Publication Date

Spring 2021

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

Advisor

Robert Gliner

Keywords

caning, child abuse, corporal punishment, flogging, school discipline

Subject Areas

Educational leadership

Abstract

In Nigeria, corporal punishment is used widely in Nigeria’s judicial system, the home, and the classroom. The prevalent opinion in the education community is that corporal punishment helps students learn better and faster, keeps order in the classroom, and promotes a high student performance level. Reliance on corporal punishment is embedded in the religious, cultural, social, and moral beliefs and understanding of life. Corporal punishment takes many forms, but the most common in the school system is caning or flogging, which is the forceful and severe striking of the student’s body, using a stick of wood, usually on the back, buttocks, legs, or hands. This dissertation investigates corporal punishment's impacts in Eastern Nigerian learning environments using the documentary exploratory research method. The researcher used observation and direct interviews with administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community members to document supporting and dissenting attitudes toward corporal punishment, as well as possible alternative disciplinary methods and ways to change the system. The Body Listens More Than the Ear is the documentary film that represents the findings from the study.

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