Prevalence and factors associated with experience of corporal punishment in public schools in South Africa.

<h4>Background</h4>Corporal punishment (CP) is still a common practice in schools globally. Although illegal, studies in South Africa report its continued use, but only a few have explored factors associated with school CP. Moreover, extant studies have not shown the interrelationships b...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Pinky Mahlangu, Esnat Chirwa, Mercilene Machisa, Yandisa Sikweyiya, Nwabisa Shai, Rachel Jewkes
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:
R
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/bbe01f39a4944aa8ad58a8f7dadffdf5
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:bbe01f39a4944aa8ad58a8f7dadffdf5
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:bbe01f39a4944aa8ad58a8f7dadffdf52021-12-02T20:18:20ZPrevalence and factors associated with experience of corporal punishment in public schools in South Africa.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0254503https://doaj.org/article/bbe01f39a4944aa8ad58a8f7dadffdf52021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254503https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>Corporal punishment (CP) is still a common practice in schools globally. Although illegal, studies in South Africa report its continued use, but only a few have explored factors associated with school CP. Moreover, extant studies have not shown the interrelationships between explanatory factors. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with learners' experiences, and to examine pathways to the learners' experiences of CP at school.<h4>Method</h4>3743 grade 8 learners (2118 girls and 1625 boys) from 24 selected public schools in Tshwane, South Africa, enrolled in a cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating a multi-component school-based intervention to prevent intimate partner violence, and completed self-administered questionnaires. We carried out descriptive analysis, simple linear and structural equation modelling to examine factors and pathways to the learners' experience of CP at school.<h4>Results</h4>About 52% of learners had experienced CP at school in the last 6 months. It was higher among boys compared to girls. Experience of CP at school amongst learners was associated with learner behavior, home environment, and school environment. Learners from households with low-socio economic status (SES) had an increased risk of CP experience at school. Amongst boys, low family SES status was associated with a negative home environment and had a direct negative impact on a learner's mental health, directly associated with misbehavior.<h4>Conclusion</h4>CP in public schools in South Africa continues despite legislation prohibiting its use. While addressing learner behaviour is critical, evidence-based interventions addressing home and school environment are needed to change the culture among teachers of using corporal punishment to discipline adolescents and inculcate one that promotes positive discipline.Pinky MahlanguEsnat ChirwaMercilene MachisaYandisa SikweyiyaNwabisa ShaiRachel JewkesPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 8, p e0254503 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
Pinky Mahlangu
Esnat Chirwa
Mercilene Machisa
Yandisa Sikweyiya
Nwabisa Shai
Rachel Jewkes
Prevalence and factors associated with experience of corporal punishment in public schools in South Africa.
description <h4>Background</h4>Corporal punishment (CP) is still a common practice in schools globally. Although illegal, studies in South Africa report its continued use, but only a few have explored factors associated with school CP. Moreover, extant studies have not shown the interrelationships between explanatory factors. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with learners' experiences, and to examine pathways to the learners' experiences of CP at school.<h4>Method</h4>3743 grade 8 learners (2118 girls and 1625 boys) from 24 selected public schools in Tshwane, South Africa, enrolled in a cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating a multi-component school-based intervention to prevent intimate partner violence, and completed self-administered questionnaires. We carried out descriptive analysis, simple linear and structural equation modelling to examine factors and pathways to the learners' experience of CP at school.<h4>Results</h4>About 52% of learners had experienced CP at school in the last 6 months. It was higher among boys compared to girls. Experience of CP at school amongst learners was associated with learner behavior, home environment, and school environment. Learners from households with low-socio economic status (SES) had an increased risk of CP experience at school. Amongst boys, low family SES status was associated with a negative home environment and had a direct negative impact on a learner's mental health, directly associated with misbehavior.<h4>Conclusion</h4>CP in public schools in South Africa continues despite legislation prohibiting its use. While addressing learner behaviour is critical, evidence-based interventions addressing home and school environment are needed to change the culture among teachers of using corporal punishment to discipline adolescents and inculcate one that promotes positive discipline.
format article
author Pinky Mahlangu
Esnat Chirwa
Mercilene Machisa
Yandisa Sikweyiya
Nwabisa Shai
Rachel Jewkes
author_facet Pinky Mahlangu
Esnat Chirwa
Mercilene Machisa
Yandisa Sikweyiya
Nwabisa Shai
Rachel Jewkes
author_sort Pinky Mahlangu
title Prevalence and factors associated with experience of corporal punishment in public schools in South Africa.
title_short Prevalence and factors associated with experience of corporal punishment in public schools in South Africa.
title_full Prevalence and factors associated with experience of corporal punishment in public schools in South Africa.
title_fullStr Prevalence and factors associated with experience of corporal punishment in public schools in South Africa.
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence and factors associated with experience of corporal punishment in public schools in South Africa.
title_sort prevalence and factors associated with experience of corporal punishment in public schools in south africa.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/bbe01f39a4944aa8ad58a8f7dadffdf5
work_keys_str_mv AT pinkymahlangu prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithexperienceofcorporalpunishmentinpublicschoolsinsouthafrica
AT esnatchirwa prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithexperienceofcorporalpunishmentinpublicschoolsinsouthafrica
AT mercilenemachisa prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithexperienceofcorporalpunishmentinpublicschoolsinsouthafrica
AT yandisasikweyiya prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithexperienceofcorporalpunishmentinpublicschoolsinsouthafrica
AT nwabisashai prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithexperienceofcorporalpunishmentinpublicschoolsinsouthafrica
AT racheljewkes prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithexperienceofcorporalpunishmentinpublicschoolsinsouthafrica
_version_ 1718374308721459200