The use of corporal punishment in junior secondary school in the Kweneng district of Botswana

Abstract

Corporal punishment is the physical infliction of pain on a learner by a teacher, principal or any authorized person because of an offence committed or disobedience. The ministry of Education in Botswana has come up with an Education Act (1976), which gives guidelines for implementation of corporal in the education system. This was to ensure that learners are not being abused and to monitor the use of physical punishment used in schools. The study investigates the extent in which corporal punishment is used in the 7 sampled junior secondary schools in the Kweneng district. The purpose of the study was to gain better insight into the use of physical punishment as an instrument for maintaining discipline in the classroom and the school premises, whether the punishment is effective in correcting deviant behaviour of learners and as to whether the teachers are conversant with the contents of the Education Act of 197 6 with regard to how the punishment should be meted out. The study is intended to contribute to literature and materials used by educators, ministry departments, school counsellors and school administrators and challenge them to develop alternatives to caning and by so doing create a conducive learning environment.