Parents',teachers' and school administrators' views on abolishment of corporal punushment in schools in selected secondary schools in Kasama district,Zambia

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess parents’, teachers,’ and school administrators’ views on the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools in Kasama District. Four objectives guided the study which were; to establish the views of parents, teachers and school administrators on the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools; to explore the views of parents, teachers and school administrators on the need to incorporate parents on school disciplinary committee as a way of managing pupils’ behaviour in the school system; to assess parents’, teachers’ and school administrators’ views on the authority of teachers over pupils following the abolishment of corporal punishment; to establish views of parents, teachers and school administrators on whether loco-parentis existed among teachers following the abolishment of corporal punishment. A descriptive design using qualitative research approach was used to conduct the study. The sample consisted twenty eight (28) participants comprising three school administrators, fifteen teachers and ten parents from three selected secondary schools and communities in Kasama district. Purposive procedure was used to select parents and school administrators while teachers were selected using simple random sampling. The study used semi-structured interviews as data collection tools. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Major findings indicate that abolishment of corporal punishment was commended because it negatively affected pupils psychologically and some stopped school prematurely due to fear of being punished. In addition, it had contributed to indiscipline among pupils in schools. Teachers were the most affected stakeholders by the policy because their hands were tied by the law. Further, the study established that the concept of incorporating parents on the school disciplinary committee was welcomed and would address the gap that existed between school management and parents and strengthen the partnership among them. It was discovered that the authority of teachers was drastically reduced and affected by the policy. The study concluded that, loco parentis among teachers who taught at the day secondary schools did not exist while it existed at a boarding school due to the nature of the school. In light of these findings, the study recommended incorporation of parents on the school disciplinary committee and strengthen counselling services in schools. Key words: corporal punishment, loco-parentis, authority.