Corporal Punishment in Ghana Today
— Currently
if a teacher wishes to administer corporal punishment, regulations specify that
is must be done under the strict supervision on the head teacher.
— Despite
this though in reality corporal punishment is frequently administered outside
of the official guidelines.
— Examples
leading to corporal punishment include
— incorrect
answering of questions in class,
— being
late for school or
— showing
even slightly unruly behaviour.
— 2/3
of student dropouts cite corporal punishment as the most disliked aspect of
their schooling,
Story 1
— John
was only 7 years old and he cited the long distances he had to walk to school
as the factor which ultimately drove him to drop out. The distance he had to
walk to school meant that he often arrived at school late, which led to
punishment (caning), and made him miss school for fear of further punishment,
so affecting his academic progress
Story 2
·
Mensah, a young boy, dropped out of school on
account of the punishment he had received. “The teacher confiscated my
flip-flops and caned me for wearing them to school … but I do not have any
other shoes and cannot walk to school barefoot.”
Legal Status
— At
present corporal punishment remains legal in Ghanaian schools and the Education
Act allows for “caning up to six strokes by a head teacher or person authorised
by the head.
— Ministerial
directives advise against the use of corporal punishment in schools but this
has not been confirmed in legislation.
Historical Context
— Corporal
punishment has an ancient history reaching back in the historical record at
least to ancient Greece and the times of the Old Testament
— What
other things that may have been historically practiced are no longer tolerated
(examples could include slavery, Africans and women without the right to vote
etc.
— History
does not mean there can’t be change and at times it means there must be change.
Human Rights
— Many
of our previously practiced behaviours that we now condemn have changed over the centuries, often based
on the concept of human rights.
— Universal
human rights provide a connecting vision of humankind that can be a catalyst
for change.
— Education
plays a key role in instigating this change by planting the seed of core human
rights and global citizenship.
Convention on Rights of the Child
— Article
37 of the Child’s Rights Convention (CRC) of which Ghana is a signatory to,
requires that “no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment”;
— Article
19 requires states to protect children “from all forms of physical or mental
violence”.
— The
Committee on the Rights of the Child – the monitoring body for the CRC has
addressed corporal punishment.
— They
repeatedly emphasise that this includes the prohibition and elimination of
corporal punishment.
— The
Committee has also emphasised that it is referring to all corporal
punishment, “however light”.
Religious Rights
— In
Ghana it is frequent that faith based arguments are raised supporting the need
for corporal punishment, often based on the Bible or Shariah law.
— International
human rights law does protect religious freedom, but such freedom cannot
infringe on the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
Nothing New
— Human
rights are not new, but rather are principles and ideas that have been found in
cultures and religions around the world for several millennia .
— Not
many would argue that individuals do not have the right to be protected from
violence, exploitation and abuse and in that spirit we should consider children.
— Think
about this when reading the following quote “Children are not mini human beings
with mini rights. As long as adults continue to regard children as mini human
beings, violence against them will persist.”
Negative Results of Corporal Punishment
— Corporal
Punishment, even if one is not swayed by the rights of children, has now been
shown to be detrimental to its own goals and to the health of children who
suffer under it.
— Repeated
studies have found disturbing links between the application of corporal
punishment and an increase, after the punishment in aggression, delinquency and
even spousal assault later in life.
— The
linkages have become clear after years of research, physical punishment elicits
aggression.
— An
increase in aggression is not the only risk though, there is a broad range of
negative outcomes as a result of corporal punishment.
Violence Begets Violence
— No
study has found that physical punishment enhances the developmental health of
children.
— CP
has been shown to lead to increased absenteeism, self-esteem issues, anxiety,
and increased violence.
— Other
studies show that CP can lead to mood disorders, mental disorders, anxiety
disorders, substance abuse/dependence, and personality disorders.
Hidden Message in Corporal Punishment
— Children
pick up on the unspoken message that corporal punishment communicates, a message that “encourages a view of children
as less worthy of protection and respect for their bodily integrity based on
outdated notions of their inferior personhood.
— The
other message is that hitting is an acceptable means of dealing with conflict.
Some are Campaigning against Corporal Punishment in Africa
Discipline Problems and Solutions
— When
considering alternatives to corporal punishment it is important to first
understand some key ideas.
— Discipline
problems must not be confused with discipline solutions.
— The
problems with discipline that teachers account in their school must be
separated from the way the school responds to those problems.
— “There
is a tendency for teachers who are against prohibition to point to children’s
behaviour as demonstrating the need for corporal punishment. But children’s behaviour does not necessitate
a violent response”
Discipline vs. Punishment
— Discipline
is not the same as punishment. Real discipline is not based on force, but grows
from understanding, mutual respect and tolerance.
— Corporal
punishment tells children nothing about how they should behave. On the
contrary, hitting children is a lesson in bad behaviour.
— It
teaches children that adults find it acceptable to use violence to sort out
problems or conflicts.
Respect versus Fear
— Respect
should not be confused with fear. “Good” behaviour due to fear of being
punished means that a child is avoiding punishment, not showing respect.
— Corporal
punishment can appear to be effective when it results in immediate compliance,
but its negative short and long term effects are well documented.
Alternatives to Corporal Punishment
— Provide
direct instruction to students in social skills and problem-solving strategies.
— Use
positive reinforcement to teach and maintain the use of appropriate
problem-solving and social skills.
— Use
social reinforcers such as teacher feedback, peer pressure, and other
self-esteem enhancing activities to support and maintain the use of
problem-solving and social skills.
— Apply
logical consequences that will teach students personal responsibility for their
actions; for example. losing the privilege of participating in special school
activities.
— Consider
the use of time out, which may allow students to learn to take control of their
actions and ultimately, in conjunction with instruction in social skills, to
cease their undesirable behavior.
— Employ
problem-solving classroom meetings and/or school assemblies with honest
discussion of problems to encourage student ownership of and responsibility for
solutions.
— Establish
contractual agreements that clearly outline consequences with students and
their parents to enhance the development of self control behavior.
— Establish
a variety of strategies for communicating with parents.
— Establish
an in-school suspension program, supervised by a responsible adult, in which
the student performs curricula-related activities.
— When
necessary. and possible, refer students to a counselor, social worker and/or
psychologist.
— Evaluate
and arrange appropriate curriculum and adequate support for students who need
academic acceleration, special education, alternative education or services for
achieving English proficiency.
— Consider
the use of suspensions and/or expulsions only after all other alternatives have
been exhausted.
Corporal Punishment and Religion
— Often
there are arguments that corporal punishment is supported or even mandated by
certain religious texts.
— It
is important to understand that in this situation there may be a lack of
awareness that there may be alternative interpretations which would promote
non-violent disciplinary measures.
— Over
the last two decades there has been a
“growing faith-based support for ending the use of corporal punishment
— An
increasing number of “religious leaders promoting non-violence in childrearing.
— For example, at the 2006 World Assembly of
Religions for Peace in Kyoto, Japan, more than 800 faith leaders endorsed “a
religious commitment to combat violence against children”, including
prohibiting all CP.
Relevant Christian Passages
— Parents,
don’t be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct
them about the Lord - Ephesians 6:4
— “What
do you want me to do when I arrive? Do you want me to be hard on you or to be
kind and gentle” - 1 Corinthians 4:21
— “Parents,
don’t be hard on your children. If you are, they might give up” - Colossians
3:21
Relevant Muslim Passages
— The
Prophet said: The Compassionate One has mercy on those who are merciful. If you
show mercy to those who are on the earth, He Who is in the heaven will show
mercy to you (Abu Dawud, 4941)
— “Anas
ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), the servant of the Prophet, had
another recollection: I never saw anyone who was more compassionate towards
children than Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) (Abdullah,
parag. 8)
Conclusions
— The
key thing to remember is that corporal punishment does not make children feel
responsible for their own actions, the fear of getting caught causes them to
avoid confrontation with teachers up to and including dropping out.
— In
addition the students become focused on the punishment, rather than on the
misbehaviour.
— Educators
should care about the success of their students, so pitting the teachers
against them as the enforcers of corporal punishment undermines this role.
Ghanaian Proverbs
— When
times change, so must we.
— Force
against force equals more force
No comments:
Post a Comment