2. Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 2
A Brief Literature Review .........................................................................................................4
Secondary Literature Review .................................................................................................4
Primary Literature Review.....................................................................................................6
Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 6
Hypothesis and Researched Questions........................................................................................ 8
Hypothesis............................................................................................................................ 8
Researched Questions ............................................................................................................ 8
Findings and Analysis ............................................................................................................... 9
Conclusion and Recommendations .......................................................................................... 19
References................................................................................................................................. 20
Appendix................................................................................................................................ 22
3. Introduction
Every day, in the world children become victim of corporal punishment as a mean of
discipline in schools, this is also the case in Pakistan. Corporal punishment has been defined
as “the use of physical force causing pain, but not wounds, as a means of discipline.” (Horno
Goicoechea, 1990). It includes large variety of approaches such as smacking, hitting,
slapping, punching, kicking, and use of numerous objects for example, belts, wooden
paddles, sticks (Elizabeth T. Gershoff, 2007). Corporal punishment does not only have is
physiological effects, but it also have many psychological effects on children’s lives. These
psychological effects include, “mental harassment, feeling of helplessness, worthlessness,
depression, inhibition, aggression, shame and self-doubt, guilt, lowered self-esteem, stress
and heightened anxiety which may reduce his/her self-confidence” (Dr. Arab Naz, 2011). A
new global tendency has been introduced to eliminate corporal punishment, since starting of
this century (Wasef, 2011). Frequent corporal punishment in school results more teacher’s
frustration level than with the child’s misbehaviour. (Muhammad Shahbaz, 2007). This
tendency to eliminate corporal punishment is supported by the current call for protecting
human rights such as, right to security, right to liberty, no one should be subjected to torture
or to cruelty and punishment as started in the articles 3 and 5, of the Universal Declaration of
Human Right, and children rights to protect from all forms of physical or mental violence,
injury or abuse, as mentioned in the article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
1990 (Wasef, 2011).
Under the Pakistan Penal Code, article 89 it is stated “Act done in good faith for
benefit of child or insane person, by or by consent of guardian. Nothing which is done in
good faith for the benefit of a person under twelve years of age, or of unsound mind, by or by
consent, either express or implied, of the guardian or other person having lawful charge of
that person, is an offence by reason of any harm which it may cause, or be intended by the
doer to cause or be known by the doer to be likely to cause to that person…” (REPORT,
2010).
4. It has been instructed to the teachers across the country, by the federal ministerial
directive and ministerial directives in all four Provinces to stop the use corporal punishment
in schools (REPORT, 2010).
1. Punjab province - The Article 35 under the headings of Cruelty to children, in the
Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act states that whoever, who is not a parent of
the child, tries to control over the child, ill-treats, assaults, abandon or cause the child
preventable physical suffering, shall be punished with imprisonment for minimum of
three years or will be fined fifty thousand rupees or with both.
2. Sindh province - The Article 48 of the Sindh Children Act 1955, under the headings of,
Punishment for Cruelty to Children, underlines similar provisions as the Punjab
Destitute and Neglected Children Act. Under this Act wrong doer shall be punished with
imprisonment of two years or/and with fine of one thousand rupees.
3. Balochistan province – Corporal punishment in Balochistan is banned in 2011 under the
Bills of Child Welfare and Protection Bill and Domestic Violence Bill (Newell, 2012).
4. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province - The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and
Welfare Ordinance Act 2010 states in the Section 4 part (I) under the headings of Powers
and functions of the Commission, that any sort of corporal punishments to a child is
prohibited in all institution.
5. A Brief Literature Review
All the secondary researches on corporal punishment have concluded that it has negative
effect of children’s learning, motivational and developing behaviour but this is not the case
with primary research. Some of the primary research (interviewees) has stated corporal
punishment can be beneficial to discipline children.
Secondary Literature Review
A research conducted by Human Development Resource Centre (HDRC) in Pakistan found
out that very high percentage of corporal punishment is used in school (Pakistan, 2012). In
the boys’ school hundred percent (100%) of the classes observed all students were subjected
to corporal punished and only twenty percent (20%) were subjected to corporal punishment
in the girls’ schools. Humiliating students by verbal abuse is also very common in these
schools. Moreover students are given the authority to punish other students (Pakistan, 2012).
Former researches that have been carried out on this topic shows that teachers and parents
who were victim of corporal punishment in their childhood are more likely to support
corporal punishment at home and in school than those teachers and parents who did not go
through the pain of corporal punishment (RAFI, 2007).
Research has shown those children who are physically abused in schools do not have positive
attitudes to education. Moreover these children show no empathy to others when they
develop into adults (Iqbal Ahmad, 2013). Studies have revealed that students who become
victim of corporal punishment in school show signs of being unhappy in educations, thus
they willingly do not contribute in the learning process, which results to their low
performance in the exams (Iqbal Ahmad, 2013).
Recent research carried out has asserted that almost one-half of the children in school that go
through the pain of corporal punishment grow a disease known as “Educationally Induced
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (EIPSD)” (Greydanus, n.d., p. 4) which leads to anxiety and
6. depression. Such children undergo the difficulties while sleeping, antisocial behaviour,
feelings of worthlessness, low academic achievement, difficulty while concentration in class,
higher tendency to avoid attending school, and higher school drop-out rate (Greydanus, n.d.)
In schools students are abused mentally and physically, to that degree where their behaviour
is headed towards violence and anger. Such abuses from teachers and violence and anger
from students causes hooliganisms. The research conducted by Dr. Arab Naz, Waseem Khan,
Umar Daraz, Mohammad Hussain and Qaisar Khan in 2011 shows that corporal punishment
can be viewed as bad for pro-active thinking (Dr. Arab Naz, 2011). Continuous use of
corporal punishment may have long lasting negative effects on the children, which may leads
them to develop anxieties and terrors, difficulties with learning. Adults who experience
corporal punishment have higher tendency to use violence and greater levels feelings of being
useless and depression (Dr. Arab Naz, 2011).
Corporal punishment reinforces bad behaviour among students, resulting in long run school
violence. It shows that students who suffer physical punishment in schools have greater
tendency to use violence at home. Numerous children in Pakistan avoid attending school and
countless of those children who pursue education are forced to drop out later due to endurable
pains of corporal punishment. It is presumed that these school dropout children later may
become criminals and terrorists. A healthy change can be brought in schools if the teachers
ban the use of corporal punishment fully, contributing to a crime and terrorism free society
(RAFI, 2007).
According to a conducted research in Pakistan more than ten percent (10.56%) of the students
were forced to drop out of the schools due to corporal punishment. As result of Corporal
punishment theses students drop out of schools before completing their primary education,
contribute to higher literacy rate in Pakistan. According to parents more than six percent
(6.75%) of their children are forced to dropout from schools due to corporal punishment
(Farooq, 2013).
Pakistan has very little training facilitates provided to the teachers at primary level across the
country. These unskilled and untrained teachers are less likely to solve their professional and
social issues. Such teachers tend to take all of their frustration on students in the form of
corporal punishment. This kind of behaviour from teachers discourages students learning
7. ability force them to drop out of schools. These dropout students from primary school have
very poor social and communication skills (Iqbal Ahmad, 2013)
Primary Literature Review
According to the interviewee A, the subject of corporal punishment should remain across the
country as a means of display. Interviewee A stated “I was once subjected to corporal
punishment and this made me a very bright and disciplined student.” (A, 2014). The
interviewee also added because Irish schools don’t use corporal punishment, her children
learn bad language and bad manners from schools (A, 2014).
Interviewee B stated “I dropped out of school at the age of sixteen because my teacher would
physically punish me in from of the whole class and it was very embarrassment for me” (B,
2014). The interviewee also added “I would not like my children to face the same
embarrassment in school and go through the pain of corporal punishment; therefore it should
be banned across Pakistan and around the world.” (B, 2014)
According to the interviewee C, he was subjected to corporal punishment almost every day in
school. This affected his academic results and had very low confidence in school (C, 2014).
“Once I was talking in class to my friend and my teacher slapped me so hard on my face that
my ear pained for two weeks and I was forced to quite my education in Pakistan.” (C, 2014).
The interviewee also mentioned the teacher always used to call students with horrible names
that he made up. “My teacher used to call me not by my real name but by Kale (black)
because I was the darkest student in the whole class.” (C, 2014).
The last interviewee, D, was a former primary school teacher and according to her “light
degree of corporal punishment is necessary to discipline children but only if the children are
really out of control.” (D, 2014). The interviewee also added that “some of my colleagues
used corporal punishment on their students as they are frustrated with their family problems
at home, and took their all of their anger out on poor children even though they did not make
any mistake.”(D, 2014).
8. Methodology
A self-determined questionnaire was carried out on twenty – five (25) former Pakistani
students to collect the data which was necessary for this research. From these Pakistani
people fifteen were parents, and the remaining ten people were teenagers. This source of
collecting primary data was more preferred over interviews as many people were not
confident to talk about being punished in school. The questioner consisted of ten short
questions, with mostly Yes or No answers, so that it can be easy for people to read and
answer the questions. Prior to each survey taken people were informed about the purpose of
the survey and who will be viewing this information. Once they were satisfied with who will
be viewing their answers, only then questionnaire was given to them.
Along with Questionnaire, “one to one” interviews were taken with the people that were
comfortable talking about their experiences of being victim of corporal punishment. The
interviews were subjected to “one to one” because interviewees want all of their information
to be kept confidential and not to be disclosed with third party without their permission.
Before the interview was taken, the interviewees were informed by the interviewer the
purpose of carrying out the interviews. Interviewees were also informed who will be reading
this information. Out of twenty- six (26) people only four (4) agreed to talk about their
experiences. The interviews were limited to only ten (10) minutes and same questions were
asked to all four people. The questions asked in the interview were same questions used for
the survey. The four (4) interviewees were categorised into A, B, C, and D, as the
interviewees did not want their names to be disclosed. Out of these four interviewees two (2)
A and B, were parents, one (1) C, was a teenager and one (1) D, was former primary school
teacher in Pakistan. The interviewer, while taking the interview wrote down all of the
important information that required for its primary literature review. These interviews were
taken in interviewees preferred language (Urdu) and translated to English.
9. Hypothesis and Researched Questions
Hypothesis
The Hypothesis of this research is that the effects of corporal punishment can only be
negative. It carries multiple risks of harm and no benefits. The Hypothesis of this research is
extracted by the secondary information which suggests corporal punishment has no benefits
but only harm. The secondary research shows that it does not teach any sort of discipline
instead it teaches violence and leads to crimes. This is in contrast with the two (2) of the
interviewees, as they consider corporal punishment as a mean of discipline.
Researched Questions
1. What is the purpose of corporal punishment in school?
From the primary and secondary literature review it can be identified the main purpose of
corporal punishment in school is to discipline students who are believed to have bad manners
in class. The other main purpose of the use of corporal punishment in school by teachers is as
an excuse to take their frustration and anger out.
2. To what extent is corporal punishment applied in government and private schools?
In a report carried out by End All Corporal Punishment of Children in Pakistan, shows that
approximately fourth three percent (43%) of the corporal punishments that takes place in
Pakistan happen in government primary schools and only sixteen percent (16%) of the
corporal punishment happen in private schools (REPORT, 2010).
3. What are the effects of corporal punishment on children?
According to the literature review corporal punishment in schools carries various negative
effects, such as physical pain, lower self-esteem, it teaches children to be violent, lower
10. academic results, poor intellectual and developing process, less sympathy for others and like
in some cases death (Horno Goicoechea, 1990).
4. What effects does corporal punishment in school have on parents?
Even though corporal punishment may seem an appropriate way of disciplining children in
schools, it can still make parents feeling guilty, as no parent would like to see their children
in pain (Horno Goicoechea, 1990). The acceptance of corporal punishment in schools by
parents inhibits communications between parents and their children thus damaging the
relationship between them (Horno Goicoechea, 1990).
Findings and Analysis
The data collected through questionnaires and interviews was analysed using pie charts. The
data collected will be analysed according to the order of the surveyed questionnaires.
First question asked was, were you ever subjected to corporal punishment in school in
Pakistan? According to the results from the questionnaire, it showed that twenty (20) out of
twenty five (25) former Pakistani students went through the pain and embarrassment of
corporal punishment in school. This means eighty percent (80%) of former Pakistani students
were subjected to corporal punishment.
Yes 20
No 5
Table 1: Number of Students Subjected to Corporal Punishment in Pakistan
11. Figure 1: Students Faced Corporal Punishment in Pakistan in percentage (%
Second question asked in the questionnaires was if you have been subjected to corporal punishment
what you think was the purpose? In this question six options were give and the students. The results
are as follow:
1. No homework done 6
2. Disturbing/talking during class 2
3. Coming late to the class 1
4. Answering back the teacher 5
5. Frustration and anger of the teacher 10
Table 2: purpose of corporal punishment
yes
80%
no
20%
Were you ever subjected to corporal
punishment in school in Pakistan
12. Figure 2: purpose of Corporal Punishment in Percentage (%)
From the table and the pie chart it is evident that most of the corporal punishment (40%) that
happens in Pakistani schools is due to an excuse of taking out the frustration and anger of the
teacher on the student. Whereas 20% is because of students answering back the teacher, 8%
is due to disturbing in class, only 4% of the corporal punishments are happen because of
coming to the class.
The third question asked was if the students have been subjected to corporal punishment did
their family know about them being physically punished in school. For this question most
people answered no.
Yes 8
No 17
Table 3 : was your family aware of corporal punishment in school
No homework
done
25%
Disturbing/talking
duringclass
8%
Coming late to the
class
4%
Answering back
the teacher
21%
Frustration and
anger of the
teacher
42%
what was the puropse of corporal
punishment
13. Figure 3: Percentage of Family aware of Corporal Punishment in School
Due to the huge difference between the numbers of family members that are aware of
corporal punishment in schools and the numbers that are not aware of corporal punishment in
school have still allowed the use of corporal punishment in school despite of the ban. The
results of the questioners show that sixty eight per cent (68%) of the students, who were
subjected to physical abuse in school did not tell their family members and only thirty two
per cent (32%) of the students went home and told their family.
The results of question four (4) show that almost every student that did the questioners was physically
punished in school.
Primary School 20
Secondary School 2
Both 3
Table 4: Corporal punishment in primary vs. secondary schools in Pakistan.
Yes
32%
No
68%
Was your family aware of that you were
subjected to corporal punishment in
school
14. Figure 4: percentage of corporal punishment in primary and secondary school in Pakistan.
From the above data it is evident that most corporal punishment happens in Pakistani primary
schools. Eighty per cent (80 %) of the students who answered the questioners were physically abused
in primary schools only eight per cent (8%) of the students were subjected to corporal punishment in
secondary and twelve per cent (12%) of the students answered that they are physically punishment in
primary and secondary schools in Pakistan.
In question five the former Pakistani students were asked if they were physically abused in
government or private schools.
Government Schools 21
Private Schools 4
Table 5: Corporal Punishment in Government vs. Private Schools.
primary Schools
80%
Secondary Schools
8%
both
12%
Corporal Punishment in Primary vs
Secondary Schools
15. Figure 5: Percentage Corporal Punishment in Government Schools and in Private Schools in Pakistan.
Above data shows that more students were subjected to corporal punishment in government
schools which are eighty four per cent (84%) and only sixteen per cent (16%) of the students
were subjected to corporal punishment in private schools.
The results from question six show that, most students were punished between 1-3 times per
week.
1. 1-3 times per week 15
2. 3-5 times per week 4
3. More than 5 times per week 2
4. Rarely 1
5. Mostly 3
Table 6: Frequency of Corporal Punishment.
Government
Schools
84%
Private
Schools
16%
Corporal punishment in Government vs.
Private Schools
16. Figure 6: Percentage of frequency of Corporal Punishment.
The results of question seven and eight are as follow:
Positive Effects Negative Effects
You were more
disciplined
2 You were
embarrassed
6
Always had your
homework done
5 Low confidence in
class
5
Never late 1 Poor academic results 2
No talking in Class 3 Dropped out of school 2
Higher academic
results
0 All of the above 10
All of the Above 2
Table 7: Effects on Students Positive vs. Negative
1-3 times per
week
60%
3-5 times per week
16%
3. More than 5
times per week
8%
Rarely
4%
Mostly
12%
How many times per week you were beaten
by your teacher in school?
17. Figure 7: Positive effects of Corporal Punishment
Figure 8: Negative effects of corporal punishment
From the above table and pie chart it can be seen that corporal punishments have more negative
effects than positive. More students answered the question with negative effects and only few
answered the question with positive effects.
The last two questions, question nine and ten were related to family. Question nine was did your
family support the use of corporal punishment in school?
You were
more
disciplined
15%
Always had your
homework done
39%
Never Late
8%
No TalkingIn
Class
23%
Higher academic
results
0%
All of the
Above
15%
Postive Effects of Corporal Punishment
You were
embarrassed
24%
Low confidence in
class
20%
dv
8%Dropped out of
school
8%
All of the above
40%
Negative Effects of Corporal Punishment
18. 1. Yes 15
2. No 10
Table 8: Support from Family
Figure 9: Percentage of Support from Family on Corporal Punishment
Most familiesinPakistanconsidercorporal punishmentasa meanof disciplinetherefore they allow
the use of corporal punishment in schools by the teachers or their children. From the survey it can
be seen that sixty per cent of the families were happy with their children being physically
punishment in schools.
Question tenaskedinthe questioner wasdidcorporal punishmentinschool affectyourrelationship
with your family?
Yes 4
No 21
Table 9: Effects of Corporal Punishment on Family
Yes
60%
No
40%
Did Family Support Corporal Punishment in
School?
19. Figure 10: Percentage of Effects of Corporal Punishment on Family
As the results from the data suggest eighty four per cent (84%) of the students did not have any
effect of corporal punishment in school on their relationship with their family. This shows that
because students in Pakistan do not have any effect of corporal punishment in schools with their
family members parents are more acceptable of corporal punishment in school.
Yes
16%
No
84%
Did corporal punishment in school affect
your relationshipwith your family?
20. Conclusion and Recommendations
The research results demonstrated that there is a negative effect of corporal punishment on
students. It can also be concluded from the interviews and questioners that it can have a
positive effect on students yet corporal punishment should not be seen as a mean of
discipline. The research findings have shown that there is a direct relation between the use of
corporal punishment in primary schools and students social development. Many students in
Pakistan have dropped out of schools due to the harsh use of corporal punishment leading to
high literacy rate and socialising children
This research work has been focusing on corporal punishment in schools. In the future
research it suggested to focus little attention on corporal punishment in the family setting.
This is suggested because the use of corporal punishment at home makes it more acceptable
for teachers to use corporal punishment in school
21. References
A, 2014. Effects of Corporal Punishment in School [Interview] (10 04 2014).
B, 2014. Effects of Corporal Punishment in School [Interview] (09 04 2014).
C, 2014. Effects of Corporal Punishment in School [Interview] (09 04 2014).
D, 2014. Effects of Corporal Punishment in School [Interview] (09 04 2014).
Dr. Arab Naz, W. K. U. D. M. H. Q. K., 2011. THE IMPACTS OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT ON
STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE/CAREER AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT UP-TO
SECONDARY LEVEL EDUCATION IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA PAKISTAN. International Journal of
Business and Social Science, 2(12), pp. 130-140.
Dr. Arab Naz, W. K. U. D. M. H. Q. K., 2011. THE IMPACTS OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT ON
STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE/CAREER AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT UP-TO
SECONDARY LEVEL EDUCATION IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT UP-TO
SECONDARY LEVEL EDUCATION IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA PAKISTAN. International Journal of
Business and Social Science, p. 2.
Elizabeth T. Gershoff, S. H. B., 2007. The case against corporal punishment of children:Converging
evidence from social science research and international human rights lawand implications for U.S.
public policy. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, pp. 13(4): 231-272.
Farooq,M. S.,2013. Aninclusive SchoolingModel for the Prevention of Dropout in Primary Schools
in Pakistan. Bulletin of Education and Research, 35(1), pp. 47-74.
Greydanus, D. E., n.d.. Corporal Punishment in Schools and its Effect on Academic Success.
Horno Goicoechea, P. ,. C. G.-T., 1990. Teach, don't hit - Awareness campaign against corporal
punishment of children in families. unknown, p. 2.
Iqbal Ahmad,H. S.F. K.,2013. Effectof Corporal Punishmenton Students’MotivationandClassroom
Learning. Canadian Center of Science and Education, 5(4).
Iqbal Ahmad, M. R. A. R. S. u. R. M. S., 2013. ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEMS OF PRIMARY EDUCATION
SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN: CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE. Academic Research International, 4(2), pp.
324-331.
22. Muhammad Shahbaz, M. S., 2007. EFFECTS OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL
TREATMENT ON STUDENTS’ LEARNINGANDBEHAVIOR. Journal of Theory and Practice in Education,
p. 10.
Newell, P., 2012. GROUP BRIEFING ON PAKISTAN FOR THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN PRESESSIONAL WORKING. Global Initiative to End all Corporal
Punishment of Children .
Pakistan, V. a. s. a. i. s. i. A. a., 2012. Human Development Resource Center, pp. 1-42.
Pakistan, V. a. s. a. i. s. i. A. a., 2012. Human Development Resource Centre.
RAFI, M. S. A. a. M. S., 2007. EFFECTS OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL
TREATMENT ON STUDENTS’ LEARNINGANDBEHAVIOR. Journal of Theory and Practice in Education,
3(2), pp. 171-180.
REPORT, P. –. C., 2010. Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment of Childern, s.l.: UNICEF.
Wasef, N. H., 2011. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOLS. Public Policy and Administration
Department in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of, p. 83.
23. Appendix
1) Were you ever subjected to corporal punishment in school in Pakistan?
1. Yes
2. No
2) If yes to question one, what do you think the purpose of corporal punishment was?
1. No homework done
2. Disturbing/talking during class
3. Coming late to the class
4. Answering back the teacher
5. Frustration and anger of the teacher
6. All of the above
3) Was your family aware of that you were subjected to corporal punishment in school?
1. Yes
2. No
4) The educational stage where students in your class were subjected to corporal
punishment most frequently was:
1. Primary school
2. Secondary school
3. Both
5) Was the use of corporal punishment greater in
1. Government schools or
2. Private schools
6) How many times per week you were beaten by your teacher in school?
24. 1. 1-3 times per week
2. 3-5 times per week
3. More than 5 times per week
4. Rarely
5. Mostly
7) If corporal punishment had positive effect on you, then how corporal punishment in
school affected you?
1. You were more disciplined
2. Always had your homework done
3. Never late
4. No talking in class
5. Higher academic results
6. All of the above
8) If corporal punishment had negative effect on you, then how corporal punishment in
school affected you?
1. You were embarrassed
2. Low confidence in class
3. Poor academic results
4. Dropped out of school
5. All of the above
9) Did your family support the use of corporal punishment in school?
1. Yes
2. No
10) Did corporal punishment in school affect your relationship with your family?
1. Yes
2. No
