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Abstract
Learners' challenging behaviour is a growing concern in primary schools. Reports reveal that many learners in South African primary schools present with challenging behaviour - disrupting lessons, causing chaos, risking learners' and teachers' safety, and interrupting school functionality. A systematic review of literature spanning three decades was conducted to determine whether physical punishment on children leads to the onset of challenging behaviour in primary schools. The social cognitive theory emphasises how children learn and replicate behaviour, and punished children can quickly adopt punishing behaviours themselves. Thematic analysis of forty-five research sources on the impact of physical punishment on children's behaviour identified several primary types of challenging behaviours physically punished children displayed in primary schools. The review established a clear link between physically punished children and the manifestation of challenging behaviour in school settings. These results imply that physical punishment of children can be painful, and the types of challenging behaviour displayed in primary school typically result from physical punishment. These results further imply that physical punishment on children can lead to the onset of challenging behaviour in primary schools. Education stakeholders should consider the behaviours presented in this review to improve and change how they view, support and manage misbehaving children. This should encompass school curriculum and policy reform and practice, including the implementation of relevant intervention strategies such as the '15 key steps to support misbehaving learners: A teacher's guide to effective intervention' as recommended by the findings of this research.
Keywords: Challenging behaviour; physical punishment; physical punishment on children; impact on behaviour; primary schools; review of literature
1. Introduction and background
Physical punishment was accepted globally for decades as a typical response to children's misbehaviour (Naeem et al., 2022; Rimal 8% Pokharel, 2013; Durrant 8: Ensom, 2012). Parents disciplined their children at home by shouting at them and physically punishing them. Similarly, teachers exerted 'corporal punishment' to discipline learners in school (Engelbrecht, 2020; Moyo et al., 2014; Naong, 2007). However, the Abolition of Corporal Punishment Act No. 33 of 1997 (RSA,1997) was commissioned to prohibit corporal punishment on children in schools. Following this, the Children's Act No. 38, 2005 (RSA, 2006) was passed, preventing parents from physically punishing their children or using any other form of punishment. Chapter 1 of the...