Ban on corporal punishment in schools the views of basic school teachers in Wassa Amenfi West Municipality, Ghana

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.