and lack of understanding. Fifth, measures to instil discipline, even though they were said to be based on alternatives to corporal punishment, placed heavy emphasis on inflicting pain and relied on extrinsic control. Sixth, two disciplinary measures designed to inflict pain were found to be weakly associated, but significantly (p < 0.05) with violent behaviour, lending credence to view that in using certain practices to instil discipline there are socialisation consequences. Finally, the use of some measures recommended by alternatives to corporal punishment yielded some unintended socialisation consequences. The study concludes that there was lack of consistency between disciplinary practices in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality primary schools and the principles of Alternatives to Corporal Punishment. The findings suggest that it is difficult to achieve the consistency without a school leadership which understands that the alternatives call for a paradigm shift in measures to instil discipline. For improving discipline in schools, it is recommended that school principals and stakeholders must focus on measures that are meant to cultivate a new school culture guided by values of self-discipline in order to minimise the need for extrinsic punitive control. For further research, a follow up study based on a probability sample, which should include secondary schools, could be undertaken in order that results can be generalised.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Khewu, Noncedo Princess Dorcas
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: School discipline -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rewards and punishments in education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Corporal punishment of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Classroom management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Discipline of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Primary school teachers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , School children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:16170 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/533 , School discipline -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rewards and punishments in education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Corporal punishment of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Classroom management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Discipline of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Primary school teachers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , School children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Attitudes
- Description: The problem of indiscipline in schools has attracted the growing attention of researchers in South Africa and the world at large. Learner indiscipline has been variously reflected in behaviours which range from serious ones such as drug abuse, assault, theft, rape and murder, to minor ones such as truancy; all of which negatively affect teaching and learning. While there is agreement on the need to address the problem, there is a great deal of contestation around what strategies and practices are appropriate to instil discipline in schools. Within this debate many countries, including South Africa, have decided to move away from punitive approaches such as corporal punishment and replace them with what is called Alternatives to Corporal Punishment (ATCP). The main aim of this study was to interrogate the consistency that prevails between disciplinary practices and principles of alternatives to corporal punishment and the implications of this for school leadership. A mixed method design was used. The study was conducted in two phases: the first was a survey during which trends in disciplinary practices were established; the second was a multiple case study where in-depth interviews were conducted in five primary schools across different contexts which included farm, suburban, township, rural and informal settlement locations. This study has seven main findings. First, it was found that primary schools in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality experienced minor offenses which clustered around levels 1 and 2 of the ATCP classification. Second, although statistically there was a weak negative correlation (r = - 0.11) between location and behaviour which is not significant (p >. 05) or (p = .46), qualitative evidence suggests a relationship between context and disciplinary offences. Third, principals’ roles in instilling discipline were focused mainly on reactive administrative and management functions rather than on giving leadership designed to inspire alternative ways of behaving. Fourth, principals’ and teachers’ belief in the use of alternatives to corporal punishment revealed ambivalence and lack of understanding. Fifth, measures to instil discipline, even though they were said to be based on alternatives to corporal punishment, placed heavy emphasis on inflicting pain and relied on extrinsic control. Sixth, two disciplinary measures designed to inflict pain were found to be weakly associated, but significantly (p < 0.05) with violent behaviour, lending credence to view that in using certain practices to instil discipline there are socialisation consequences. Finally, the use of some measures recommended by alternatives to corporal punishment yielded some unintended socialisation consequences. The study concludes that there was lack of consistency between disciplinary practices in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality primary schools and the principles of Alternatives to Corporal Punishment. The findings suggest that it is difficult to achieve the consistency without a school leadership which understands that the alternatives call for a paradigm shift in measures to instil discipline. For improving discipline in schools, it is recommended that school principals and stakeholders must focus on measures that are meant to cultivate a new school culture guided by values of self-discipline in order to minimise the need for extrinsic punitive control. For further research, a follow up study based on a probability sample, which should include secondary schools, could be undertaken in order that results can be generalised.
- Full Text:
Case study of the educational experiences of four teenage mothers in two high schools in the Buffalo City Metropole
- Authors: Adams, Hermie E
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Teenage girls -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , High schools -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:16168 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/468 , Teenage girls -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , High schools -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social conditions
- Description: Teenage pregnancy is a worldwide phenomenon. World Health Organisation (2009) reports that teenage mothers between the ages of 15-19 years account for 11% of births recorded worldwide. In South Africa it has been estimated that teenagers aged 17-19 account for 93% of all teenage pregnancies. A large proportion of these adolescents return to school after giving birth. Research has shown that there is a great deal of controversy about not only pre-marital sex, but also concerning whether teenage mothers should be allowed back in school at all. The aim of this study was to gain some insights into the lived experiences of teenage mothers in schools with particular reference to how they cope with school work and the responsibilities of motherhood. A case study of four teenage mothers who returned to school after giving birth was carried out. In-depth phenomenological interviewing designed to elicit the voices of the selected adolescents was done. There were five main findings. First, all four teenagers were minors, under the age of 18 when they gave birth. Two of them were even under the statutory age of consent. Second, upon return to school, teenage mothers experienced stigmatisation from peers and teachers and this forced them to continually negotiate their dual identities as mothers and learners. Third, teenage mothers experienced psychological emotions of stress; low self-esteem; shame and depression. Fourth, they also had sociological experiences in the form of material, financial and social support from family and friends. In some cases they experienced rejection from peers and abandonment by boyfriends who had made them pregnant. Some educators discriminated against and ridiculed teenage mothers. Fifth, teenage mothers reorganised their lives after childbirth and established routines that enabled them to cope with the demands of school work and the responsibilities of motherhood. iii The study concludes that, although viewed with scepticism by sections of the community and some educators, and given that some pregnancies are a result of abuse and unequal power relations between men and women in society, the policy of allowing teenage mothers back to school after giving birth gives them another chance to re-focus their lives. It is recommended that the voices of teenage mothers who return to school after childbirth should be taken into account to inform any planning for future policies on teenage pregnancy by schools and the state. It is further recommended that all educators should also be trained to be able to assist the teenage mothers instead of alienating them. There should also be counselling services available for the teenage mothers to enable them to deal with psychological and sociological problems they might encounter. For further research, students from different backgrounds should be the target of similar research. Another area of research should focus on academic performance of teenage mothers who return to school after giving birth. Lastly, there should be research that seeks to link what is taught in the Life Orientation curriculum and voices of teenage mothers.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Adams, Hermie E
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Teenage girls -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , High schools -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:16168 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/468 , Teenage girls -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , High schools -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social conditions
- Description: Teenage pregnancy is a worldwide phenomenon. World Health Organisation (2009) reports that teenage mothers between the ages of 15-19 years account for 11% of births recorded worldwide. In South Africa it has been estimated that teenagers aged 17-19 account for 93% of all teenage pregnancies. A large proportion of these adolescents return to school after giving birth. Research has shown that there is a great deal of controversy about not only pre-marital sex, but also concerning whether teenage mothers should be allowed back in school at all. The aim of this study was to gain some insights into the lived experiences of teenage mothers in schools with particular reference to how they cope with school work and the responsibilities of motherhood. A case study of four teenage mothers who returned to school after giving birth was carried out. In-depth phenomenological interviewing designed to elicit the voices of the selected adolescents was done. There were five main findings. First, all four teenagers were minors, under the age of 18 when they gave birth. Two of them were even under the statutory age of consent. Second, upon return to school, teenage mothers experienced stigmatisation from peers and teachers and this forced them to continually negotiate their dual identities as mothers and learners. Third, teenage mothers experienced psychological emotions of stress; low self-esteem; shame and depression. Fourth, they also had sociological experiences in the form of material, financial and social support from family and friends. In some cases they experienced rejection from peers and abandonment by boyfriends who had made them pregnant. Some educators discriminated against and ridiculed teenage mothers. Fifth, teenage mothers reorganised their lives after childbirth and established routines that enabled them to cope with the demands of school work and the responsibilities of motherhood. iii The study concludes that, although viewed with scepticism by sections of the community and some educators, and given that some pregnancies are a result of abuse and unequal power relations between men and women in society, the policy of allowing teenage mothers back to school after giving birth gives them another chance to re-focus their lives. It is recommended that the voices of teenage mothers who return to school after childbirth should be taken into account to inform any planning for future policies on teenage pregnancy by schools and the state. It is further recommended that all educators should also be trained to be able to assist the teenage mothers instead of alienating them. There should also be counselling services available for the teenage mothers to enable them to deal with psychological and sociological problems they might encounter. For further research, students from different backgrounds should be the target of similar research. Another area of research should focus on academic performance of teenage mothers who return to school after giving birth. Lastly, there should be research that seeks to link what is taught in the Life Orientation curriculum and voices of teenage mothers.
- Full Text:
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