Teacher Burnout and Corporal Punishment: Can students be safe in the classrooms without prioritising educators?

Corporal punishment is illegal in schools in 135 countries around the world (endcorporalpunishment.org, 2018), yet unfortunately, it is still used as a form of punishment in schools across many countries, including in India (Kumar et al., 2022). Corporal punishment can be extremely harmful for children of all ages, having many negative consequences, such as increasing long term behavioural problems, and offering no positive consequences (WHO, 2021). Exposing children to this type of maltreatment as students has also been shown to lead to aggression into adulthood alongside the development of poor mental health and reduced cognitive and socio-emotive skills (WHO, 2021). These findings are further corroborated in Bandura’s bobo doll experiment (1961), which found that children who viewed adults acting in an aggressive manner behaved aggressively themselves. Further to these consequences, research suggests that exposure to corporal punishment can also have significant educational consequences, as it does not foster a positive learning environment (hrw.org,2010), with research suggesting that patience is key, if one wants students to learn to the best of their abilities (Morris, 2020). Therefore, raising the question: if school students are being subject to corporal punishment at school, are we (as a global society) reducing their potential?  

Currently teachers are experiencing elevated levels of burnout, with teacher burnout rising worldwide (Peck, 2023). Research suggests that high levels of burn out may contribute to teachers adopting perceived ‘faster and easier’ methods of discipline (Fenstein & Mwahombela, 2010). As in many cultures, corporal punishment is considered the quickest and most effective form of punishment for school aged students, due to it demonstrating short term compliance, teachers are opting for this approach when disciplining their students (Gershoff, 2010). With burnout on the rise, partly fuelled by increased workload, class sizes and decreased resources, many teachers do not have the capacity to invoke other forms of punishment, such as timeouts, redirections and using the actions as a teachable moment (Nenia, n.d). For example, research in a school in Tanzania, revealed that once class sizes increased from 40 students to 100 students, teachers began utilising corporal punishment as a form of discipline more than other forms as it was seen as quicker and more effective, with 56% of teachers reported using corporal punishment on a ‘sometimes’ basis (Fenstein & Mwahmobela, 2010). 

Similar findings have also been observed in India. In India, some teachers have reported feeling less enthusiastic about teaching (Ramachandran et al., 2005). As enthusiasm drops, frustration increases which leads to the beginning of intense burnout (Edú-Valsania et al., 2022), leading to an increase in corporal punishment (end-violence.org, 2023). This cycle leads to lasting emotional scars for the students and teachers. If we want to make school a safer environment for all students, we need to begin by making it a welcoming and supportive space for teachers.  

There also needs to be steps in place to reduce the workloads of teachers, specifically in India. Teachers in India must ensure students score well on examinations which increases the burden to the educator. In addition, teachers also have responsibilities outside the classroom including census duty, administrative tasks and they must attend training, which is often perceived as unhelpful. These factors heighten teacher demotivation and make it harder for teachers to prioritise their role of educating students (Mooji,2008).  These other tasks should be diminished and/or eliminated to decrease teacher stress and burnout to prevent the negative consequences (such as corporal punishment) associated with burned out educators (Parihar & Mahmood, 2016). 

To combat corporal punishment in schools, a priority should be placed on aiding the teachers. This could consist of additional resources, such as more mental health resources for teachers themselves. In a study conducted by Agyapong et al. (2023), it was found that mindfulness in combination with CBT and yoga significantly reduced perceived stress among teachers and saw improvements in reported burnout. Rational Emotional Occupational Health Coaching (REOHC) also showed decreased burnout and emotional exhaustion in special needs teachers. As students with special needs are most likely to be subjects of abuse (Farmer et al., 2009), REOHC may be an important intervention when looking to decrease burnout and improve patience in special needs teachers. In addition, reducing class sizes and reducing teacher workload can also decrease teacher burnout. In a study conducted by Price and Terry (2008), it was reported that teachers experienced higher levels of satisfaction with smaller class sizes. This led to higher teacher retention from year to year and fewer feelings of overwhelm. These factors can lessen teacher burnout which can be beneficial to teachers and students alike.  

Overall, to improve learning and social outcomes for students and to combat corporal punishment, teachers need to be prioritised through more mental health resources, reduced workload and smaller class sizes. By refocusing teachers on themselves, we can create a safer environment for all students.  

References: 

Agyapong, B., Brett-MacLean, P., Burback, L., Agyapong, V. I. O., & Wei, Y. (2023). Interventions to Reduce Stress and Burnout among Teachers: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9), 5625. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095625 

 Edú-Valsania, S., Laguía, A., & Moriano, J. A. (2022). Burnout: A Review of Theory and Measurement.  

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1780. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031780 

Feinstein, S., & Mwahombela, L. (2010). Corporal punishment in Tanzania’s schools. International Review of Education, 56(4), 399–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-010-9169-5 

Gershoff, E. T. (2010). More harm than good: A summary of scientific research on the intended and unintended affects of corporal punishment on children. Law and Contemporary Problems, 73(2), 31–56. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8386132/ 

Kumar, D., Padhi, D., Pratap, B., & Aggarwal, A. (2022). Corporal punishment and praise in Indian schools: Caste-based heterogeneity on children’s cognitive skills. International Journal of Educational Development, 89, 102554. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102554 

Mooij, J. (2008). Primary education, teachers’ professionalism and social class about motivation and demotivation of government school teachers in India. International Journal of Educational Development, 28(5), 508–523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2007.10.006 

Morris, E., Legare, C., & Rawlings, B. (2020). Running head: PATIENCE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING SUCCESS 1 The Relationship between Patience in Teaching and Student Learning Success in Brazilian and Malaysian Children PATIENCE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING SUCCESS 2 Acknowledgments. https://sites.utexas.edu/psyhonors18/files/2021/09/MorrisFinalThesis2020.pdf 

Naong, M. (2007). The impact of the abolition of corporal punishment on teacher morale: 1994–2004. 

Parihar, S. S., & Mahmood, A. (2018). A study on determining factors that lead to stress among school teachers: Evidence from India. Romanian Review of Social Sciences, Vol. 6(No. 11). 

Peck, D. (2023, October 10). Teacher Burnout Statistics: Why Teachers Quit in 2023 . Www.devlinpeck.com. https://www.devlinpeck.com/content/teacher-burnout-statistics#:~:text=In%202020%2C%2036%25%20of%20K 

Price, W., & Terry, E. (2008). Can Small Class Sizes Help Retain Teachers to the Profession?https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1067130.pdf 

Ramachandran, V., Pal, M., Jain, S., Shekar, S., & Jitendra Sharma Of Sandhan. (2005). Teacher Motivation in India. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08c5b40f0b64974001172/3888Teacher_motivation_India.pdf 

WHO. (2021, November 23). Corporal punishment and health. Www.who.int. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/corporal-punishment-and-health#:~:text=Consequences