NCJ Number
148163
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1994) Pages: 377- 386
Date Published
1994
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The attitudes of elementary school children in Barbados toward corporal punishment were surveyed.
Abstract
Corporal punishment is permitted in Barbadian schools. In 1990, a questionnaire was administered to 290 Barbadian top-rate students (125 boys, 165 girls) aged 10 and 11. About three-quarters said they approved of the use of flogging/caning on students in their own age bracket (7 to 11 years old); half approved of the practice on 11- to 16- year-olds; and just under one-third considered it appropriate for 5- to 7-year-olds. There were no significant gender differences. However, the students considered corporal punishment unfair when used indiscriminately for all offenses, or as chastisement for poor academic performance, or when insufficient care is taken to single out actual culprits. As in previous studies, those least likely to be flogged themselves were least likely to think that such punishment was overused. Unlike in other studies, the students did show preference for a notion that only the head teacher should be allowed to administer flogging. This was due in part to an acceptance of flogging as a general "ritual of authority," and fear of the head teacher as a particularly hard flogger. It is speculated that rates of approval would be lower among lesser students. 5 tables, 18 references