Administration of punishment in school

Abstract

Giving consideration to punishment, one of the inevitable elements of school discipline, always reactivates the issue of punishment administration and its effects in school setting. Punishment is administered by a beforehand-determined intention, its general and final goal being the attempt to make a child change his/her behavior so as to more successfully take part in school life. The issue of how much it is justifiable to administer punishment, as a way of directing child’s behavior, is not only raised in professional discussions but occurs as a personal dilemma with parents, teachers and all those involved in child upbringing. The definition of punishment contains certain incompatible elements in attitudes, which is reflected in punishment administration within different social contexts. Based on the analysis of research results, the paper discusses all the elements the teacher should be well acquainted with, influencing the effectiveness of punishment. The effects of punishment administration depend, among other things, on the type of punishment, way in which a person experiences and perceives punishment and the way of administering it. Prior to punishment administration, as a means of directing child’s behavior factors influencing successfulness of punishment should be established consistency in punishment administration, postponement of punishment intensity of punishment, explanation for punishment administration, nature of interrelations between a child and a person punishing him/her.

Keywords

• punishment
• negative reinforcement
• school
• teachers
• students