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Corporal punishment: cultural-historical and socio-cultural practices of teachers in a South African primary school
In this study, corporal punishment refers to the administration of physical pain to children by teachers with the purpose of disciplining them. It is a phenomenon that occurs in South African primary schooling despite its legal abolition two decades ago. Anecdotal evidence suggests that teachers, pa...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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School of Education
2017
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| _version_ | 1867613311178113024 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Mayisela, Simangele Gladys |
| author2 | Muthivhi, Azwihangwisi E |
| author_browse | Mayisela, Simangele Gladys Muthivhi, Azwihangwisi E |
| author_facet | Muthivhi, Azwihangwisi E Mayisela, Simangele Gladys |
| author_sort | Mayisela, Simangele Gladys |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | In this study, corporal punishment refers to the administration of physical pain to children by teachers with the purpose of disciplining them. It is a phenomenon that occurs in South African primary schooling despite its legal abolition two decades ago. Anecdotal evidence suggests that teachers, particularly those who have been culturally exposed to corporal punishment and other forms of violence, believe that corporal punishment is still an effective mode of disciplining children. Drawing on Vygotsky's cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), this study seeks to investigate how the notion of historical and cultural genesis of higher psychological functions can explain the continuing use of corporal punishment in schools. A qualitative methodology, employing observations and interviews as data collection methods in a case of a rural public school in Mpumalanga was adopted, where teachers, parents and children were participants in the study. Data was analysed thematically within the CHAT framework to address the main research question: What cultural-historical and socio-cultural processes account for the teachers' continuing use of corporal punishment in a South African rural primary school? Findings suggest that corporal punishment manifests as a socially mediated tool used within an object-oriented cultural activity and a historically-bound activity systems. Through the analysis of the contradictions embedded within and between the activity system(s), possibilities for transformation were revealed. The intrapsychological processes and nuances of the internalisation of corporal punishment by individuals and the collective show that corporal punishment is likely to compromise the development some higher psychological functions related to discipline like problem-solving, self-regulation, sequencing and agency. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/24915 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:34:06.076Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | School of Education |
| publisherStr | School of Education |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/24915 Corporal punishment: cultural-historical and socio-cultural practices of teachers in a South African primary school Mayisela, Simangele Gladys Muthivhi, Azwihangwisi E Pendlebury, Shirley Education In this study, corporal punishment refers to the administration of physical pain to children by teachers with the purpose of disciplining them. It is a phenomenon that occurs in South African primary schooling despite its legal abolition two decades ago. Anecdotal evidence suggests that teachers, particularly those who have been culturally exposed to corporal punishment and other forms of violence, believe that corporal punishment is still an effective mode of disciplining children. Drawing on Vygotsky's cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), this study seeks to investigate how the notion of historical and cultural genesis of higher psychological functions can explain the continuing use of corporal punishment in schools. A qualitative methodology, employing observations and interviews as data collection methods in a case of a rural public school in Mpumalanga was adopted, where teachers, parents and children were participants in the study. Data was analysed thematically within the CHAT framework to address the main research question: What cultural-historical and socio-cultural processes account for the teachers' continuing use of corporal punishment in a South African rural primary school? Findings suggest that corporal punishment manifests as a socially mediated tool used within an object-oriented cultural activity and a historically-bound activity systems. Through the analysis of the contradictions embedded within and between the activity system(s), possibilities for transformation were revealed. The intrapsychological processes and nuances of the internalisation of corporal punishment by individuals and the collective show that corporal punishment is likely to compromise the development some higher psychological functions related to discipline like problem-solving, self-regulation, sequencing and agency. 2017-08-21T14:15:12Z 2017-08-21T14:15:12Z 2017 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24915 eng application/pdf School of Education Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Education Mayisela, Simangele Gladys Corporal punishment: cultural-historical and socio-cultural practices of teachers in a South African primary school |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | Corporal punishment: cultural-historical and socio-cultural practices of teachers in a South African primary school |
| title_full | Corporal punishment: cultural-historical and socio-cultural practices of teachers in a South African primary school |
| title_fullStr | Corporal punishment: cultural-historical and socio-cultural practices of teachers in a South African primary school |
| title_full_unstemmed | Corporal punishment: cultural-historical and socio-cultural practices of teachers in a South African primary school |
| title_short | Corporal punishment: cultural-historical and socio-cultural practices of teachers in a South African primary school |
| title_sort | corporal punishment cultural historical and socio cultural practices of teachers in a south african primary school |
| topic | Education |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24915 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mayiselasimangelegladys corporalpunishmentculturalhistoricalandsocioculturalpracticesofteachersinasouthafricanprimaryschool |