Citation

Bailey C, Robinson T, Coore-Desai C. Soc. Econ. Stud. 2014; 63(3/4): 207-233.

Vernacular Title

Castigo Corporal en el Caribe: Actitudes y Prácticas / Châtiments Corporels dans les Caraïbes: Attitudes et les Pratiques

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, University of the West Indies, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

Among the major concerns relating to the current vulnerability of Caribbean youth is the continued use of corporal punishment as a means of disciplining children, by those charged with the responsibility of caring for them. This study was undertaken to obtain data on practices, attitudes, and influencing factors among educators in four islands within the Eastern Caribbean, as they relate to corporal punishment. A questionnaire survey was administered to 835 students and 206 teachers in the four islands and 17 elite interviews were conducted with school Principals. The study revealed widespread acceptance among the various stakeholders-- teachers, students and administrators--of the use of corporal punishment in schools. A lack of administrative acceptance that the practice is wrong, as well as the failure of Caribbean governments, signatories to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to bring their laws in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, have served to undermine positive disciplinary messages and allow such negative practices to continue.

Language: en