Discipline Strategies Research Articles

Supporting African communities to increase resilience and mental health of kids with developmental disabilities and their caregivers using the World Health Organization’s Caregiver Skills Training Programme (SPARK trial): study protocol for a cluster randomised clinical controlled trial

BackgroundMost children with developmental disabilities (DD) live in low- and middle-income countries, but access to services is limited, impacting their ability to thrive. Pilot study findings of the World Health Organization’s Caregiver Skills Training (WHO CST) intervention, which equips caregivers with strategies to facilitate learning and adaptive behaviours in children with DD, are promising but evidence from an appropriately powered trial delivered by non-specialist facilitators is lacking. This study will investigate the effectiveness and the resource impacts and costs and consequences of the WHO CST intervention in four sites in rural and urban Kenya and Ethiopia.MethodsThis is a 2-arm multi-site hybrid type-1 effectiveness implementation cluster randomised controlled superiority trial. After baseline assessments (T0) are completed by participants in clusters comprising 7 to 10 caregiver-child dyads, the clusters will be randomised to either the WHO CST intervention arm or a waitlist enhanced care as usual control arm. Further assessments will be completed at endpoint (T1, 18 ± 2 weeks after randomisation) and follow-up (T2, 44 ± 2 weeks after randomisation). The intervention comprises three individualised home visits and nine group sessions with trained non-specialist facilitators. Participants in the control arm will receive the intervention after completing follow-up assessments. We aim to recruit 544 child-caregiver dyads, evenly distributed across the two arms and countries. The co-primary outcomes are the child-focused Child Behavior Checklist (assessing emotional and behavioural problems) and the caregiver-focused Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (assessing caregiver quality of life), both assessed at endpoint. Secondary outcome measures comprise the two co-primary outcomes at follow-up and ten additional outcome measures at endpoint, assessing stigma-based experiences, depressive symptoms, household food insecurity, child disciplinary strategies and beliefs, CST knowledge and skill competencies, caregiver and child quality of life, social support, and children’s communication modes and functions. After quantitative follow-up assessments are completed, a mixed-methods evaluation approach will be used to investigate implementation processes and acceptability, feasibility, and potential sustainability of the intervention.DiscussionThe study’s findings will provide evidence of the effectiveness and resource impacts and costs and consequences of a non-specialist-delivered intervention in under-resourced contexts in one low-income and one middle-income country in East Africa. Findings will inform future research, intervention, and policy efforts to support children with DD and their families in under-resourced majority world contexts.Trial registrationPan African Clinical Trial Registry PACTR202310908063134. Registered on October 16, 2023.

Evaluating Exercise as Punishment: Insights from the Delphi Method on Philippine School Practices

Abstract The study aimed to identify consensus among PE experts on using exercise as punishment (EAP) in Philippine schools. The study adopted a two-round Delphi method. In the first round, a survey with open-ended questions prompted experts to identify as many reasons as possible for the use of EAP in schools. This format gave the experts a more significant role in responding, as they could identify crucial themes related to EAP usage and then refine them into meaningful categories. The second round of the survey asked the experts to rank these identified factors based on their perceived importance. Based on the experts’ agreement, “EAP as a disciplinary tool” was ranked as the most significant dimension in the use of EAP in schools. Further factors impacting its use, including social pressure, physical health benefits, its connection to establishing authority, academic performance, athletic performance, and a lack of understanding about alternative disciplinary measures, were also identified. Despite its documented harms, the use of EAP persists in Philippine schools. This study reveals a complex web of drivers, including a persistent belief in EAP’s disciplinary effectiveness, external pressures for “tough” approaches, and a lack of awareness of positive alternatives. These factors create a cycle of conformity in which student well-being could suffer. To break this cycle, schools must prioritize fostering positive teacher-student relationships, equipping teachers, leaders, and staff with effective disciplinary strategies, and challenging misguided narratives around EAP’s supposed merits.

Multifaceted perception of school climate: association between students’ and teachers’ perceptions and other teacher factors

IntroductionThis study aimed to investigate whether there is a significant association between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of school climate, and if not, whether teacher factors are associated with the respective perceptions.MethodsThe participants included 1,831 students and 59 homeroom teachers from 11 public elementary and junior high schools in Japan. Multilevel models were used to examine the association between students’ and teachers’ perceptions of school climate.ResultsOf the three teacher-rated school climate scales, only teacher-perceived disciplinary climate was associated with students’ perceptions of school climate. Teachers’ working conditions, such as self-efficacy and stress, were associated with teachers’ perceptions but not students’ perceptions of school climate. Disciplinary climate was associated with students’ perceptions of school climate, even after accounting for the teachers’ working conditions.DiscussionItems questioning specific student behaviors, such as those included in the disciplinary climate scale, may be effective in avoiding incongruence with student evaluations. Moreover, maintaining disciplinary climate itself is important for students’ positive perceptions of the school climate. A disciplinary climate in which teachers and students share responsibility for learning and classroom organization, and strategies that support positive student behavior are preferable to exclusionary discipline strategies. Incorporating feedback data gathered through classroom observations or student perceptions is also important in resolving the incongruence between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the school climate.

School-based prevention of teacher and parental violence against children: Study protocol of a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Tanzania

BackgroundViolence against children at home and at school is particularly prevalent in Africa and is associated with adverse and persistent health effects on children. The violence prevention intervention Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) is an effective tool to reduce violence against children by fostering teachers’ non-violent communication and interaction skills. To enhance these effects, in the present study, ICC-T will be extended to parents (ICC-P) aiming to increase children’s experience of consistent behavior and application of non-violent discipline strategies between teachers and parents.MethodsTo investigate the effectiveness of the school-based combined implementation of ICC-T and ICC-P, a cluster-randomized controlled trial with 16 primary schools in the urban district of Morogoro in Eastern Tanzania will be conducted. Both quantitative (structured interviews) and qualitative (focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, evaluation forms) methods will be used to investigate the effects on teachers’ and parents’ violence against children in home and school settings. The intervention implementation will be accompanied by a comprehensive process evaluation to assess the implementation quality of and participants’ engagement with ICC-T and ICC-P. Potential downstream effects of violence reduction will be investigated by assessing the children’s mental health and well-being.DiscussionThe present study aims to provide evidence for the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the school-based combined implementation of ICC-T and ICC-P to reduce teacher and parental violence against children and contribute to children’s well-being in home and school settings.Trail registrationThe clinical trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov, 2024) under the identifier NCT06369025 (Hecker, Preventing Physical and Emotional Violence by Parents and Teachers in Public Schools in Tanzania (ICC-T/ICC-P_Tanz) (PreVio), 2024) on April 17, 2024.

“Reach Out, Not Harm”: Navigating between Physical Punishment and Alternative Strategies in Addressing Student Discipline Challenges for a Positive Learning Environment

Based on the interpretivist ontological assumption that teachers and students hold unique positions regarding school discipline, this study explores their perspectives on using physical punishment and alternative strategies to address challenging discipline problems. 20 teachers (with more than 5 years of teaching experience) and 20 students (aged 16-18 years old) from a secondary school in Indonesia who were identified through purposeful snowball sampling were engaged via semi-structured interviews and an open online survey to capture their perspectives. Data were thematically analysed following Newton’s (1980) comparison of school discipline models to reveal both parties to be in favour of alternative discipline strategies because physical punishment was deemed to have adverse effects and does not educate. The alternative disciplining strategies proposed by the teachers and students match with the characteristics of the following models: Individual fulfilment (approach students, dialogue and negotiation), scholarly discipline (strict adherence to school rules, consistency in rule enforcement, teacher as a role model); and educational technology (reminders of school rules, progressive disciplining process). The “fair disciplining” theme in the students’ data had no model fit. Meanwhile, no evidence suggests inclinations toward the social reconstruction model of school discipline. This study provides a glimpse into the diverse disciplining strategies which are the result of a bottom-up inquiry for addressing students’ challenging behaviours to cultivate a positive learning environment.

Examining How National Levels of Life Expectancy, Education, and Income Influence Early Childhood Development: The Mediating Role of the Child's Nurturing Context.

Forty-three percent of children younger than 5 years in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are at risk of not meeting their developmental potential. This study investigated how 3 aspects of national development (national life expectancy, education, and income levels) are associated with early childhood development by influencing 5 domains of nurturing care (caregiving, the learning environment, safety and security, nutrition, and the health of the home environment). In total, 159,959 families with children aged 36 to 59 months living in 51 LMICs provided data. National development was measured using 3 indicators (national life expectancy, education, and income levels), and nurturing care was measured using 10 indicators that collectively captured the 5 nurturing care domains. Path analyses examined how nurturing care indicators mediated the effects of national development on early childhood development. Higher national life expectancy was directly associated with more advanced childhood development. Higher national levels of education and income were indirectly associated with more advanced childhood development through aspects of nurturing care, such as reduced caregiver psychological aggression or physical violence, increased learning materials and wired appliances in the home environment, and greater caregiver education and child height-for-age. Greater caregiver cognitive caregiving practices promoted childhood development, regardless of levels of national development. Intervening to promote caregiver education, appropriate discipline strategies, cognitive caregiving practices, and family access to wired appliances, learning materials, and adequate nutrition is key to promoting childhood development in nations with lower levels of national development.

Bidirectional relations between parents' discipline strategies and children's inhibitory control from early to middle childhood.

Parents' use of harsh discipline and inductive discipline are theorized to change normatively across the transition from early to middle childhood (ages 5-7 years), with harsh discipline decreasing and inductive discipline increasing. Importantly, within-person support for these changes is lacking. Additionally, these changes are argued to be driven by improvements in children's cognitive and social abilities, including inhibitory control. The present study examined within-family bidirectional relations between parents' (primarily mothers') harsh discipline, inductive discipline, and children's inhibitory control across the transition to middle childhood. Participants were 118 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds and their primary caregivers. At two time points, separated by 12 months, parents completed a questionnaire about their use of harsh and inductive discipline, and children completed a battery of inhibitory control tasks. A latent change score model was used to examine within-family bidirectional relations. More inductive discipline at Time 1 was related to a decline in harsh discipline over the year for parents of 5- and 6-year-olds, but not 4-year-olds. Harsh discipline at Time 1 was not related to change in inductive discipline. Parental discipline was not related to the change in children's inhibitory control, nor was inhibitory control related to the change in parental discipline. Relations between inductive discipline and change in harsh discipline provide within-person support for expectations of normative change in parents' discipline strategies across the transition to middle childhood. Further research examining when parents of 4-year-olds make this transition and predictors of change in parental discipline will inform research of normative trajectories of parental discipline. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for Bidirectional Relations Between Parents’ Discipline Strategies and Children’s Inhibitory Control From Early to Middle Childhood

Supplemental Material for Bidirectional Relations Between Parents’ Discipline Strategies and Children’s Inhibitory Control From Early to Middle Childhood

ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES TO CORPORAL PUNISHMENT USED BY SELECTED BASIC SCHOOL TEACHERS IN MAMPONG MUNICIPALITY, GHANA

This study was conducted to determine the alternative strategies to corporal punishment used by some basic school teachers in Mampong Municipality in the wake of the abolition of corporal punishment in Ghanaian schools. The study used a qualitative research approach and phenomenological research design to study 15 basic school teachers and 15 headteachers who were purposively sampled for the study. Interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. It was found that the teachers used positive discipline strategies, such as rule setting, rewards presentation, guidance and counselling and mild punishment strategies, such as task assignment, withdrawal from pleasant activity and upstanding as alternative strategies to corporal punishment. This implies that the teachers follow the recommended discipline policy of the Ghana Education Service (GES). It was recommended, among others, that continuous professional education should be conducted by GES for the teachers to keep them abreast of the use of alternative strategies.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0704/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Disciplinary behaviour management strategies in schools and their impact on student psychosocial outcomes: A systematic review.

Disciplinary behaviour management strategies are implemented in schools to manage pupil behaviour. There is limited evidence of their intended impact on behaviour but there is growing concern around the potential negative impacts on pupil wellbeing. We carried out a systematic review to examine the impact of these strategies on psychosocial outcomes in pupils (PROSPERO Registration: CRD42021285427). We searched multiple sources and double-screened titles, abstracts, and full texts. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment were done by one reviewer and checked by another. Results were narratively synthesised. We included 14 studies, from 5375 citations, assessing temporary suspension (n=10), verbal reprimand (n=2), and mixed strategies (n=2). Depression was the most common outcome (n=7), followed by academic grades (n=4) and behaviour in class (n=4). All except one study were at high risk of bias. We found a recurring pattern in the evidence of disciplinary strategies associated with poor mental wellbeing and behaviour in pupils. The effect on academic attainment was unclear. Disciplinary behaviour management strategies may have negative impact on pupil mental wellbeing and class behaviour. These important consequences should be assessed in better designed studies before these strategies are implemented.

Postcolonial Identity and Discourse: Foucauldian Analysis of Shamsie’s A God in Every Stone

This research article delves into the intricate interplay between postcolonial identity and discourse in Kamila Shamsie's novel, "A God in Every Stone," employing a Foucauldian analytical framework This paper presents a Foucauldian analysis of Kamila Shamsie's novel, "A God in Every Stone." Drawing upon the works of Michel Foucault (2016), the paper examines the novel through the lens of power, knowledge, and the construction of historical narratives. Through a close reading of key characters and events, this analysis elucidates how colonial power structures and systems of knowledge production intersect in the novel to shape individual and collective identities. The present study has been conducted on Shamsie’s A God in Every Stone to highlight the process of colonization. The interpreter has examined the ways by which the colonized resisted colonial rule. Foucault’s model of Power has been used as the conceptual framework of the study to analyze the postcolonial aspects of Shamsie’s (2014) novel. The present study is qualitative in nature. The data has been collected through the close reading technique of the A God in Every Stone. For data analysis, those textual lines have been selected in which the elements of power and resistance are present covertly. The interpreter has explored different dimensions of Foucault’s power, i.e., Sovereign power and disciplinary power. British Empire justified its colonial rule over the colonized through the colonial discourse which was prejudiced against non-white people. The colonized people resist colonial rule through their dialogues in this novel. In A God in Every Stone, the major protagonist is Vivian Rose Spencer. She is an English woman who carried out digging in Turkey to unearth the ancient silver circlet. The interpreter has inferred that the colonizers used many disciplinary strategies to subjugate the colonized people. The Indian soldiers were trained by the British imperialists to fight in the battlefield on the Western Front. Many innocent Indian soldiers lost their lives in fighting the enemies of the British Empire. The major character of the novel Qayyum Gul, fought bravely in the battlefield. Unfortunately, he lost an eye during the battle. When he returned to Peshawar, he joined a freedom movement, which aimed to liberate India from the British colonizers. Ultimately, this Foucauldian analysis of "A God in Every Stone" underscores the intricate dynamics of power and knowledge in the colonial context and sheds light on the complexities of historical representation and identity formation in a postcolonial world.

Witnessing the Architecture of a Cancellation: The Silencing of Voices on Palestine in Austrian Academia

This article analyzes the cancellation of a public lecture by Palestinian scholar, Walaa Alqaisiya, during a curatorial program at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in May 2022 due to false accusations of antisemitism in the context of anti-Palestinian racism in Austria. We speak of an ‘architecture’ because we analyze the questions of power, (in)visibility and erasure from the point of view of the public and institutional spaces, asking who can speak, about what and for whom, when? As a collective of former participants, we write from an implicated positionality that we call ‘participatory witnesses:’ the program ceased to be an abstract exploration of decolonial and queer/feminist perspectives, and transformed us affectively and politically, forcing us to critically respond to the censorship. We start by summarizing the unfolding of events and introducing the figure of the participatory witness and the concept of architecture. Then, we turn to Austrian academia’s climate of censorship of Palestinian perspectives. From this context, we analyze Alqaisiya’s cancellation through the prism of Euromodern Orientalist tropes, disciplinary strategies and civilizational discourses employed to continue the marginalization and exclusion of Palestinian perspectives. We pay particular attention to the significance of silencing queer Palestinian voices in the context of Israeli pinkwashing. Finally, we mnemonically map our attempts at navigating the architecture, negotiating between reclaiming public visibility for queer Palestinian perspectives and collective acts of refusal and delinking.

Exploring Student Discipline in Private Madrasah Aliyah: Insights, Strategies and Challenges

This article aims to describe the insights, challenges, and student discipline strategies implemented by the deputy head of the madrasah to make it even better. This research uses qualitative research with a grounded theory approach. Data collection was carried out using interviews, observation, and documentation. Data analysis includes data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion. Data validity is guaranteed through credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The research results show that: 1) a Description of student discipline mainly focusing on punctuality and dressing, 2) the strategy of the deputy head of the madrasah in instilling the value of discipline in students, including providing examples, habituation, giving advice, and giving sanctions, 3) the challenges faced by the deputy head of the madrasah in instilling the values of discipline student including students' lack of self-awareness and the influence of the external environment. The research implication is that the deputy head of the madrasah is essential in instilling disciplinary values, ultimately positively impacting student achievement and overall school success.

Predictors of Corporal Punishment during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Although current policies discourage the use of corporal punishment (CP), its use is still widespread in the US. The objective of this study was to assess the proportion of parents who used CP during the pandemic and identify related risk and protective factors. We analyzed results of a nationwide cross-sectional internet panel survey of 9000 US caregivers who responded in three waves from November 2020 to July 2021. One in six respondents reported having spanked their child in the past week. Spanking was associated with intimate partner violence and the use of multiple discipline strategies and not significantly associated with region or racial self-identification. Parents who spanked sought out more kinds of support, suggesting an opportunity to reduce spanking through more effective parenting resources. Additionally, these results suggest that parents who report using CP may be at risk for concurrent domestic violence.

Lurking Glares. A Comparative Critique of Latency and Cryptotypes

Based on Rodolfo Sacco’s passionate research on cryptotypes and mute law, the essay aims to propose an onto-aesthetic understanding of latency in law. Inspired by a transdisciplinary way of thinking, the Author elevates comparative law to the privileged site where a critique of the unexpressed can be performed; the degree of figurality of the law can be uncovered and measured; an economy of surplus can be disclosed as the proper segnatorial trait of the material appearances of the law. In this direction, comparative law combines a phenomenology of latency with a hermeneutics of the implicit/implied and becomes the place where it is possible to uncover the communality among plural symbolic universes (literature, arts, music) against the tyranny of disciplinary strategy.

Understanding early childhood stakeholders’ beliefs and experiences with discipline using virtual learning labs

ABSTRACT Young children of colour with disabilities have experienced more exclusionary practices in educational settings. Given the fast-growing number of students of colour across classrooms in the United States, and approximately 1 in 6 students identified with disabilities in public schools, it is important to pay attention to why exclusionary discipline is disproportionately used at school. Understanding views from different stakeholders on exclusionary practices may help find solutions for remediating such practices for young children of colour with disabilities. Using virtual Learning Labs, this study explored the beliefs and experiences of the exclusionary discipline of five early childhood stakeholders with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Through qualitative focus group interviews, educational stakeholders highlighted the importance of continued use of humanizing and familiar inclusive disciplinary strategies to support students. Implications for multifaceted practices and research are discussed.

Optimalisasi Pendidikan Anak dalam Keluarga melalui Kitab Tarbiyatul Athfal

Most parents, when raising their children, just provide for their needs like clothes, food, and shelter, and try to make their children smart and sharp in their thinking. Although that alone is not enough for life, parents need to shape their children to have good ethics and wisdom so that the children do not despair and have a clear purpose in life through studying the book Tarbiyatul Athfal. The issue in this writing is how to maximize early childhood education in the family based on the Islamic perspective. This writing uses a descriptive qualitative research strategy and in presenting the creator's information, it uses documentation, interviews, and observations to obtain applicable information. The results of this research show that there are several ways that can be utilized to enhance children's education in the family through the book Tarbiyatul Athfal, especially based on the Islamic view, namely: 1) Model or example strategy, 2) Habituation strategy, 3) Giving advice, 4) Consideration and management techniques, 5) Discipline strategy. If these methods are viewed and applied from an Islamic perspective, they will greatly help parents in educating their children from an early age about good morals.

Problems and Countermeasures of Disciplinary Education in Primary School Education

With the development of society, people are paying more and more attention to educational issues, and moral education plays an important role in human growth. However, at present, there are many unreasonable disciplinary measures in China􀆳s basic education, including insufficient awareness of educational discipline among parents, unreasonable use of disciplinary methods, lack of monitoring of the implementation results of educational discipline, and lack of discipline in place. As a result, the quality and depth of education cannot meet the needs of diverse talents, it is necessary to change the original single education paradigm to improve the quality and depth of education. This paper investigates the current situation of educational discipline in A Primary School, and deeply analyzes the reasons for these problems from both the family and the school. A series of targeted disciplinary strategies have been proposed, including establishing correct concept of discipline, strengthening teachers'personal moral qualities, using discipline reasonably, timely intervening and stopping aggressive behavior, and creating a suitable psychological environment for children. This paper aims to draw people􀆳s attention to this topic, so that more people will understand the positive role of educational discipline, an important educational tool, in promoting the healthy development of students􀆳 physical and mental health. I hope it can cause educators and even the public to think about giving up those unreasonable disciplinary methods, and make discipline a truly beneficial educational tool for children.

Spare the Rod?: College Students’ Experiences with and Perceptions of Corporal Punishment

Corporal punishment (e.g., spanking) remains a highly debated yet common form of discipline in the United States. A body of research exists investigating the prevalence and effects of corporal punishment; however, less attention has been devoted to factors influencing individual perceptions of corporal punishment. The current study explores college students’ perceptions of corporal punishment with a specific focus on students’ experiences with physical discipline and factors that may influence students’ intentions to use physical discipline with their own children. Relying on a convenience sampling methodology, the current research is based on a sample of 318 students, who participated in a pen-and-paper survey. Findings reveal that most students experienced corporal punishment (86.8%) and roughly three-quarters intend to use physical discipline with their children. Moreover, positive attitudes towards physical forms of punishment were positively associated with intentions to use corporal punishment (OR = 1.494; ***p < 0.001). Despite most participants reporting experiences with corporal punishment and intending to use physical discipline with their children, many felt better disciplinary methods were available. Given that attitudes were correlated with intention to use, educational programs and curricular endeavors to inform individuals of the negative impact of corporal punishment, as well as alternative non-physical discipline strategies are recommended as ways to reduce reliance on physical forms of discipline.

Disciplinary behaviour management strategies in schools and their impact on student psychosocial outcomes: A systematic review

Background Disciplinary behaviour management strategies are implemented in schools to manage pupil behaviour. There is limited evidence of their intended impact on behaviour but there is growing concern around the potential negative impacts on pupil wellbeing. Methods We carried out a systematic review to examine the impact of these strategies on psychosocial outcomes in pupils (PROSPERO Registration: CRD42021285427). We searched multiple sources and double-screened titles, abstracts, and full texts. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment were done by one reviewer and checked by another. Results were narratively synthesised. Results We included 14 studies, from 5375 citations, assessing temporary suspension (n=10), verbal reprimand (n=2), and mixed strategies (n=2). Depression was the most common outcome (n=7), followed by academic grades (n=4) and behaviour in class (n=4). All except one study were at high risk of bias. We found a recurring pattern in the evidence of disciplinary strategies associated with poor mental wellbeing and behaviour in pupils. The effect on academic attainment was unclear. Conclusions Disciplinary behaviour management strategies may have negative impact on pupil mental wellbeing and class behaviour. These important consequences should be assessed in better designed studies before these strategies are implemented.