Reconceptualising the management of classroom discipline: A contextual analysis

Abstract

Classroom management discourses are ongoing, due to their implications on teaching and learning. This qualitative paper explores the management of learner discipline in three public primary schools in the postcorporal-punishment era in South Africa, to understand the role context plays. Nine educators, purposely selected, participated in semi-structured interviews. Unstructured observations in Grade 7 classrooms provided information on how educators manage learner discipline practically, and validated what educators articulated during the interviews. The findings of the paper argue that although educators do not have the capabilities to manage learner discipline, context unarguably plays a major role in derailing attempts made. Existing challenges have negative implications for learners' educational wellbeing. The paper concludes by suggesting the necessity of empowering educators with skills to assist them, when managing classroom discipline, and the need to initiate context-specific strategies that align with the demands of using alternatives to corporal punishment.