The challenges of managing learner discipline : the case study of two schools in Pinetown district.
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Date
2013
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Abstract
This study investigated the challenges of managing learner discipline. A case study was
conducted in two schools, the secondary and the primary schools in Pinetown District in
KwaZulu Natal. The aim of this study was to investigate what challenges educators face in
the management of learner discipline. This qualitative study was set in the interpretivist
paradigm. The research tools compromise of semi-structured interviews and documents
review. The theoretical frameworks that inform this study are behavioural modification
model by Skinner, (1992), The Choice theory by Glasser, (1998) and assertive discipline
model by Canter, (2007). International and local literature that foregrounds and supports the
study were reviewed. Analysis of different contexts was made to inform the challenges of
managing learner discipline problems in schools. The findings of this study revealed that
teachers from very different schools, primary and secondary, felt that learners were becoming
more unruly and less respectful than they used to be in the past. They further stated that the
lack of discipline among learners makes it impossible to teach effectively.
Educators identified some of the challenges they face such as bullying and intimidation,
sexual harassment, drugs and alcohol abuse and carrying of dangerous weapons to schools.
Furthermore, the findings revealed that lack of parent involvement in school, home and
family background, abuse of various types, balance between learner rights and
responsibilities, peer pressure, the role of media and politics were the biggest cause of
disciplinary problems. Educators suggested that alternatives measures to corporal
punishment were not very effective in curbing learner indiscipline in schools. They found it
difficult to choose and implement the correct alternatives to corporal punishment.
Some of the recommendations based on the findings are that, at the beginning of the school
year, the principal and educators should orientate learners about the code of conduct and
school rules. Rules and the consequences of breaking them should be clearly indicated to
learners during assembly. Active parental involvement in the lives of their children is crucial
for the management of discipline at school. Teachers should acquaint themselves and learn
to know learner home backgrounds in order to understand learners they are dealing with. In-service
workshops for all teachers across the country to be trained in alternatives to corporal
punishment should be organised by the Department of Education. Professional support i.e.
psychologists or educational counsellors should be increased to support schools.
Description
Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.
Keywords
School discipline--KwaZulu-Natal--Pinetown., Discipline of children--KwaZulu-Natal--Pinetown., Classroom management--KwaZulu-Natal--Pinetown., Effective teaching--KwaZulu-Natal--Pinetown., Theses--Education.