Teachers’ Attitude towards Corporal Punishment: Elementary Schools of the Central Zone of Tigray Region in Ethiopia in Focus

Abstract

Despite the plethora of policy and legal instruments banning corporal punishment (CP) in schools and the sea of knowledge about the negative consequences of CP in children, CP occupies a significant place in the scheme of affairs of schools across the globe. Ethiopia too is not an exception. Teachers’ attitude towards CP can predict their application of it. This investigation thus was designed to assess the magnitude and nature of teachers’ attitude towards CP and its association with various teacher variables. Data were collected through an individually administered instrument pack with three sections including a CorpAtt Scale from a sample of 199 first cycle government elementary school teachers of the Central Zone of Tigray Region in Ethiopia drawn using multistage cluster sampling procedure. The results revealed that teachers hold predominantly positive attitude towards CP. Teacher variables such as duration of service, perceived knowledge about problem behavior and its school based management, confidence in managing problem behavior with and without applying CP and the locale of schools are found to be associated with their attitude towards CP. Gender, age and status of training in special needs education were found not to be associated with their attitudes. Implications of the revelations are discussed against teacher education and training and policy management in the Ethiopian context.

Keywords: attitude, behavior management, corporal punishment, elementary school, Ethiopia