Corporal punishment in schools is the deliberate infliction of physical pain as a response to undesired behaviour by students. In schools it typically involves either striking the student on the buttocks or on the palms of their hands with an implement (some of which are only applied to the buttocks) such as a plimsoll (slipper), rattan cane, wooden paddle, leather strap/tawse/belt, or wooden yardstick. Less commonly, it could also include spanking or smacking the student with an open hand, especially at the kindergarten, primary school, or other more junior levels.
Much of the traditional culture that surrounds corporal punishment in school, at any rate in the English-speaking world, derives largely from British practice in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly as regards the caning of teenage boys."United Kingdom: Corporal punishment in schools". World Corporal Punishment Research. There is a vast amount of literature on this, in both popular and serious culture.Quigly, Isabel (1984). The Heirs of Tom Brown: The English School Story. Oxford University Press. Chandos, John (1984). Boys Together: English Public Schools 1800–1864. London: Hutchinson, esp. chapter 11.
In the English-speaking world, the use of corporal punishment in schools has historically been justified by the common-law doctrine in loco parentis, whereby teachers are considered authority figures granted the same rights as parents to discipline and punish children in their care if they do not adhere to the set rules. A similar justification exists in Chinese-speaking countries. It lets school officials stand in for parents as comparable authority figures. The doctrine has its origins in an English common-law precedent of 1770.
According to the General Social Survey, 84 percent of American adults in 1986 believed that "children sometimes need a good spanking". There is hardly any evidence that corporal punishment improved a child's behaviour as time goes by. On the other hand, substantial evidence is found that it puts children "at risk for negative outcomes," for it may result in increased aggression, antisocial behaviour, mental health problems, and physical injury.
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was the first nation to outlaw corporal punishment in schools in 1783. School corporal punishment is no longer legal in European countries except for Belarus, Vatican City (however, there are no primary or secondary schools in Vatican City) and unrecognized Transnistria. By 2016, an estimated 128 countries had prohibited corporal punishment in schools, including nearly all of Europe and most of South America and East Asia. Approximately 69 countries still allow corporal punishment in schools, including parts of the United States and many countries in Africa and Asia.
Definitions
Corporal punishment in the context of schools in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has been variously defined as: causing deliberate pain to a child in response to the child's undesired behaviour and/or language, "purposeful infliction of bodily pain or discomfort by an official in the educational system upon a student as a penalty for unacceptable behavior", and "intentional application of physical pain as a means of changing behavior" (not the occasional use of physical restraint to protect student or others from immediate harm).
Prevalence Corporal punishment used to be prevalent in schools in many parts of the world, but in recent decades it has been outlawed in 128 countries including all of Europe and most of South America, as well as in Canada, Japan, South Africa, New Zealand and several other countries. It remains commonplace in a number of countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East (see list of countries, below).
While most U.S. states have outlawed corporal punishment in state schools, it continues to be allowed mostly in the Southern states. According to the United States Department of Education, more than 216,000 students were subjected to corporal punishment during the 200809 school year.
Britain itself outlawed the practice in 1987 for state schools Section 47 for England and Wales and section 48 for Scotland, brought into force in 1987.Gould, Mark (9 January 2007). "Sparing the rod". The Guardian. London. and more recently, in 1998, for all private schools. Section 131, for England and Wales, brought into force in 1999.
In most of continental Europe, school corporal punishment has been banned for several decades or longer, depending on the country (see the list of countries below).
From the 1917 Russian revolution onwards, corporal punishment was outlawed in the Soviet Union, because it was deemed contrary to communist ideology. Communists in other countries such as Britain took the lead in campaigning against school corporal punishment, which they viewed as a symptom of the decadence of capitalist education systems.Linehan, Thomas P. (2007). Communism in Britain, 1920-39: From the cradle to the grave, Manchester University Press. pp. 32 ff. In the 1960s, Soviet visitors to western schools expressed shock at the canings witnessed there. Other communist regimes followed suit: for instance, corporal punishment was "unknown" by students in North Korea in 2007."North Korean Defectors Face Huge Challenges". Radio Free Asia. 21 March 2007. In mainland China, corporal punishment in schools was outlawed in 1986,"Country report for China". Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children. although the practice remains common, especially in rural areas.Paul Wiseman, "Chinese schools try to unlearn brutality". USA Today. Washington D.C. 9 May 2000.
Many schools in Singapore and Malaysia use caning for boys as a routine official punishment for misconduct, as also some African countries. In some Middle Eastern countries whipping is used. (See list of countries, below.)
In many countries, like Thailand, where the corporal punishment of students is technically illegal, it remains widespread and accepted in practice (for both boys and girls).
Effects on students According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), there are three broad rationales for the use of corporal punishment in schools: beliefs, based in traditional religion, that adults have a right, if not a duty, to physically punish misbehaving children; a disciplinary philosophy that corporal punishment builds character, being necessary for the development of a child's conscience and their respect for adult authority figures; and beliefs concerning the needs and rights of teachers, specifically that corporal punishment is essential for maintaining order and control in the classroom.
School teachers and policymakers often rely on personal anecdotes to argue that school corporal punishment improves students' behaviour and achievements. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence showing that corporal punishment leads to better control in the classrooms. In particular, evidence does not suggest that it enhances moral character development, increases students' respect for teachers or other authority figures, or offers greater security for teachers.
A number of medical, pediatric or psychological societies have issued statements opposing all forms of corporal punishment in schools, citing such outcomes as poorer academic achievements, increases in antisocial behaviours, injuries to students, and an unwelcoming learning environment. They include the American Medical Association,"H-515.995 Corporal Punishment in Schools". American Medical Association. the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the AAP, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, the American Psychological Association,"Corporal Punishment". Council Policy Manual. American Psychological Association. 1975. the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Australian Psychological Society, as well as the United States' National Association of Secondary School Principals.
According to the AAP, research shows that corporal punishment is less effective than other methods of behaviour management in schools, and "praise, discussions regarding values, and positive role models do more to develop character, respect, and values than does corporal punishment". They say that evidence links corporal punishment of students to a number of adverse outcomes, including: "increased aggressive and destructive behaviour, increased disruptive classroom behaviour, vandalism, poor school achievement, poor attention span, increased drop-out rate, school avoidance and school phobia, low self-esteem, anxiety, somatic complaints, depression, suicide and retaliation against teachers". The AAP recommends a number of alternatives to corporal punishment including various nonviolent behaviour-management strategies, modifications to the school environment, and increased support for teachers.
Injuries to students An estimated 1 to 2 percent of physically punished students in the United States are seriously injured, to the point of needing medical attention. According to the AAP and the Society for Adolescent Medicine, these injuries have included bruises, abrasions, broken bones, whiplash injury, muscle damage, brain injury, and even death. Other reported injuries to students include "sciatic nerve damage", "extensive hematomas", and "life-threatening fat hemorrhage".
Promotion of violence The AAP cautions that there is a risk of corporal punishment in schools fostering the impression among students that violence is an appropriate means for managing others' behaviour. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, "Corporal punishment signals to the child that a way to settle interpersonal conflicts is to use physical force and inflict pain". And according to the Society for Adolescent Medicine, "The use of corporal punishment in schools promotes a very precarious message: that violence is an acceptable phenomenon in our society. It sanctions the notion that it is meritorious to be violent toward our children, thereby devaluing them in society's eyes. It encourages children to resort to violence because they see their authority figures or substitute parents doing it ... Violence is not acceptable and we must not support it by sanctioning its use by such authority figures as school officials".
Alternatives The Society for Adolescent Medicine recommends developing "a milieu of effective communication, in which the teacher displays an attitude of respect for the students", as well as instruction that is stimulating and appropriate to student's abilities, various nonviolent behaviour modification techniques, and involving students and parents in making decisions about school matters such as rules and educational goals. They suggest that student self-governance can be an effective alternative for managing disruptive classroom behaviour, while stressing the importance of adequate training and support for teachers.
The AAP remarks that there has been "no reported increase in disciplinary problems in schools following the elimination of corporal punishment" according to evidence.
Student rights
A number of international human-rights organizations including the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have stated that physical punishment of any kind is a violation of children's human rights.