Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2004. / Corporal punishment was abolished in schools in June 1995 (Benson:1995). The suspension was sudden, and the Education Department provided very Little guidance with regard to alternative means of maintaining discipline. Teachers, who for years had the option of resorting to corporal punishment as a final means of instilling and maintaining leaner discipline, now had very little to fall back on to. An upsurge in disciplinary problems seemed to follow the suspension, and many schools struggled to maintain effective learner discipline. As with many other schools, Silverlea Primary School battled to come to grips with learner discipline in the post-corporal punishment era. Educators had little or no training in alternative methods of maintaining discipline, but still had to deal with the same, or worsening, levels of learner discipline. It is because of this perceived erosion of learner discipline that this study was undertaken. It is grounded in the belief that a positive, disciplined ~environment is essential for effective teaching and learning to happen consistently, and moves from the premise that the system of discipline and, to a large extent its effectiveness, is the creation of the staff of that school. This system, though, should operate within a supportive framework of the Department of Education. Discipline impacts strongly on the quality of education offered and received. It also affects the ability of educators to maintain consistently high standards. Although the environment from which the learners come affect their behaviour and discipline, the management of this discipline at school is dependent on the management skills and systems present at the school. Four concepts - effective discipline, curriculum, management styles, and the abolition of corporal punishment - are identified as being central to the study of discipline. They affect the running of the school, and thus the discipline adhered to at the school. This discipline in turn impacts on the educators who have to constantly be dealing with disciplinary problems rather than teaching. A descriptive research method was used

Thesis (MTech (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, 2006 / Teachers often complain of a lack of discipline in the school environment. In addition, these breakdowns in discipline become, on occasion, media headlines when violence, bullying, vandalism and intimidation flare up into major incidents. This, coupled with the desire of the national Department of Education (DOE) to encourage teachers to use more co-operative disciplinary methods, has led to this investigation. This dissertation explores the perceptions of senior secondary pupils around school discipline, with a particular focus on collaborative rule-making. Pupil perceptions were ascertained through a structured interview process. A framework of understanding was established by examining the pupils' interpretation of the meaning of discipline; the state of discipline in their school and recommendations to address problem areas; authority; corporal punishment; power and prefectship; power and non-prefect matrics; prefect versus nonprefect views on discipline; the prefect system; the fairness of school rules; and pupil input into school rules. The understanding gleaned from the pupils' perceptions of these notions established a solid base from which an investigation into collaborative rule-making was launched. Thereafter, the notion of collaborative rule-making, the viability of collaborative rule-making, the advantages and disadvantages of collaborative rule-making and the implementation of collaborative rule-making were examined. The pupils came out strongly in support of collaborative rule-making and were keen to have an input into the school's disciplinary structures. The potential advantages far outweighed any possible disadvantages. These findings support both Bernstein's (1996) principle of pupil participation and the premise of pupil input into Codes of Conduct as detailed by the South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996).

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / A safe and secure environment is necessary for effective teaching and learning to take place. Such an environment is possible when learners are disciplined and there is mutual respect among stakeholders. However, research indicates that learner discipline is an emerging problem which renders many schools as ineffective centres of learning. To circumvent this problem, governing bodies are empowered by the Schools Act to design and implement the learner code of conduct after consultation with parents, learners and educators. This study revealed that governing bodies have challenges relating to the proper design and effective implementation of the learner code of conduct. Consequently, educators who must implement the code of conduct struggle to maintain discipline and tend to use punitive disciplinary methods. A basic or generic qualitative research design was used to understand the process of the design and implementation of the learner code of conduct. Focus group interviews were conducted with governing bodies to solicit their perspectives and experiences of the design and implementation of the code of conduct. Field notes were taken and documents such as discipline records of the participating schools were analysed. Data was analysed according to Tesch's method of open coding in order to identify themes and categories. One of the findings of the study is that there is a need for the adoption of preventative rather than punitive disciplinary strategies. In line with this finding, governing bodies are encouraged to enact their discipline policies according to the South African Constitution's value of human dignity, which bars schools from enacting rules and policies that are degrading and humiliating to learners. It is recommended that further studies should be undertaken about the impact of the implementation of the learner code of conduct on the maintenance of discipline.

Good discipline is one of the key characteristics of an effective school and is a vital prerequisite for a culture of learning and teaching at any school. Despite the requirement that every public school should have a code of conduct and other disciplinary policies to ensure a disciplined environment of teaching and learning, there is a perception that learner discipline at certain schools in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth is busy eroding the fabric of effective school management. As an educator and more specifically a member of the school management team (SMT) at a Northern areas high school, I elected to investigate the role of SMTs in managing discipline at selected schools in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth. The research question, which formed the basis of my research, was: What is the role played by SMTs of specific schools in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth in creating a culture of discipline and order? By investigating how these SMTs cope with the challenge of managing learners’ ill-discipline, I was hoping to provide SMTs with possible solutions and/or guidelines for future use by SMTs facing similar challenges. This study chose the interpretive paradigm in which to conduct its investigation, as the aim was to understand how SMTs experience the phenomenon of school discipline at selected schools in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth. This was done by means of qualitative research methods, which allowed me to listen to and share the experiences of SMT members in the participating schools. The sample of this investigation comprised of the SMTs of four schools in the Northern areas – three high schools and one primary school. Data were collected by getting the viewpoints of the participants by means of questionnaires as well as individual and group interviews. This data were then analyzed by highlighting significant themes resulting in the formulation of emerging themes, namely: a decline in discipline, socio-economic factors, classroom planning and school management and discipline practices. These four themes were then sub-divided into two categories each and thereafter the experiences of the participants were described in rich, thick detail. The main findings of this research focused on school discipline being the responsibility of all the relevant stakeholders of a school; finding solutions to the discipline problems should be a collective effort of SMT, educators and parents; the Department of Education (DoE) should increase its efforts to assist schools to manage discipline problems more effectively in order to create a culture of discipline and order. The findings of this study resulted in specific recommendations being formulated, e.g. the development of learners’ self-discipline should be high on the priority list of any school, educators need to be trained in effective alternatives to corporal punishment, and parents need to set standards of acceptable behaviour for their children at home, which will automatically spill over to the school. The conclusions from this research are that SMTs need to work as a team and in collaboration with other educators and parents to effectively manage discipline at their respective schools.

Die doel van hierdie studie is om die dissiplinêre probleme in skole soos dit in die Oudtshoorn-omgewing voorkom, te identifiseer en aan te spreek. Dit word gedoen deur te let op: • die skoolklimaat wat by 'n skool heers en die uitwerking van die skoolklimaat op die dissipline van`n skool. • die dissiplinêre probleme wat met skooldissipline in skole ervaar word. • die oorsake van skooldissipline en in watter mate die omgewing waarin die skool geleë is 'n invloed op skooldissipline het en • om oplossings vir dissiplinêre probleme soos vasgestel aan die hand te doen. Die studie poog om deur kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodes vas te stel hoe prinsipale, opvoeders en leerders die huidige dissiplinêre situasie in skole ervaar. Dit poog dus om eerstehandse kennis te verkry van hul denke, gevoelens en gedagtes en hoe hierdie fenomeen hulle beïnvloed. Die studie kyk ook in watter mate skoolklimaat op die breë spektrum van skooldissipline 'n invloed het, en hoe die verbetering van skooldissipline `n sleutelbestuurstaak in 'n skool is. Die belangrikste bevindinge van die studie is dat daar samewerking tussen opvoeders en ouers moet wees om negatiewe leerdergedrag aan te spreek. Die studie dui ook aan dat kommunikasie tussen alle rolspelers van uiterse belang is om die dissiplinêre probleme binne skole aan bande te lê. Skoolleierskap moet hulle ook vergewis van die jongste metodes om dissiplinêre probleme aan te spreek. 'n Positiewe skoolklimaat of kultuur is ondersteunend om skooldissipline te verbeter.

Adolescents in the schools in South Africa have been victims of many social problems such as violence and crime as a result of background influence. They have been both victims and perpetrators of this violence. Problems of attachment to both school and home have always been blamed for the adolescents’ deviance. South African schools are affected by this verbal and physical violence which presumably emanates from learners poor connections with school and home. The background of societies such as economic deprivation has also been presumed to have an impact on the way adolescents conduct themselves in schools. There is no research that has verified the correlation between violence and attachment to bases of attachment - home and school in South Africa, especially in the Eastern Cape Province. A survey was conducted in more than ten schools in the Amathole District where 317 learners’ opinions on their observation of cases of verbal and physical violence in their schools, and on their attachment to both home and school were collected through a 40 item questionnaire. The questionnaire had five sections (a) to (e). The first section (a) required learners to enter their biographical information; gender, age, grade, and quintile classification. The second section (b) required learners to rate their attachment to their homes and to their care givers. The third section (c) required learners to rate their connectedness to their schools. The fourth section (d) required learners to supply information on their observation and involvement in verbal violence. The final section (e) with items adopted from section (d) and customised required learners to rate their observation and involvement in physical violence. Descriptive statistics were used to glean frequencies and the overall levels of attachment and violence amongst learners. The study also looked at significant differences in attachment (both family and school) and violence (both verbal and physical) using gender and socio-economic profiles of the learners and schools (quintile system) as sorting or categorising variables. One major finding which is contrary to most theory and may be as a result of social dynamics is that statistics suggested that gender and socio-economic variables had little bearing on violence and attachment. Through the use of SPSS, the Spearman’s rho correlation coefficients were calculated to answer the sub-questions on the relationship between family and school attachment, and school violence (both verbal and physical). There were notable negative and positive correlations between school attachment and verbal violence; for example there was a positive correlation between teachers making learners hate school and learner-involvement in swearing. There was also a negative correlation between school buildings making learners proud and schools and homes being to blame for the frequency of verbal violence in the schools. There were also notable correlations between attachment to family and verbal violence such as the correlation between the frustration by parents’ lack of concern and learners’ involvement in verbal violence without any clear reason. With regard to physical violence there was a negative correlation between parents having time to discuss life with their children and the frequency of physical violence in the schools. There was however a negative correlation between one’s pride in one’s school and the blame on schools for instigating school violence. From these correlations implications for school violence prevention could be drawn. The study reveals that a lot needs to be done by the schools, parents, the government, and the community to enhance learner attachment to both school and home. However, for all the stake holders to succeed government must take the leading role in speeding up the process of reducing poverty in the communities. This is premised on the fact that some findings reveal that frequency of violence increases in an environment of frustration and anger. Schools as care-givers can also introduce many interventions such as counselling workshops to equip teachers with professional crisis management. The research may encourage the Department of Education and schools to adopt violence prevention programs implemented in countries (like United States of America’s Olweus bullying and violence prevention program) for use in bringing communities together to work against school violence. These findings might strengthen the South African Department of Education’s Safe Schools Programs.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The purpose of this study was to explore strategies used by schools to cope with indiscipline in rural secondary schools in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Indiscipline in secondary schools of Limpopo Province in Sekhukhune District has become an evil and dangerous influence that spreads and affects learners’ behaviour and their moral upbringing. The Department of Basic Education brought alternatives to indiscipline but these measures seem not to be working as learners continue to challenge teachers. Since corporal punishment was abolished in 1994, schools are expected to come up with strategies to deal with indiscipline. The high prevalence of indiscipline in schools in Limpopo Province has propelled the researcher to explore strategies used in South African rural schools in Sekhukhune District of Limpopo Province to cope with indiscipline as it affects teaching and learning. The research question was: What are strategies used by schools in Moutse Cluster to cope with indiscipline? The sub questions were: What does the policy say about addressing indiscipline? What forms of indiscipline prevail in schools? What strategies do schools use to cope with indiscipline? The study will be beneficial to policy makers, curriculum implementers, curriculum developers and advisors, the Department of Education and schools. The study was conducted in Limpopo Province, in Moteti area and Elandsrooring at Groblersdal. It was limited to senior phase teachers, teachers in disciplinary committees and class teachers. The study used qualitative research since the title sets out to develop understanding of individuals and events in their natural setting. The study used semi-structured interviews as a method of data collection. It also used purposive sampling, hence the research question sought responses from teachers and learners who had more knowledge and experience in indiscipline. The study found that there exist strategies used by schools in order to cope with indiscipline although the phenomenon is out of control. There are internal strategies such v as detention and the use of period registers that are applied in order to cope with indiscipline. There are strategies beyond the school which can be applied such as the police and involving parents. This study also made additional findings with regard to forms of indiscipline experienced by schools under this study, the effects of indiscipline on teaching and learning and how education policies influence the behaviour of learners. Key concepts: Indiscipline, disruptive behaviour, learners, coping strategies, teachers, secondary schools.

Bibliography: pages 126-137. / Black schooling has been plunged into deep crisis following persistent political and ideological assertiveness by users' against the intransigent State. Assertive practices in the State black secondary schools climaxed with the refusal by students to sit for examinations. Accompanying these assertive practices were the disintegration of order and the alarming failure rate, all of which put teachers in the midst of accusations from both the State and some users. The State blamed teachers for disorderliness, the lack of discipline of students and for not doing their work efficiently. Some users accused teachers of incompetency and often of sustaining the State hegemony. Teachers, however, redirected the accusations at the State for its authoritarianism. These labellings reflect the impact the interminable education crisis has had on teachers working within State schools which are the site of race and class struggle. The crisis bears heavily and negatively on teachers' authority to an extent where some scholars highlight that teachers have become professionally dysfunctional and have since lost authority (see below). The study takes these charges seriously and is geared towards understanding teachers' authority within the context of South African education system whose bias favours white, in particular Afrikaner supremacy and the domination of the ruling classes. This could mean that teachers' authority is either a creation of this supremacy/domination and its maintenance or a product of resistance towards such domination. In order to test this theoretical supposition, particular attention was given towards understanding the significance of teachers' authority, its social bases, the way it is exercised and its stability or instability in the context of the current education crisis. What came to light was the fact that teachers exercised a form of authority predetermined by the State whilst at the same time there were attempts to move away from that practice and establish an alternative authority. The new form of authority was interpreted as being influenced by an ideology whose ultimate aim was to transform the imposed status quo. The conclusions were that teachers' authority remained in crisis as did the schools, due to teachers' work which either conflicted with the educational policy or which propped up the system in the face of insurmountable resistance from users. It was suggested that teachers are likely to thrive in the crisis if they were able to collectively amass political professional power in alliance with the community to engage in counter-hegemony.

Evidence of the effects of indiscipline on the academic performance of grade 12 learners has been mixed. This study examined how indiscipline in the forms of disruptive, aggressive behaviour, alcohol and drug abuse affected levels of academic performance in a case study of public Senior Secondary Schools of the Libode Education District, Eastern Cape Province in the Republic of South Africa. A total of 25 teachers from two selected schools in the Libode District (10 men and 15 women) were randomly assigned to participate in both the quantitative and qualitative interview surveys conducted by the researcher. The study relied substantially on teacher ratings. The data were collected using interviews which were synthesized, analysed, presented and discussed within a specified time frame. The results adequately reflected on the three research questions of the study which were: To what extent do learners‘ aggressive and violent behaviour impede academic performance? Does imbibing alcohol and drugs influence learners‘ academic performance? To what extent does learners‘ disruptive behaviour affect their academic performance? It has been clearly indicated that disruptive, aggressive behaviour and alcohol and drug abuse have a negative impact on academic performance. The factors (disruptive, aggressive behaviour, alcohol and drug abuse) used in the analysis were identified as the main challenges to the educational development and academic achievement among learners; they pose a serious threat and have negative effects on students, teachers, the school environment and society. They originate from the same sources, however; these are mainly family background, society, cultural values, beliefs, technology, peer pressure and classroom management strategies employed by educators. Findings were discussed in the context of the main and sub research questions and recommendations were made.

M.Ed. / Unruly behaviour in schools are becoming more of a problem each day. As an educator I am finding it difficult to teach and control the classes. Handling and controlling the classes are sometimes very difficult, because people are complex. According to Carl Rogers' person-centered theory one should rather concentrate on the person as a unique individual. Some educators focus on the bad behaviour of learners and not on the person as a whole. In this study the focus is on the experiences of the adolescents in the handling of unruly behaviour by the educators in the school. This was a qualitative study. Interviews were be conducted with adolescents between the ages of 13 -17 years. A sample group was purposively selected on the basis of adolescents showing unruly behaviour. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed and data were analysed according to Tesch's method of analysis. All ethical measures were adhered to and discussed in greater detail in the study. A clean set of data were given to an external coder to be analysed. A consensus interview was held so that corresponding, different and unique themes within the data could be found. After the themes were discussed guidelines were set according to these themes. Themes that were found after data saturation were: Learners and educators treat each other with• disrespect. Educators do not handle unruly behaviour in a consistent manner and are not strict enough. According to these themes guidelines were set. Both the themes and guidelines were verified in the appropriate literature. Limitations and recommendations for further studies were also discussed.