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The purpose of this study was to determine whether teachers' sense of efficacy influences their attitude towards the use of physical punishment in schools. There were two groups of participants in the study: pre-service and in-service early childhood teachers. The sample was made up of 78 in-service teachers from two different school districts and 61 pre-service teachers from a mid-western university early childhood education preparation program. There were multiple significant findings in the study. Teachers who value developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) significantly use non-punitive responses more frequently. Values about corporal punishment and self efficacy were not related to non-punitive responses. Teachers in the school district that allows principal-approved corporal punishment were less likely to use non-punitive responses. Inservice teachers used more punitive responses than the pre-service teachers. However, overall referral to principal for corporal punishment did not seem to be related to teacher efficacy, thus, leading us to believe that teacher efficacy and teachers' attitudes towards physical punishment are completely unrelated, and may be two different constructs.
A teacher's positive sense of efficacy in a classroom is linked to positive experiences and outcomes, including the use of more developmentally appropriate teaching practices, such as positive classroom management techniques (Cousins & Walker, 2000; Guskey, 1987). Bandura (1994) defines efficacy as the way people see their ability to handle different occurrences in their lives. The researcher asserts that beliefs about self-efficacy affect decisions people make in their lives, their motivation levels, and how they deal with daily stress. A teacher's job is not an easy one. They have to meet many daily demands including welcoming the children, keeping them safe, reporting attendance, teaching a curriculum to a group of children with differentiated instructional and emotional needs, managing the classroom, administering and interpreting assessment tools, meeting the needs of children with delays and disabilities in their inclusive setting, collaborating with fellow teachers in planning and implementation, engaging and communicating with parents, and many more. It is without a doubt a stressful job.
A teacher's response to children's misbehavior may be characterized by reasoning, re-directing, mediating, or may include threatening and yelling, and at times even referrals to the principal's office. In the United States, corporal punishment (i.e., physical punishment) in schools is legal in 19 of...