Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders
Document Type
Learning Object
Date of this Version
1-2014
Citation
Strategy brief
Building and Sustaining Student Engagement series (January 2014)
Barkley Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Abstract
Conclusion
Corporal punishment is a controversial form of discipline that can evoke strong emotions from parents and the general public based on ethical and moral issues. In states that allow corporal punishment, it is important to make sure policies and procedures are in place to administer corporal punishment in order to let parents know what to expect with this form of discipline and to maintain legality of the procedures. Corporal punishment does in fact offer an alternative to exclusionary disciplinary consequences. As a result, schools where it is employed might have lower numbers of suspensions compared to schools where it is not used. Nevertheless, there is little evidence that it is effective in the long run as a tool to diminish inappropriate behavior in school.
Regardless of these factors the over-riding issues appear to center around the moral and ethical issues which this type of discipline engenders as reflected in the Society of Adolescent Medicine’s 2003 summary position:
The Society for Adolescent Medicine concludes that corporal punishment in schools is an ineffective, dangerous, and unacceptable method of discipline. The use of corporal punishment in the school reinforces physical aggression as an acceptable and effective means of eliminating unwanted behavior in our society. We join many other national and international organizations recommending that it be banned and urge that nonviolent methods of class-room control be utilized in our school systems.
Corporal punishment is a traditional disciplinary consequence which creates moral and ethical concerns, and is without evidence regarding effectiveness in changing student behavior. No endorsement of its use should be implied in this Brief!