After an earlier post on corporal punishment in Nigerian schools, where its widespread use, factors encouraging it and its effects on individuals were highlighted, I thought it wise to also write about feasible alternatives to this method of behaviour control and discipline.
The ideas offered in this post, far from being original, are based on principles of psychology. Educational psychology offers teachers several effective methods of handling indiscipline and antisocial behaviour.
With the increasing campaign against the use of corporal punishment in homes and schools, the urgent need for teachers to begin applying some basic principles of educational psychology has become more important.
The following are some alternatives to corporal punishment.
Guidance and Counselling
It is a known fact that many schools operated by both government and private owners in Nigeria rarely have a functional guidance and counselling unit or department. In cases where one exists, little impact may be made in shaping students’ behaviour.
Personally, I was “privileged” to attend a secondary school that had a guidance and counselling department, but most of us—the students—neither knew about nor appreciated its services.
Guidance and counselling is one of the major practical applications of educational psychology. It has the potential not only to shape students’ present behaviour but also to influence their future choices. It is one of the greatest tools available for behaviour control and discipline.
In schools where there is no department dedicated to guidance and counselling, the responsibility falls collectively and individually on the teachers.
One-on-one and group counselling should be carried out regularly in response to new or existing behavioural challenges.
For instance, if a student has the habit of arriving late at school, rather than using corporal punishment, the proper approach would be to investigate the problem, identify the reasons for the habitual lateness and offer appropriate guidance.
Sometimes, the problem may be traced to the child’s home. In such cases, the parents should be involved in finding a solution.
Adolescents are among the most difficult groups of students to guide. Nonetheless, teachers should demonstrate the highest level of professionalism when handling and correcting their behaviour.
Understanding their stage of human development is very important. Possible factors influencing any observed antisocial behaviour should first be investigated before counselling begins.
Students at this stage may display increased disobedience, aggression, sexual awareness and other challenging behaviours.
Guidance and counselling—not caning—is a better method of addressing these problems. For counselling to succeed, factors such as peer pressure, films, games and harmful internet content should be considered.
In serious cases, the support of parents should be sought in monitoring the child’s activities at home, including internet use, television content, video games and the company the child keeps.
With the right knowledge, guidance and counselling is an important tool that all teachers can use to correct students’ behaviour and maintain discipline.
Positive Reinforcement and Praise
This is one alternative to corporal punishment that teachers often underuse.
The power of praise and reward for correct actions or behaviour has been shown to be effective in shaping and modifying behaviour.
When desirable behaviour is recognised and rewarded, students are more likely to repeat it. When wrong behaviour receives no positive reinforcement, it may gradually reduce.
If this method is properly applied from an early age, the result can be impressive, and students may no longer require caning before they behave appropriately.
Praise and rewards can also create healthy competition among students.
For instance, if a student is praised and rewarded in the presence of classmates for always arriving at school early or maintaining a neat appearance, other students may be encouraged to display similar behaviour.
Praise may be given verbally or in writing. Teachers can write positive comments in students’ exercise books and report cards or recognise good conduct during assemblies.
Rewards may include exercise books, writing materials, textbooks, certificates or positions of responsibility such as school prefectship.
Where the criteria for positions of responsibility are clearly announced in advance, students may be encouraged to compete positively by displaying the desired behaviour.
Both rewards and praise can help shape students’ behaviour and reduce the need for caning or other forms of corporal punishment.
Contrary to popular belief, much money is not required to apply these methods. The most important resources are the commitment of teachers and school management to recognising and rewarding good behaviour.
Suspension
Suspension is one of the more serious methods of discipline. However, when carefully used in cases of serious indiscipline or social misconduct, it may help with behaviour control.
A common mistake by some school managements is to use suspension only after repeated corporal punishment has failed.
In such cases, suspension becomes an act of desperation rather than part of a planned process of correction and rehabilitation.
One proper way to use suspension is to precede it with counselling and follow it with a planned programme of rehabilitation when the student returns.
During a discussion on an unrelated matter, a student once told me that being suspended from school for one week was the worst punishment he had ever received for indiscipline, disobedience and “stubbornness”.
According to him, it was worse than all the corporal punishments he had received for similar offences. More importantly, it was the only punishment that changed his behaviour.
What made the punishment especially difficult was watching his classmates and friends leave for and return from school while he remained at home, where he was sent on errands around the village or required to work on the farm.
The school was located in a rural farming community and had no formal guidance and counselling department.
The new principal believed that suspension was a better method of discipline than corporal punishment. In this case, even according to the student’s testimony, the method worked.
Suspension should, however, be used carefully because keeping a student away from school may also affect learning.
Where it is necessary, it should involve the cooperation of the parents, clear conditions for the student’s return and proper follow-up after the suspension.
No Single Method Is Enough
In conclusion, no single method described above is an exact replacement for corporal punishment. A combination of guidance and counselling, positive reinforcement, reasonable consequences, parental involvement and careful monitoring may be required.
Teachers must not relent in shaping their students’ behaviour, values and orientation towards the expectations of the wider society.
Discipline without corporal punishment does not mean allowing students to behave as they please. It means correcting behaviour without inflicting unnecessary pain, fear or humiliation.
If teachers perform this responsibility effectively, the prospect of a sane society—free from mob justice, drug abuse, domestic violence, rape and other antisocial behaviour—becomes more realistic.
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