Disciplinary Technique Research Articles

How do Turkish mothers discipline children? An analysis from a behavioural perspective

A descriptive study was conducted to assess the disciplinary practices of Turkish mothers for increasing appropriate and decreasing inappropriate behaviours of their children. The participants were 50 mothers of 4- to 6-year-old children receiving preschool education. The data were collected via a questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions. The results revealed that the most frequently used disciplinary technique for strengthening desirable behaviours of children was presenting verbal praise, followed by presenting activity, edible, and social reinforcers whereas the favourite disciplinary technique for overcoming behaviour problems was providing verbal explanations. These findings show that the participants seem to be benefiting from a variety of behavioural techniques for supporting their children's appropriate behaviours. However, they look less competent when it comes to discouraging inappropriate behaviours. These findings are expected to (a) offer an alternative data collection model for assessing parental disciplinary practices, and (b) contribute to designing parent training and family-focused early intervention programmes.

Norms and Criminal Law and the Norms of Criminal Law Scholarship

This article critically reviews the work of the law-and-social norms school of legal scholarship, and its application to criminal law in particular. It argues that this school has gone down a misguided path in purporting to have discovered a distinct and definable approach to law and social behavior. The norms school claims either to reform or fine-tune social science or to add an entirely new phenomenological dimension to social science about criminal law. Yet it performs simplistic extractions from social sciences whose disciplinary rigor it ignores, and claims new disciplinary technique it fails to demonstrate. It is in that sense a symptom of the continuing anxiety of contemporary legal scholarship about its inability to devise a satisfactory alternative to economics or rational choice. The norms school wins short-term political purchase by claiming valence in policy analysis, but it does so in part because, especially in criminal law, a superficial look at norms ties in very easily with short-term cultural, political, and social trends. It also grants itself a normative halo by borrowing from the vocabulary and intellectual capital of the Humanities, but without any of the attention to interpretive complexity the Humanities demands. The article concludes that legal scholars interested in the sources and effects of social norms should return to the well-developed traditions of ethnography and criminology and to a sociology of crime that acknowledges the many-layered effects of labor markets and broad economic forces.

Translating an Eletronic Panopticon Educational technology and the re-articulation of lecturer-student relations in online learning

Around the world universities are currently in the midst of an online learning revolution. Australia is no exception, with new online learning software packages being used throughout the country at various levels of implementation. This paper reports on research conducted at a regional campus in Australia, which is trialing an online educational software package. Using Foucault's writing on disciplinary techniques and the panopticon as a diagram of power in tandem with the translation approach outlined within Actor-Network Theory (ANT), this paper demonstrates how certain functions within an educational software package act interdependently as an electronic disciplinary technique that renders the student as an object, making them knowable to the lecturer and the university. This technologically-mediated objectification of the student enables lecturers to act upon the actions of the student at-a-distance, and thus carries the effects of disciplinary power to them in new ways. The subsequent analysis shows how the introduction of online technology into university education serves to produce multiple translations of disciplinary and counter-disciplinary practices between lecturers and students. The success or failure of the lecturer's attempts to translate the actions of the students through the educational technology was not necessarily related to any intentional resistance by the students. Instead, the production of multiple learning practices produced in association with the online technology served to exacerbate the ambivalent and ambiguous subject positions inhabited by the students. This affected the students' translation of the lecturer's course instructions, resulting in some students engaging in questionable pedagogical practices.

Sex Education as Disciplinary Technique: Policy and Practice in England and Wales

The education of young people about `sex' remains a contentious area. It is suggested that this is because of the socially symbolic nature of sex and the necessary policing of the boundaries of heterosexuality. It is argued that sex education is a technique of governance. Forms of Sex Education are considered in relation to legislation over the last two decades and two models of sex education are proposed, that of `restricted information' and of `empowerment'. This latter seeks to challenge the normativity of functional sex education and to validate the experience of the `sexual other'. It is suggested that by so doing these alternatives also become subject to regulation and monitoring.

The Instrumental Side of Corporal Punishment: Parents' Reported Practices and Outcome Expectancies

We conducted two studies to assess the relations between parental disciplinary practices and outcome expectancies. In the first study, mothers of 36-month-old children responded to vignettes about child misbehaviors. Mothers who reportedly used corporal punishment at least once a week believed that it was more likely to result in positive outcomes, including immediate child compliance, better child behavior in the long term, and less maternal guilt than mothers who never spanked or mothers who spanked only occasionally. Study 2 extended those findings by including fathers, other expectancies, and different types of misbehaviors. No significant differences between mothers and fathers were found, though effects due to membership in the group of parents who spanked were present. Key Words: corporal punishment, discipline, outcome expectancies, parenting. One of the most controversial parenting practices is the use of corporal punishment. Although the effects of corporal punishment on children is undergoing rigorous scientific debate (e.g., Larzerele, 1996; Straus, 1994), less attention has been devoted to why parents spank their children. The available research indicates that the determinants of corporal punishment are manifold, including cultural norms (Piesner, 1989), child characteristics (Day, Peterson, & McCracken, 1999), parental characteristics and beliefs (Socolar & Stein, 1995), and contextual effects, such as momentary outbursts of anger (e.g., Vasta, 1982). Our studies focus on examining aspects of parents' beliefs as determinants of parents' use of corporal punishment. Although spanking may, indeed, be the product of an angry interaction, there is evidence that many parents regard the disciplinary technique as appropriate, effective, and justifiable (Graziano, Hamblen, & Plante, 1996). Simons, Whitbeck, Conger, and Chyi-In (1991) reported that parents who believed in strict, physical discipline were more likely to use corporal punishment than other parents. In an interview study, Socolar and Stein (1995) found that mothers' beliefs in spanking were reliably correlated with their reported spanking practices, r[204] = .46, p But what drives these instrumental beliefs? A look at social information-processing mechanisms (Crick & Dodge, 1994) provides a theoretical model to more systematically examine the instrumental view of corporal punishment. The model includes steps of encoding of cues (e.g., perceiving the appropriate information), interpreting of cues (e.g., attributing the cause), clarifying goals (e.g., determining the objective), generating responses (e.g., response access or construction), selecting the response (e.g., response decision), and enacting behavior (e.g., engaging in the action). This approach prompts several hypotheses about why some parents use corporal punishment. For example, one parent may interpret a child's transgression as more serious and, therefore, more deserving of harsh discipline than another parent. At the stage when responses are generated, parents who resort to corporal punishment may not be able to think of as many alternative disciplinary strategies as other parents. Or when selecting a response, a parent may believe that corporal punishment will result in better outcomes than alternative responses. Among the different stages of information processing, most of the research concerning disciplinary encounters has been devoted to the interpretation of cues, with a focus on attributions. …

Maternal disciplinary practices in an at-risk population.

To describe maternal discipline of children in at-risk families and to determine factors associated with disciplinary practices. Cross-sectional survey. At-risk families in North Carolina followed up in a longitudinal study of child maltreatment. Maternal caregivers of 7- to 9-year-old children with factors at birth that placed them at risk. A total of 186 maternal caregivers were interviewed. A measure, based on coding parental responses, was used to assess disciplinary practices for 5 different misbehaviors. Limit setting was the most commonly used disciplinary practice for 4 of 5 misbehaviors, with 63% of mothers reporting that this method generally worked best. Spanking was more likely used as a secondary response for each misbehavior, when the primary one had not succeeded. Conversely, teaching or verbal assertion was always less likely as a secondary response. Teaching or verbal assertion was used more commonly for lying than for any other misbehavior, limit setting for disobeying, spanking for stealing, and spanking with an object for being disrespectful. Regression modeling for the 4 most common disciplinary practices showed (P<.05) that black race, lack of Aid to Families With Dependent Children receipt, more-educated mothers, and female sex of child were associated with higher use of teaching or verbal assertion; a biological father in the home was associated with less use of limit setting; and black race and report for child maltreatment were associated with more use of mild spanking. In this sample, limit setting was the most common disciplinary technique. Disciplinary practices used varied depending on the type of misbehavior and other contextual factors, including child, parent, and family characteristics.

Pediatric discourse on corporal punishment: A historical review

Corporal punishment is a commonly used, but controversial disciplinary technique. This article reviews the pediatric professional response to corporal punishment over the past century. We focus predominantly on the discourse written to educate pediatricians, for the most part, textbooks. Using the sociologic construction of deviance proposed by Conrad and Schneider, we show how corporal punishment has moved from a condoned behavior to a socially deviant behavior. Based on our review of this literature, we delineate three distinct pediatric professional attitudes toward corporal punishment over this century:(a) corporal punishment as morally sanctioned behavior, (b) corporal punishment as atool for controlling behavior, and (c) corporal punishment as abusive. We show how each of these stances developed and demonstrate how these stances inform paradigms that are still operative today. By reviewing changes in pediatric thought toward corporal punishment, this article provides a useful framework for child health professionals struggling with the appropriateness of corporal punishment as a disciplinary technique.

OM AT VENTE OG IKKE VIDE: Tid og disciplin i en engelsk primary school

Anna Lærke: Waiting Patiently: Time&#x0D; and Discipline in an English Primary&#x0D; School&#x0D; In 1994-96, the author conducted fieldwork&#x0D; among young children in an English village.&#x0D; The article focuses on local notions and&#x0D; practices of discipline in the village primary&#x0D; school, specifically on the use of time as a&#x0D; disciplinary technique. The term “discipline”&#x0D; is used, in a broad sense, to denote practices.&#x0D; strategies, and ideas involved in children’s&#x0D; and adults’ demarcations of one another’s&#x0D; identities. Thus, it is argued, adult and child&#x0D; notions of age as a naturalized measure of&#x0D; children’s (but not adults’) identity, and adult&#x0D; time-controlling practices such as timescheduling&#x0D; and pausing, play into, and in tum&#x0D; construct, notions of “the Child” as more&#x0D; “biologically determined” and less socially&#x0D; skilied than “the Adult”. With reference to&#x0D; examples from the field, the author asks to&#x0D; what extent one can theorize child practices&#x0D; such as “disruptive behaviour” and “slowness”&#x0D; as expressions of pupil resistance to&#x0D; teacher domination in the school. It is&#x0D; tentatively suggested that adult-child relations&#x0D; be viewed not as simple dominationsubordination&#x0D; relations, but rather as complex&#x0D; and continuous negotiations of relative&#x0D; values.

Parental Discipline in Anglo, Greek, Lebanese, and Vietnamese Cultures

The disciplinary practices used by mothers to control their children in four ethnic groups in Australia are compared from a developmental perspective. A vignette approach was used in which each mother was asked to say how she would deal with 12 situations involving her oldest child at 8 years of age and at 4 years of age. The responses were coded as power assertion, love withdrawal, induction, and permissiveness. Twenty mothers of each of the ethnic groups, Geek, Lebanese, Vietamese, and Anglo, from the same socioeconomic level and geographic area were randomly chosen from lists of families that met the criteria for inclusion in the study. The results showed that for all four groups of mothers, power assertion was the most frequently used disciplinary technique. However, power assertion was reported less frequently by the Vietnamese mothers than by mothers from the other ethnic groups. Inductive techniques were relatively more often used with 4-year-old children and mothers were relatively more permissive with 8-year-old children.

Working Class Authoritarianism and Child Socialization: An Australian Study

SynopsisThis paper reviews class differences in patterns of child punishment, and examines the proposition that working-class parents more frequently physically punish their children whereas middle-class parents more often use the disciplinary technique of reasoning with their children. The quantitative data from previous studies which support such claims are found to be limited. New data are presented from a recent Australian survey using mothers’ reports of how they would respond to child misbehaviour. We conclude that in contemporary Australian society there are statistically significant differences in patterns of child disciplinary techniques when stratified by mothers’ education, but that (in the light of methodological and theoretical issues) these differences are relatively modest in magnitude.

Adolescent discipline: Different family members' perception

Adolescence is perhaps the most difficult period of child rearing for parents. This study attempted to identify disciplinary techniques used by parents as perceived by mothers, fathers, and their adolescent children. Results indicated several significant areas of intrafamilial disagreement in regard to disciplinary techniques utilized, although all subjects tended to agree that some form of verbal reasoning was the primary disciplinary technique utilized with these adolescents.

Let's Suspend Suspensions: Consequences and Alternatives

National data dispute the value of school suspensions. This article describes specific alternatives to suspension, with special attention devoted to the creation of “in‐school” suspension programs. It outlines the philosophies, benefits, essential components, and major difficulties of in‐school suspension centers. The author discusses truancy prevention, contingency contracting, and corporal punishment, and provides sources for obtaining detailed information on each disciplinary technique.

Corporal punishment and its implications for exceptional children.

In light of the Supreme Court's recent ruling in the case of Ingraham v. Wright, the use of corporal punishment has again captured the attention of educators. This article traces the legal bases of this disciplinary technique and examines the rationales used to support or oppose its employment. Particular concerns related to the prevalance of corporal punishment with exceptional children and the results of its use on children's learning and behavior are discussed. The authors suggest a moratorium be declared on its usage with exceptional children until such time as its efficacy has been demonstrated.

Difficulties in the use of behavioral techniques by parents in changing child behavior: guides to success.

This paper presents 4 cases in which highly co-operative parents were trained to use behavioral techniques to rectify their children's difficulties. In all of these, serious resistances and difficulties were encountered. In 2 cases, the mothers were successfully trained to use a differential attention procedure in the clinic. Both, however, could not apply this training in the home. A simple disciplinary technique, sitting in the bathroom for misbehavior, was substituted in both cases. This was correctly used in one. However, the father in the second terminated the program because of an extreme self-perceived nonpunitive role. In a 3rd case, the differential attention procedure failed because it apparently required a higher level of interaction with the child than was typical for the parent's reserved lifestyle. Substitution of a simple punishment procedure was immediately effective. In the 4th, home visits made clear the mother's nearly complete inability to stand up to her son's resistances to her commands. A simple behavioral program was developed and implemented at home under the direct scrutiny of a clinic staff member. This developed the necessary confidence in the mother to extend the program independently. These “difficulties” are discussed to emphasize some of the necessary conditions for successful behavioral programs using parents.

Economic Subjectivities in Higher Education: Self, Policy and Practice in the Knowledge Economy

This article considers higher education in the context of global knowledge economy policies as a site for the production of economic subjectivities. Drawing insights from poststructuralist theory and feminist economics, it explores how the incorporation of economic discourse and market metaphors into education policy and practice functions as a disciplinary technique of governmentality. The article argues that while economic discourse displaces, disciplines and disrupts educational discourse, there is a need for greater acknowledgement of the productive potential of the intersection of education and economy as a means through which agency is in part accomplished. Implications for university learning and labour are considered, with a view to contributing to dialogues about new ways of undisciplining economic subjectivities, through which new ways of doing and being might enact alternative educational economies.

The Trade Union and the Old Man

Previous articleNext article FreeThe Trade Union and the Old ManJohn O'GradyJohn O'Grady Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 23, Number 3Nov., 1917 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/212759 Views: 114Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Darlene Himick Actuarialism as biopolitical and disciplinary technique, Accounting, Organizations and Society 54 (Oct 2016): 22–44.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2016.08.005