PARENTS’, TEACHERS’ AND HEAD-TEACHERS’ VIEWS ON ABOLISHMENT OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KASAMA URBAN OF NORTHERN ZAMBIA

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish views of parents, teachers and head teachers on the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools. Three objectives guided the study which were; to assess parents’, teachers’ and head-teachers’ views on the authority of teachers over pupils following the abolishment of corporal punishment; to establish views of parents, teachers and head-teachers on whether loco-parentis existed among teachers following the abolishment of corporal punishment; to explore the views of parents, teachers and head-teachers on the need to incorporate parents on school disciplinary committee as a way of managing pupils’ behaviour in the school system. A descriptive design using qualitative research approach was used to conduct the study. The sample consisted 28 participants comprising 3 head teachers, 15 teachers and 10 parents from 3 selected secondary schools and communities in Kasama district. Purposive procedure was used to select parents and head-teachers while teachers were selected using simple random sampling. The study used semi-structured interviews as data collection tools. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Major findings indicate that the authority of teachers was drastically reduced and affected by the policy. Loco parentis among teachers who taught at the day secondary schools did not exist while it existed at a boarding school due to the nature of the school. In light of these findings, the study recommended incorporation of parents on the school disciplinary committee and strengthen counselling services in schools.

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