School Corporal Punishment In Ghana And Nigeria As A Method Of Discipline: A Psychological Examination Of Policy And Practice

Abstract

The paper examined the concepts of discipline, indiscipline and effective discipline.  The use of the cane in behaviour modification was rampant in traditional African society.  Teachers use the cane a lot in order to maintain discipline in schools and control antisocial behaviour of pupils and students.  The paper further x-rayed the concept of corporal punishment, identified its three main divisions and the fourteen different forms of corporal punishment.  It explained why teachers in Ghanaian and Nigerian public and private schools administer corporal punishment.  The paper employed an analytical approach to x-ray the danger that corporal punishment poses to pupils and students in the schools of Ghana and Nigeria. International concern for the danger that the administration of corporal punishment poses to the right and well-being of pupils and students has long been established.  In 2001, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment was launched.  The campaign is about preventing all forms of violence against children in schools, including corporal punishment.  The paper presented the position of professional associations in Western Europe and Africa. Finally, arising from the above, the paper generated implications for teachers and school administrators, proposed general guidelines that the school authorities may apply in responding to incidents of misbehaviour, examined mental hygiene perspective to discipline and offered alternative therapeutic strategies that can be used in Ghanaian and Nigerian primary and secondary schools.

Keywords: Discipline, Indiscipline, Effective Discipline, Corporal Punishment, Ghana, Nigeria.