Analysis of physical abuse in American schools

Corporal Punishment: Used in a Discriminatory Manner?

“…All female principals in the study indicted that they paddled less than fifteen students a month. Male teachers are three times more likely than female teachers to inflict severe corporal punishment on students (Hyman, Clarke, and Erdlen 1987;Hyman and Zelikoff 1988).…”

“…The rationale for physical punishment comes from Calvinistic theology, as illustrated by the old adage, "Spare the rod, spoil the child." Corporal punishment, despite research evidence to the contrary (e.g., Good and Brophy 1990;Henson 1986), is still believed to be an effective means of stopping student misbehavior, particularly by administrators and teachers in the South, the Southwest, and rural areas throughout the country (Hyman, Clarke, and Erdlen 1987). In fact, for many administrators and teachers, paddling and discipline are synonymous.…”

“…Although junior high school students engage in tnOre documented misbehaviors than do students at other grade levels, the misbehaviors are most often nonviolent a d not of a serious nature (HWan, Clarke, and Erdlen 1987). Nonetheless, paddling occurs at a higher rate for junior high xhoo\ students than for students at any other grade \eve\.…”

“…Nonetheless, paddling occurs at a higher rate for junior high xhoo\ students than for students at any other grade \eve\. ~y m a n , Clarke, and Erdlen (1987) SPeculated that high school students may get a paddling less often than students at other grade levels because such action a g h s t older students (aged 14 to 20) may make the or teacher more vulnerable to a hostfie StUdent reaction.…”

Targets of violence and aggression, edited by Ronald Baenninger. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Eisevier/North-Holland, 1991, 476 pp

“…The results from psychological research are more in line with Maugham's writings than with Christian theology; pain and punishment facilitate aggressive behavior. A large portion of this chapter summarizes the results of a study by Hyman, Clarke, and Erdlen [1987]. This study used newspaper reports to examine the relationship between severity of corporal punishment and sex of educator, sex of pupil, age of student, and type of infraction.…”