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

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dc.contributor.advisorMoyo, Georgeen
dc.contributor.authorKhewu, Noncedo Princess Dorcasen
dc.date.accessioned2026-08-14T01:44:37Z
dc.date.available2026-08-14T01:44:37Z
dc.date.issued2012en
dc.description.abstractThe 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.en
dc.format269 leaves; 30 cmen
dc.formatpdfen
dc.identifier.citationKhewu, Noncedo Princess Dorcas. 2012en
dc.identifier.othervital:16170en
dc.identifier.otherhttp://hdl.handle.net/10353/533en
dc.identifier.otherSchool discipline -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.identifier.otherRewards and punishments in education -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.identifier.otherCorporal punishment of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.identifier.otherClassroom management -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.identifier.otherDiscipline of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.identifier.otherPrimary school teachers -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.identifier.otherSchool children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Attitudesen
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/4703
dc.language.isoEnglishen
dc.publisherUniversity of Fort Hareen
dc.publisherFaculty of Educationen
dc.rightsUniversity of Fort Hareen
dc.subjectSchool discipline -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.subjectRewards and punishments in education -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.subjectCorporal punishment of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.subjectClassroom management -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.subjectDiscipline of children -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.subjectPrimary school teachers -- South Africa -- Eastern Capeen
dc.subjectSchool children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Attitudesen
dc.titleA study of practices in the alternatives to corporal punishment strategy being implemented in selected primary schools in Buffalo city metro municipality: implications for school leadershipen
dc.title.alternativeA study of practices in the alternatives to corporal punishment strategy being implemented in selected primary schools in Buffalo city metro municipality: implications for school leadershipen
dc.typeThesisen
dc.typeMastersen
dc.typeM Eden

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