NCJ Number
52428
Date Published
1977
Length
13 pages
Annotation
THE HISTORICAL ROLE OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IS DISCUSSED, ALONG WITH ITS PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS, RACE AND CLASS ISSUES, AND SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVES TO THE PHYSICAL DISCIPLINING OF DISRUPTIVE STUDENTS.
Abstract
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IS DEFINED AS THE INFLICTION OF PAIN, LOSS, OR CONFINEMENT AS A PENALTY FOR SOME OFFENSE. DESPITE THE DISAVOWAL OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT BY SO MANY MODERN SOCIETIES, 47 STATES ALLOW OR SPECIFICALLY ENDORSE ITS USE THROUGH LEGISLATION. THIS MAY BE DUE TO SURVIVING CALVINIST ATTITUDES AS WELL AS THE LONG TRADITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT, STRETCHING BACK 5,000 YEARS TO THE SCHOOLS OF ANCIENT SUMER. SOME RESEARCHERS SUGGEST THAT THE USE OF FORCE ON CHILDREN STEMS FROM AN INHERENT CULTURAL BELIEF THAT VIOLENCE IS AN ACCEPTABLE MANNER OF SOLVING PROBLEMS. OTHERS HAVE FOUND THAT AMONG MORE COMPLEX SOCIETIES, WHICH HAVE A GREATER INCIDENCE OF STEALING, SLAVERY, AGGRESSIVE GODS, RIGID CLASS STRATIFICATION, AND WARS, THERE IS A TENDENCEY TOWARD MORE PUNITIVE CHILD REARING PRACTICES. ALTHOUGH THE RESEARCH OF NOTABLE BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS (E.G., SKINNER) HAS OFFERED CONVINCING PROOF THAT THE SYSTEMATIC USE OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS IS A POWERFUL METHOD FOR CHANGING TARGETED BEHAVIORS, RECENT (1977) REVIEWS CAST DOUBTS ON THE EFFICACY OF PUNISHMENT UNDER THE CONDITIONS USED IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. FURTHER, WHILE AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE HAS REVEALED NO ADEQUATE STUDIES OF THE EFFECTS OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT ON ACHIEVEMENT, RESEARCH ON THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF PRAISE, MILD CRITICISM, AND STRONG CRITICISM INDICATES THAT THE LATTER HAS SIGNIFICANTLY NEGATIVE CORRELATIONS WITH ACHIEVEMENT. THERE IS ALSO EVIDENCE THAT WHERE BOTH SUSPENSION AND CORPORAL PUNISHMENT ARE USED, THERE IS A TENDENCY FOR SELECTED GROUPS (I.E., EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED, BLACKS, HISPANICS, POOR WHITE MINORITIES) TO BE THE MOST FREQUENT RECIPIENTS. RESEARCH HAS ALSO INDICATED THAT THE AMOUNT OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT MAY BE RELATED TO THE RATE OF SCHOOL VANDALISM, AND THAT IN SOME SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AS MANY AS 60 PERCENT OF THE TEACHERS STRIKE A STUDENT AT LEAST ONCE A TERM. POPULARLY ACCEPTED BELIEFS ABOUT CORPORAL PUNISHMENT (E.G., OCCASIONAL PADDLING CONTRIBUTES TO CHILD SOCIALIZATION, CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IS THE ONLY RECOURSE FOR MAINTAINING ORDER) ARE LISTED AND DISCUSSED, ALONG WITH SUCH SHORT-RANGE SOLUTIONS AS THE PROVISION OF ALTERNATIVE EXPERIENCES FOR BORED OR UNRECEPTIVE STUDENTS AND SUCH LONG-RANGE REMEDIES AS THE FULL INVOLVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL DECISIONMAKING PROCESS AND ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS WITHIN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (KBL)