South Africa's education management system has undergone a long history of transformation from the promulgation of the Bantu Education Act of 1953 to the realisation of democracy, and in this context, the South Mrican Schools Act (SASA) of l996. Apartheid legislation and the new democratic legislation have had a profound impact on the education leadership and management of schools, in which authoritarian management practices have been replaced by democratic management practices. However, democratic management practices have not yet had a significant effect in the leadership and management of schools, especially in the schools of previously disadvantaged areas. This thesis seeks to examine perceptions held by education stakeholders in the light of the rights of students as stipulated in the discipline provisions of the Schools Act of 1996, in one of the rural high schools in the Northern Region of the Eastern Cape Province. One of the most important discipline provisions is the ban on corporal punishment in schools. My intention in carrying out this research was not to generalise my findings but to understand the experiences and perceptions of the stakeholders in this school regarding the discipline provisions of the SASA. The data suggest that authoritarian education practices, especially corporal punishment, are still a factor in the maintenance of student discipline in this rural school. Stakeholders still believe in the use of corporal punishment as the only way of maintaining discipline and an orderly environment for teaching and learning. Such beliefs, assumptions and values concerning the use of corporal punishment are held by the principal, teachers, students and parents and have not changed since 1996. Beliefs, assumptions and values on the exclusive use of power by the principal on issues of suspension and expulsion are still being held by the above stakeholders in the school. The vision of the SASA that schools become autonomous institutions with democratic leadership and management practices does not seem to be practical because of the centralisation of power in the hands of the Provincial Head of the Education Department. This centralisation of power denies the principal and other stakeholders of the school the power to decide on crucial matters like the expulsion of misbehaving students, because it is the provincial Head who decides on the seriousness of offences committed by misbehaving students and subsequent expulsions. Apart from the location of power in the Provincial Head of the Education Department, the stakeholders of this school are also powerless on expulsion of students, or any other form of punishment because of the implication of the "right" to education in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The education department has to devise programmes that change the beliefs and assumptions of stakeholders on corporal punishment and decision-making on expulsions and suspensions. Unfortunately corporal punishment persists because parents use it in the home and support its use in school. Programmes on alternatives to corporal punishment are required for the smooth implementation of the SASA.

Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

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

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 and Procedural Law / LL.M. (Law)

L’objectif de cette recherche est d’appréhender les punitions corporelles en tant que phénomène éducatif au regard des droits des enfants à partir des représentations sociales des parents ordinaires. L’étude a impliqué des mères et pères de familles biparentales, sans risque économique, habitant la ville de Barranquilla en Colombie. La démarche s’inscrit dans une perspective pluridisciplinaire combinant l’éducation familiale, la théorie des représentations sociales issue de la psychologie sociale et les études sur la conscience du droit, issues de la sociologie juridique (Legal Consciousness Studies - LCS). Le recueil de données a été réalisé avec deux instruments : le réseau d’associations et l’entretien semi-directif. Le premier permet de recueillir les mots évoqués de façon spontanée à partir d’un terme inducteur et d’atteindre la construction du contexte sémantique de la représentation. L’analyse prototypique des réseaux avec le logiciel EVOC 2003 a permis d’explorer la structure représentationnelle. Cinq objets de représentations ont été examinés pour la caractérisation de son contenu et de sa structure : Punitions-récompenses, Droits de l’enfant, Autorité des pères et mères, Éducation dans la famille, Garçons-Filles. Cette approche a contribué à une compréhension approfondie du phénomène des punitions corporelles du point de vue des acteurs. L’analyse des entretiens a été faite avec le logiciel Atlas.ti en s’appuyant sur les catégories conceptualisantes. Cette analyse permet d’approfondir la connaissance des éléments représentationnels et leur relation avec la narration du quotidien par les parents. Les récits obtenus décrivent la reconstruction par les participants des discours issus de la tradition, du champ juridique et du champ savant, trois discours qui sont intégrés dans le réseau de la pensée sociale. L’examen de la reformulation du discours juridique et de la représentation sociale des droits des enfants ouvrent la voie à la compréhension de la construction par les parents ordinaires d’une légalité particulière. / The research aimed to characterize corporal punishment as an educational phenomenon in tension with the rights of the children, from the social representations of ordinary parents. The study included parents from bi-parental families, excluding the population in economic risk, living in Colombia. The approach involved a multidisciplinary perspective -family education, theory of social representations and legal consciousness studies (LCS)-. The gathering of data is performed with two instruments: the associations networks and semi-structured interviews. The first one allows to reach the construction of the semantic context of the representation. The prototypical analysis of networks made with the EVOC 2003 software led to the exploration of the representational structure. Five objects of representation were examined for the characterization of their content and structure: Punishments-rewards, Children’s rights, Parental authority, Family education, Boys-girls. This approach searched for a deep understanding of the phenomenon of corporal punishment from the point of view of the actors. The treatment of the interviews by the Atlas.ti software was made using conceptualizing categories. This analysis allowed deepening the knowledge of representational elements and their link with stories of everyday life from the parents. The obtained narratives exposed the participants' reconstruction of the discourses emerging from tradition, the legal field, and the learned field; which would be integrated to the social thought network. The examination of the reformulation of the legal discourse and the social representation of children’s rights opens the way to understanding the construction of special legality by the parents on a daily basis. / La investigación tuvo por objetivo caracterizar el castigo físico en tanto fenómeno educativo en tensión con los derechos de los niños desde las representaciones sociales de los padres ordinarios. El estudio se desarrolló en Colombia con madres y padres de familias biparentales. Éste se inscribe en una perspectiva multidisciplinaria - educación familiar, teoría de las representaciones sociales y estudios de la consciencia del derecho -. La recolección de los datos se realizó a través de dos instrumentos: las redes de asociaciones y las entrevistas semi-estructuradas. El primero permite alcanzar la construcción del contexto semántico de la representación. El análisis prototípico de las redes con el software EVOC 2003 conduce a explorar la estructura representacional. Cinco objetos de representaciones fueron examinados para la caracterización de su contenido y estructura: Castigos- premios, Derechos de los niños, Autoridad de los padres y madres, Educación en la familia, Niños-niñas. Esta aproximación busca la comprensión del castigo físico desde la perspectiva de los actores. El tratamiento de las entrevistas en el software Atlas.ti se realizó con la ayuda de categorías conceptualisantes. Dicho análisis permite acceder al conocimiento de los elementos representacionales y su relación con las narrativas acerca del cotidiano de los padres. Los relatos recogidos exponen la reconstrucción realizada por los participantes de los discursos emergentes de la tradición, el campo jurídico y de origen experto, los cuales estarían integrados en la red de pensamiento social. El examen de la reformulación del discurso jurídico y la representación social de los derechos de los niños abre la vía a la comprensión de la legalidad particular construida por los padres en el cotidiano.

The purpose of this study was to develop a survey that would provide professionals with an idea as to the thoughts, feelings, and values that social workers held regarding physical punishment towards a child. Social workers stand in a position to intervene in the intergenerational transmission of violence.

Cette étude qualitative porte sur les représentations et les pratiques des futurs psychoéducateurs québécois quant aux situations de punitions corporelles et d’abus physiques rencontrés dans leur pratique professionnelle. Elle permet de s’y intéresser d’abord de manière générale, puis de manière spécifique en abordant la pratique professionnelle en contexte interculturel, soit auprès de familles issues des communautés noires. Les communautés noires sont surreprésentées au sein des systèmes de protection de la jeunesse au Québec, au Canada et ailleurs. À Montréal, elles sont surtout signalées par des professionnels oeuvrant auprès de ces familles, mais l’évaluation mène plus souvent à la fermeture des dossiers que pour les autres groupes ethnoculturels. Il apparaît donc essentiel de s’intéresser aux représentations et aux pratiques des professionnels afin d’éclairer le soutien offert aux familles et l’éventuelle décision de signalement. Un total de vingt-trois étudiants universitaires de deuxième cycle ont pris part à des entretiens de groupe semi-dirigés. Une analyse thématique à catégorisation mixte a par la suite été réalisée. Les résultats mettent de l’avant que les futurs psychoéducateurs rencontrés entretiennent une attitude défavorable à l’égard de l’utilisation de la punition corporelle. Toutefois, leur niveau de tolérance et de compréhension à cet égard est nuancé selon diverses caractéristiques des situations évoquées. L’ajout de la composante culturelle constitue un élément de compréhension supplémentaire qui peut avoir une influence sur leurs pratiques professionnelles. Enfin, la discussion propose des réflexions en lien avec la place à accorder à la culture dans l’intervention et le malaise qui caractérise la pratique professionnelle dans un tel contexte. / This qualitative study looks at the representations and practices of Quebec future psychoeducators in situations of corporal punishment and physical abuse encountered in their professional practice. The study begins by examining the topic generally and then explores it more specifically when the family belongs to a Black community. Black communities are overrepresented in the child protection systems in Quebec, elsewhere in Canada and in other countries. In Montreal, members of these communities are reported mainly by professionals working with them. It would therefore appear essential to take a closer look at professionals’ representations and practices in order to shed light on the support offered to families and the decision to report them or not. 23 master’s-level university students took part in semistructured group interviews. A thematic analysis was then conducted using a mixed-categorization approach. Results suggest that the future psychoeducators surveyed are against the use of corporal punishment, but that their level of tolerance and understanding in this regard depends on various characteristics of the situations described. The cultural component is an additional factor that can help in understanding and that can have an influence on their professional practices. Finally, the discussion offers reflections about the place to be given to culture in the intervention and the unease that characterizes professional practice in such a context.

This dissertation focuses on the expulsion of learners from secondary schools in the Western Cape. Learners with behavioural and emotional problems are disruptive in class. They antagonise teachers and challenge the code of conduct of the school. Expelling learners has far reaching consequences for education and society. Although official expulsions have remained constant the number of "unofficial expulsions" appear to be increasing. Expulsion rates vary amongst schools, but those situated in middle-class areas request more expulsions than those situated in lower socio-economic areas. Substance abuse is by far the most dominant reason for expulsion followed by physical confrontation, verbal confrontation, theft, sexual assault and other behavioural problems. Whilst certain factors such as the socio-economic background, intake, catchment area and ethos of the school does influence expulsions, factors within the school i.e. the attitude of the principal towards certain policies and practices may unintentionally contribute to its increase. Finally, the dissertation provides guidelines and recommendations towards minimising expulsions. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This dissertation focuses on the expulsion of learners from secondary schools in the Western Cape. Learners with behavioural and emotional problems are disruptive in class. They antagonise teachers and challenge the code of conduct of the school. Expelling learners has far reaching consequences for education and society. Although official expulsions have remained constant the number of "unofficial expulsions" appear to be increasing. Expulsion rates vary amongst schools, but those situated in middle-class areas request more expulsions than those situated in lower socio-economic areas. Substance abuse is by far the most dominant reason for expulsion followed by physical confrontation, verbal confrontation, theft, sexual assault and other behavioural problems. Whilst certain factors such as the socio-economic background, intake, catchment area and ethos of the school does influence expulsions, factors within the school i.e. the attitude of the principal towards certain policies and practices may unintentionally contribute to its increase. Finally, the dissertation provides guidelines and recommendations towards minimising expulsions. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This study focuses on the role of educators in the establishment and maintenance of effective discipline in the school and classroom. In a mainly qualitative investigation, empirical data from three secondary schools in the Nkangala region of the Mpumalanga Province were collected by means of focus group and individual interviews as well as observation. These data were analysed in accordance with accepted procedures for qualitative data processing. The study confirmed most of the views found in the existing body of knowledge on school discipline. In the dissertation, detailed attention is paid to the disciplinary problems those educators who were interviewed, experienced, the perceived origin of those problems and suggested solutions. The rights and duties of educators in regard to the management of discipline were also considered. To conclude the study, eight strategies to promote the establishment and maintenance of discipline in secondary schools were proposed. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Educational Management)