‘Can I really teach without my magic cane?’ Teachers’ responses to the banning of corporal punishment

Abstract

This paper reports on how teachers are responding to students' inappropriate behaviours in public primary schools in Bangladesh. Data in this study were collected after the adoption of a recent government policy that has abolished corporal punishment in primary schools. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with 22 teachers from six public primary schools in one district in Bangladesh. Thematic analysis technique was used to analyse the data. The results revealed that the majority of teachers were in favour of using reactive approaches to responding to students' inappropriate behaviours. The findings also indicated that teachers were largely unaware of preventative or positive strategies to teach students who behave inappropriately in the classroom. This paper reports the implications of the findings for policy-makers, and university and school educators.

Keywords:

• inappropriate behaviour
• teachers' attitudes
• corporal punishment
• caning
• proactive and reactive approaches

Notes on contributors

Md. Saiful Malak is pursuing Doctoral studies in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. He is Assistant Professor and chairman of the Department of Special Education at the Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is a member of Golden Key International Honour Society in Griffith University, Australia. His research interests include teacher attitudes and preparedness regarding special and inclusive education, student challenging behaviour, and disability studies. He publishes a good number of journal articles and book chapters and contributes to the development of inclusive education in the context of Bangladesh.

Umesh Sharma is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. He is the Course Leader of inclusive and special education programs in the Faculty. He is the coordinator of an international project that examines why teachers are apprehensive to work with students with disabilities, particularly those with challenging behaviours, and what could be done to improve teachers’ efficacy to teach in inclusive schools. His other areas of research include inclusive education in developing countries and positive behaviour support. He is the Chief Co-Editor of the Australasian Journal of Special Education.

Joanne M. Deppeler is Professor and Associate Dean of Research Degrees in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. She has extensive experience in leading teacher and school research and development projects with a particular focus on improving educational outcomes for students who are disadvantaged by personal or social circumstances including those with disabilities. She publishes widely and contributes to the professional and policy domains at state, national and international levels.