- Title
- Perceptions of guardians of children towards government’s decision to outlaw corporal punishment: A case study of Highfield suburb in Harare, Zimbabwe
- Creator
- Shayamano , Molly
- Subject
- Corporal punishment of children Children's rights
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MSW
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17641
- Identifier
- vital:41131
- Description
- Corporal punishment is a behaviour modification technique that has been utilised since time immemorial. Much interest in today’s world is centred on understanding and utilising the most effective discipline techniques. Many human rights activists and researchers are pointing out the negatives of corporal punishment. As such, human rights activists are pushing for the banning of all forms of corporal punishment of children. This study explored guardians’ perceptions towards the government’s decision to outlaw corporal punishment in Highfield in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. The social construction theory by Berger and Luckman (1966) and the Operant conditioning theory by Skinner (1956) were utilised to underpin the study. The study adopted a mixed method approach in which focus group discussions, key informant interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data. The study results reveal that guardians in Highfield hold different sentiments with regard to the government’s decision to outlaw corporal punishment. The majority of guardians view the decision as a bad move that will result in negative consequences, whereas another group of guardians supports the decision. The study also reveals that the government’s decision to outlaw corporal punishment has both positive and negative consequences, which include delinquent behaviour, high crime rates, disrespect of elders, moral decay, decreased violence, increased communication between parents and children, and reduced child abuse cases. The study also found that social workers working closely with children and their families also have a role to play in ensuring positive behaviour modification. The study recommends the introduction of community programs on positive parenting in communities, initiated and strengthened by social workers.
- Format
- 159 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
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View Details Download | SOURCE1 | MOLLY SHAYAMANO DISSERTATION -M.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |