Abstract:
This research was conducted to investigate the views of basic school teachers about the
ban on corporal punishment in Wassa Amenfi West Municipality, Ghana. The study
specifically sought to achieve three objectives: to explore the perception of teachers about
the ban on corporal punishment in basic schools; to examine the teachers’ views about how
the ban on corporal punishment is affecting their work as teachers, and to determine
alternative measures, instead of corporal punishment, used by teachers in basic schools.
The study adopted a descriptive survey research design with a population of 720 public
basic school teachers. The simple random technique was used to select 180 respondents
for the study. Questionnaires were used to collect the data from the teachers. Data collected
were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings reported that most
teachers have a negative perception towards the ban on corporal punishment, preferring its
use in managing student discipline. The findings of the study revealed that the ban on
corporal punishment has a negative impact on the work of teachers since it has made their
jobs more difficult and has increased their stress levels. Alternative strategies often
suggested by teachers instead of corporal punishment include guidance and counselling,
manual labor, establishing rules and regulations with students, removing certain privileges
from students, and suspension. It was recommended that the Ghanaian government,
through the Ministry of education, modify the law concerning the ban of corporal
punishment to allow for limited use of corporal punishment rather than outlaw it entirely
because the ban on corporal punishment has some negative impact on teachers' work. The
researcher strongly recommend that the Ministry of Education should organize seminars,
conferences, workshops, and other symposia on alternative strategies to deal with
indiscipline issues in the absence of corporal punishment.
Description:
A dissertation in the Department of Educational Foundations,
Faculty of Educational Studies, submitted to the school of
Graduate Studies, in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Post Graduate Diploma
(Education)
in the University of Education, Winneba
JANUARY, 2023