For many decades, violence that is perpetuated by parents and loved ones against children in the name of physical child discipline or corporal punishment, has been a major concern for various governments and church leaders among most nations of the world. This does not only take into account hitting or beating a child with a stick, belt, slapping, or choking, but also spanking; especially when it is aggressive or excessive (Bradshaw 2009; Straus 1994; Kanyandago in Waruta & Kinoti 2005, Wolfe 1991; Carl 1985). A very prominent and highly respected religious figure, here in South Africa, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, made the following notable assertion to show his support towards the elimination of the practice of corporal punishment in the home: I support the Global Initiative to eliminate all corporal punishment at home, at school, in institutions and community. … Progress towards abolishing corporal punishment is being made, but millions of the world’s children still suffer from humiliating acts of violence and these violations …can have serious lifelong effects. Violence begets violence and we shall reap whirlwind. Children can be disciplined without violence that instills fear and misery, and I look forward to church communities working with other organizations to… make progress towards ending all forms of violence against children. If we really want a peaceful and compassionate world, we need to build communities of trust where all children are respected, where home and school are safe places to be and where discipline is taught by example” (http://www.rapcan.org.za/wgpd/documents: Waterhouse 2012. Retrieved 23th February 2013). However, in spite of the various voices and movements against corporal punishment of children; especially the aggressive form of this practice (as will be analyzed later on in this study), the practice is still a common phenomenon in many African countries, including South Africa. Furthermore, as some research studies have shown, a literalistic view of certain texts of Scriptures in the OT (which are mostly from the Book of Proverbs) do not only seem to influence the widespread of corporal punishment of children, but also the abuse of this form of physical discipline (e.g., Prov. 13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14, 22:15) (Bradshaw 2009; Capps 1995; Straus 1994; Greven 1991). This assumption seems plausible, seeing that as Tripp T & Tripp M (2008:138) rightly allude to, as Christians, “God’s Word is our rule for faith and practice.” The authors, also expressed that, “the Biblical laws and standards sound oppressive and strict in our lawless, arrogant, twenty-first century culture.” However, it is important to also acknowledge that we, as Christians, can be wrong in our interpretation and application of certain Scriptures; thereby, leading to flawed practices (Pohlmann 2007; Pollard 1997). As Pollard (1997:91) has rightly observed, “Clearly, both personal experience and church history teach us that we can be wrong. It is vital, then, that we have a genuine humility as Christians. We must recognize our fallibility, and constantly reassess what we believe.” In other words, there are many well-meaning Christian parents who have put their children in harm’s way by frequently administering spanking to them in ways that are, evidently, excessive or aggressive: while claiming that they are obeying scriptural injunction on child discipline, and are also doing it for the moral and ethical good of their children (Bradshaw 2009; Greven 1991). The researcher, himself, was brought up in a Christian home; where the use and abuse of both high violence (e.g., beating a child with belt, stick, etc) and low violence (e.g., forcefully beating a child with bear hand) methods of physical child discipline were the order of the day (or a frequent occurrence). Furthermore, his well-meaning father often seemed to find justification for his actions based on scriptural grounds. Incidentally, the researcher noticed that this form of child discipline also seems to be widely used by many parents in his local church and many other Christian parents, whom he has come in contact with. And many of these parents seem not to be aware of the immediate and long term negative effects that aggressive corporeal punishment has on their children. The widespread of this phenomenon (corporeal punishment of children) and the traumatic impact it has on children, has led the researcher to do this research study in his local church context (a Pentecostal church), and to develop/propose a biblically sound or balanced model of pastoral care that can help pastors in rendering effective care, to those faced with this problem situation within the church. The theoretical frame work of this research study is based on Pollard’s model of positive deconstruction, as well as some contributions from Straus’ book Beating the Devil out of Them; Corporal Punishment in American Families. The purpose for choosing Pollard’s model of positive deconstruction was to help the researcher in: 1) Identifying the underlying worldview. 2) Analyzing the worldview. 3) Affirming the elements of truth in it (as every world view has some truth in it that needs to be recognizes and affirmed, which makes the process positive and 4) discovering the error in the worldview. These are the four elements in the process of positive deconstruction, as proposed by Pollard. Straus explores the phenomenon of corporal punishment and the traumatic effects of this method of child discipline both in term of its immediate and long term harm (later in life or in adulthood) psychological harm to children. The research methodology that was employed by the researcher in carrying out this research study is qualitative. Consequently, questionnaires were given out to 50 parents in the researcher’s church to fill. Also, one-on-one interviews were arranged with four parents, two children, and also with two pastoral caregivers in the church, on the issues of corporal punishment and child abuse within the Christian home. / Dissertation (MA Theol)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Practical Theology / unrestricted

MEd / Department of Education Management

No description available.

Through the centuries the parental authority has dwindled from the absolute power of the father to the rights of autonomy of the child. At present in the South African law the parental authority is still largely determined by the common law and can be described as the sum total of rights and obligations which parents enjoy in relation to their children. Guardianship and custody are the separate incidents of parental authority. The Child Care Act 74 of 1983, The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 108 of 1996, The Guardianship Act 192 of 1993, The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1996, the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 by South Africa on 16 June 1995 and case law have contributed to increasing limitations on the exercise of parental authority. A balance needs to be found between the parental authority and the rights of the child to ensure that neither is absolute. Parents need to respect the evolving capacities of the child and children need to respect the guidance of the parents. / Jurisprudence / LL.M

Learner absenteeism is one of the major precursors to poor academic performance. If learners miss school, they do not learn and ultimately they fail or drop-out. Notwithstanding, this problem does not receive the attention it deserves. A literature study, which reviewed research findings concerning absenteeism in South Africa and selected countries, provided a framework for the ensuing empirical inquiry. A qualitative study using in-depth interviews, focus group interviews, document review and observation as data gathering techniques focused on two selected primary schools with a high rate of learner absenteeism in the Acornhoek area of Mpumalanga, South Africa. Participants were purposefully selected as information rich candidates: absentee learners, parents of absentee learners, teachers and school principals. Learner absenteeism negatively impacts effective professional practice, that is, teaching and learning. The study concludes with recommendations to prevent learner absenteeism in order to improve teaching and learning in South African primary schools. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The abolition of corporal punishment in S v Williams and Others 1995 (3) SA 632 (CC) provided the state with the impetus to consider alternative sentencing options. Unsystematic efforts by the government to reform the juvenile justice system have failed abysmally. The government was forced to review its policies on juvenile sentencing. An examination of international trends reveals the imposition of stricter measures of punishment for serious and violent juvenile offenders. Community-based sentencing options are used mainly for first-time offenders. The focus has also shifted from punishment and retribution to prevention and treatment. It is advocated that serious and violent juvenile offenders be incarcerated in secure-care facilities and/or juvenile prisons and that community-based sentencing options be utilised for first-time offenders. The government should also design programmes that deal with situations that lead to crime and delinquency / Criminal & Procedural Law / LL.M. (Law)

La transmission intergénérationnelle de la violence envers les enfants et les perceptions reliées aux expériences personnelles de violence dans l’enfance ont été peu étudiées auprès de la population générale et encore moins auprès des pères. L’objectif de la présente étude est de déterminer le lien entre, d’une part, la fréquence rapportée de la violence physique sévère vécue dans l’enfance et la légitimité perçue de cette violence et d’autre part, la violence physique mineure et psychologique envers les enfants au sein de la famille actuelle de 204 pères québécois. Les données sont issues de l’enquête sur la violence familiale dans la vie des enfants du Québec réalisée en 2004 par l’Institut de la Statistique du Québec. Il y a un lien significatif entre la fréquence rapportée de la violence physique sévère vécue dans l’enfance et sa légitimité perçue, ainsi qu’avec la violence envers les enfants dans la famille actuelle des pères. Les pères rapportant avoir souvent ou très souvent vécu de la violence physique sévère dans l’enfance ont actuellement des enfants qui vivent plus de violence psychologique que ceux qui en ont parfois vécu. Plus les pères considèrent la violence physique sévère vécue dans l’enfance comme méritée, plus leurs enfants vivent de la violence psychologique. Enfin, les enfants des pères qui considèrent la violence subie comme parfois méritée vivent moins de violence physique mineure que ceux des pères qui la considèrent comme souvent ou très souvent méritée. Les implications pour la recherche et la pratique sont discutées. / Intergenerational patterns of violence against children and perceptions of childhood abuse have not been studied a lot among general population or fathers. The objective of the present study is to determine the link between frequencies of childhood severe physical violence and its perceived legitimacy (first), and minor physical and psychological violence against children in actual family (second) in a sample of 204 fathers from Quebec. Results indicate a significant link between frequencies of childhood severe physical violence and its perceived legitimacy, and violence against children in actual family. Fathers who have often or very often lived childhood severe physical violence have children who suffer more psychological violence than fathers who have lived it sometimes. The more fathers think that childhood violence was deserved, the more their children suffer psychological violence. Finally, children of fathers who think that childhood severe physical violence was sometimes deserved suffer less minor physical violence than those of fathers who think that it was often or very often deserved. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Learner absenteeism is one of the major precursors to poor academic performance. If learners miss school, they do not learn and ultimately they fail or drop-out. Notwithstanding, this problem does not receive the attention it deserves. A literature study, which reviewed research findings concerning absenteeism in South Africa and selected countries, provided a framework for the ensuing empirical inquiry. A qualitative study using in-depth interviews, focus group interviews, document review and observation as data gathering techniques focused on two selected primary schools with a high rate of learner absenteeism in the Acornhoek area of Mpumalanga, South Africa. Participants were purposefully selected as information rich candidates: absentee learners, parents of absentee learners, teachers and school principals. Learner absenteeism negatively impacts effective professional practice, that is, teaching and learning. The study concludes with recommendations to prevent learner absenteeism in order to improve teaching and learning in South African primary schools. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The purpose of this study is to examine young adults', 18-19 years old, attitudes towards corporal punishment and with the help of social constructionism, grid-group theory and relevant concepts analyze the results and compare it with previous research. The research questions introduce various factors such as gender, origin and personal experiences of corporal punishment that may affect the attitudes. In order to fulfill the purpose and answer the research questions, a quantitative research method has been selected. There was 118 participants in the survey. The study was conducted by means of surveys in high schools in Örebro. Social constructionism made us realize how the community, perceptions and expectations might influence attitudes. Grid-group theory gave us an insight into how different family structures may explain why attitudes toward corporal punishment of children differ between individuals. One of the conclusions of this study is that the long-term trend of decreasing positive attitudes toward corporal punishment seems to continue. Results show that all of 41, 2% of young adults in our study, with parents born outside the Nordic countries, have been subjected to corporal punishment. Personal experiences and parents' origin has been shown to have effects on attitudes towards corporal punishment. Different family structures and attitudes towards child rearing may be important to understand and take into consideration in social work. The study shows that corporal punishment still exists, which makes the topic worth of attention and we recommend it to be studied further.

La transmission intergénérationnelle de la violence envers les enfants et les perceptions reliées aux expériences personnelles de violence dans l’enfance ont été peu étudiées auprès de la population générale et encore moins auprès des pères. L’objectif de la présente étude est de déterminer le lien entre, d’une part, la fréquence rapportée de la violence physique sévère vécue dans l’enfance et la légitimité perçue de cette violence et d’autre part, la violence physique mineure et psychologique envers les enfants au sein de la famille actuelle de 204 pères québécois. Les données sont issues de l’enquête sur la violence familiale dans la vie des enfants du Québec réalisée en 2004 par l’Institut de la Statistique du Québec. Il y a un lien significatif entre la fréquence rapportée de la violence physique sévère vécue dans l’enfance et sa légitimité perçue, ainsi qu’avec la violence envers les enfants dans la famille actuelle des pères. Les pères rapportant avoir souvent ou très souvent vécu de la violence physique sévère dans l’enfance ont actuellement des enfants qui vivent plus de violence psychologique que ceux qui en ont parfois vécu. Plus les pères considèrent la violence physique sévère vécue dans l’enfance comme méritée, plus leurs enfants vivent de la violence psychologique. Enfin, les enfants des pères qui considèrent la violence subie comme parfois méritée vivent moins de violence physique mineure que ceux des pères qui la considèrent comme souvent ou très souvent méritée. Les implications pour la recherche et la pratique sont discutées. / Intergenerational patterns of violence against children and perceptions of childhood abuse have not been studied a lot among general population or fathers. The objective of the present study is to determine the link between frequencies of childhood severe physical violence and its perceived legitimacy (first), and minor physical and psychological violence against children in actual family (second) in a sample of 204 fathers from Quebec. Results indicate a significant link between frequencies of childhood severe physical violence and its perceived legitimacy, and violence against children in actual family. Fathers who have often or very often lived childhood severe physical violence have children who suffer more psychological violence than fathers who have lived it sometimes. The more fathers think that childhood violence was deserved, the more their children suffer psychological violence. Finally, children of fathers who think that childhood severe physical violence was sometimes deserved suffer less minor physical violence than those of fathers who think that it was often or very often deserved. Implications for research and practice are discussed.