A study of post-corporal punishment disciplinary strategies used by educators in an ex-HOD school.

• Main Author: Ishak, Vijialuxmi.
• Other Authors: Chikoko, Vitallis.
• Language: en
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Theses > Education.; Corporal punishment of children > KwaZulu-Natal.; School Children > Discipline > KwaZulu-Natal.; School Discipline > KwaZulu-Natal.
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10413/2015

This small-scale study was designed to investigate post-corporal punishment disciplinary strategies used by level one educators in an ex-HOD secondary school in South Durban. This qualitative study gathered data through the case study approach for the following key questions : 1. What are the challenges being faced by educators in maintaining pupil discipline? 2. What strategies do educators employ to cope with post apartheid reforms such as large, multiracial classes, abolition of corporal punishment and the removal of a guidance counsellor? 3. What are the educators' perceptions of the support they receive from the school and the community, if any, in dealing with pupil indiscipline? As this research examines educators' perceptions on pupil discipline, it naturally lends itself to the qualitative research design. Within the qualitative design the case study provides the opportunity to obtain first hand information which can be used to do an in depth analysis of how educators relate to various factors and processes regarding learner discipline in the school under study. In order to obtain a full picture of discipline in the school under study the investigator obtained data through semi-structured interviews, observations of managers', level one educators' and pupils' behaviour as well as review of documents such as the staff minute books and the educators' discipline records. In response to the numerous post apartheid reforms that schools find themselves experiencing, schools need to develop strategies such as teamwork, collaboration, delegation and open communication. The collective creativity and energy generated as a team is what is needed to face the reforms that schools are constantly being bombarded with. It is these reforms which can adversely affect the discipline of learners if not anticipated timeously by monitoring mechanisms in the school. These monitoring mechanisms such as regular networking can result in improvement to present policies and procedures so that they can align themselves with these post apartheid educational reforms. === Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.