Attitudes of students, teachers and parents to the use of corporal punishment in Tanzanian secondary schools

This study is aimed at investigating the attitudes of secondary school students, teachers and parents towards the use of corporal punishment in secondary schools in Tanzania. About fourteen years have now passed since the policy of socialism and Education for self-reliance was declared in 1967 in Tanzania. Whereas the policy is geared towards inculcating in young people a sense of self-discipline, self-confidence, creativity, socialist attitudes and a sense of responsibility to the society, educational philosophers and psychologists tell us that corporal punishment creates in the child a tendency to blind imitation, discipline of fear, lack of self-confidence and lack of creativity. While in many countries, especially those with similar policy, corporal punishment has been abolished, in Tanzania it is still widely used in the schools. It was therefore contended that there is a contradiction between the country’ policy of socialism and education for self-reliance and its practice in the use of corporal punishment in schools. It was further claimed that the use of the cane in the schools is part of the colonization process’ and therefore contrary to the policy of socialism and education for relief-reliance (Mbilinyi, 1975). Thus, with fourteen years of the country’s policy of socialism and education for self-reliance which is geared towards liberation, development and democratization, and with so much politicization of the people, and given the aforesaid contradiction between the policy and practice, it was thought that the majority of the people in Tanzania are now of the opinion that corporal punishment should be abolished in secondary schools. Conceptual framework was started in October 1980 at the University of Dar es Salaam. Literature on punishments, to discipline in schools was surveyed, with the purpose of finding out alternative treatments for positive effects and for training youths in schools so that they become more self-disciplined and responsible people with the desired socialist attitudes. Field work was carried out in March 1981 in Dar es Salaam and Tanga regions. Two basic methods were used to gather information. These were questionnaires and interviews. The population of which a fairly sample was selected included 335 secondary school students, 60 secondary school teachers and 100 parents of whom were men and women of different occupations including education officers at district and regional levels. A few respondents were educational officials working at the Ministry Headquarters in Dar es Salaam. Findings indicated that the majority of students wanted corporal punishment to be abolished and be made illegal in our schools, while the majority of teachers and parents suggested that it should be used only for specific offences that they suggested. Various reasons were also given for their arguments. Suggestions of alternative treatments that should be used instead of corporal punishment were given. It was also discovered from the findings that, while the country is trying to build socialism and to inculcate socialist attitudes in the youths, the majority of teachers and parents have not yet achieved enough political consciousness and awareness that can be reflected in their practical day to day activities. The majority of them are not really devoted to the ideology, and a lot of what is said about socialism exists only in theory and not in practice. So, in terms of practice, there has been little, or no change at all as regards the teachers’ and the parents’ attitudes towards the use of corporal punishment in schools. This appeared to be the core of the problem. Upon these findings the following recommendations were suggested: (i) If Tanzania is determined to create true socialist men and women out of its youths, serious considerations should be made by the Ministry of National Education and the Government to look into the possibility of abolishing corporal punishment in our school; such a punishment has no place in the process of training and crating this type of people. (ii) Other effective alternative treatments, which teachers can use with more psychological therapy in our schools, should be applied instead of corporal punishment. (iii) If it is necessary that corporal punishment should continue to be used in our schools, more serious regulations should be made to the effect that it should be used very rarely and for serious specified offences, especially because of the negative and destructive effects that it causes both psychologically and behaviourally. (iv) A campaign similar to that of “MTU NI AFYA” should be organized by the Ministry of National Education to educate the whole Tanzanian population about the ill-effects of using corporal punishment to children, pupils and students. (v) Another research was suggested that could go further to investigate and find out which one among the alternative treatments suggested in the findings , can be best and most effective in training the youths for self-discipline and consciousness, for inculcation of socialist attitudes and for responsibilities in the society.