CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Provision of quality education and training is the ultimate goal of any educational system. The success of teaching is reflected by academic performance of students. This goal can never be achieved without school discipline. How students are disciplined has been an issue since the inception of public education. In 1770, William Blackstone applied the phrase in loco parentis, which literally means in place of the parents, to educators. In loco parentis gave teachers the ability to act in place of the parent in response to disciplinary actions (Conte, 2000). In loco parentis was implemented in schools in the early 1900s, and with it came corporal punishment.

Victorian era parents believed children who were lazy and insubordinate were alienating themselves from God, and teachers were thought to be the perfect authority figure to ensure alienation did not occur (Parker-Jenkins, 1997). During this time period corporal punishment was viewed as necessary to produce citizens who conformed to the norms of society, beat out sin, and ensure learning occurred (Parker Jenkins, 1997). The book of Proverbs in the Bible advocates the use of a rod, i.e. corporal punishment, to save children’s souls from death. Therefore, teachers began administering corporal punishment for acts of wrong doing by their charges (Conte, 2000).