STRATEGIES TEACHERS USE TO IMPLEMENT POSITIVE DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS

Abstract

The use of corporal punishment is still prevalent in South African schools. Statistics South Africa report about 50 per cent of learners are exposed to corporal punishment in the KwaZulu Natal region. In comparison, in Gauteng, 34 per cent of learners are subjected to corporal punishment and in the Eastern Cape, it is close to 20 per cent. In essence, corporal punishment has been illegalized, yet it still manifests in schools. The study explored the strategies teachers use to implement positive discipline in schools. The findings revealed a variety of strategies teachers use with the code of conduct as the most important strategy to implement positive discipline. However, the findings also revealed that many participants believed that using a code of conduct (or positive discipline) to enhance positive behavior was a waste of time and ineffective. Thus, continued to use negative disciplinary measures to deal with misbehaving learners.