UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND CONSUMER SCIENCES.

A PROJECT PROPOSAL PRESENTATION ON THE TOPIC:

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT ABOLISHMENT AND ITS EFFECTS ON

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN BASIC SCHOOLS; A CASE STUDY OF
PUBLIC BASIC SCHOOLS IN TAMALE METROPOLIS.
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
Background of study
Learning can be considered as change that is permanent in nature because change is
brought into students by a teacher through techniques like developing specific skills,
changing some attitudes, or understanding specific scientific law operating behind a
learning environment (Sequeira, 2012). Learning is about a change: the change
brought about by developing a new skill, understanding a scientific law, changing an
attitude. The change is not merely incidental or natural in the way that our appearance
changes as we get older. Learning is a relatively permanent change, usually brought
about intentionally. When we attend a course, search through a book, or read a
discussion paper, we set out to learn!

Teaching is the practice implemented by a teacher aimed at

transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner,
a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching
is closely related to learning, the student's activity of appropriating this knowledge
(Wikipedia). From both a social practice and an efficient teaching standpoint, the
importance of classroom discipline and administration has been recognized. Teachers’
disciplining strategies have been proposed as a powerful factor in the classroom to

increase students’ sense of responsibility (Lewis et al., 2005).

Teaching and learning necessitate the use of discipline in order to fulfill the teacher’s
objectives. Researchers appreciate that, discipline is an important component of
human behavior and assert that without it an organization cannot function well
towards the achievement of its goals (Ouma, Simatwa, & Serem, 2013). In the context
of a school system, a disciplined student is that student whose behaviors, actions and
inactions conform to the predetermined rules and regulations of the school (Ali, Dada,
Isiaka, & Salmon, 2014). However, discipline ideally means more than adhering to
rules and regulations and entails the learner’s ability to discern what is right or wrong
(Gitome, Katola, & Nyabwari, 2013). Discipline is widely acknowledged to be
essential for creating a positive school climate conducive to sound academic
performance (Masitsa, 2008). It is a basic requirement for successful teaching and
learning in schools and a subject of concern for teachers (Eshetu, 2014). According to
Gitome et al., where there is good discipline, there is improved academic
performance. In other words, discipline is vital for students’ academic performance
(Njoroge & Nyabuto, 2014). Furthermore, it is necessary for effective school
management and accomplishment of its goals (Nakpodi, 2010).

In Ghana, corporal punishment has been the main form of checking discipline in the
Basic and Senior High Schools. Corporal punishment is defined as the use of physical
force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain so as to correct their
misbehavior (Straus, 2001). The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the
Child2 has defined corporal punishment in these words: “any punishment in which
physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort,
however light” (UN CRC 2008), it therefore considered as child abuse. The European
Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) has stated that corporal punishment was not in
accordance with human rights standards as defined by the Social Charter. It considers
that “Article 17 [of the Social Charter] requires a prohibition in legislation against any
form of violence against children, whether at school, in other institutions, in their
home or elsewhere. Before and after independence in Ghana, corporal punishment
was the commonest way of disciplining students. In the late 1970s Ghana Education
Service (GES) partially banned corporal punishment in schools but allowed head
teachers or their deputies to administer it to children because it was identified that the
majority of teachers were abusing it and injuring students (Boakye 2001).

A letter from the GES dated from January 2019 declared that all forms of corporal
punishment had been banned in public and private schools in 2017 and instructed all
pre-tertiary schools to adopt the “Positive Discipline Toolkit”. However this is only
policy which should be confirmed in legislation

Problem statement
Objective of the study
Main objective
The major objective of the study is to examine/determine/assess the abolishment of
corporal punishment and its effects on teaching and learning in Public Basic Schools
in Tamale Metropolis.

Specific objectives
Specifically, the research sought to;
1. Examine the degree of the abolishment of corporal punishment in public basic
schools in Tamale Metropolis.
2. Assess the effects of the abolishment of corporal punishment on the academic
performance of students in public basic schools in Tamale Metropolis.
3. Assess the effects of the abolishment of corporal punishment on the new
disciplinary measures toward teaching and learning in public basic schools in Tamale
Metropolis.
4. Examine the effectiveness of the new disciplinary measures in public basic schools
in Tamale Metropolis.

Research questions
The study sought to find answers to the questions below:
1. What is the degree of abolishment of corporal punishment in public basic schools
in the Tamale Metropolis?
2. What are the effects of the abolishment of corporal punishment on the academic
performance of students in basic 7, 8 and 9 in public basic schools in Tamale
Metropolis?
3. What are the effects of the abolishment of corporal punishment on the disciplinary
measures toward teaching and learning in Tamale Metropolis?
4. What is the effectiveness of the new disciplinary measures in public basic schools
in Tamale Metropolis?

Justification of the study

Our research study intended to measure the degree of the abolishment of corporal
punishment and how it has affected teaching and learning process in public basic
schools in the Tamale Metropolis and also to determine the effectiveness of the
implementation of the new disciplinary measures.
Delimitation of the study
The study includes all the three-year groups comprising of basic 7, basic 8 and basic
9. This will result in the variation in the response from these three-year groups base
on their experiences of disciplinary measures.
Organization of the study
The research study will divide into five chapters. The introduction which comprises
the background, description of problem understudy, the research objectives and
questions, justification, scope and organization will all discussing in chapter one.
Literature review make up the second chapter. This chapter comprise of pure studies
on corporal punishment researched in some other parts of the world and also
elaborations by experts in the field of education and psychology. Theoretical and
conceptual framework are also a component of this section or chapter. Chapter three
is mainly of the methodology applied or used in the process of data collection. The
research design, population, sample and sampling process, data collection methods,
research instruments as well as the analysis are all covered in this chapter.
 CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This section simply deliberates on the research methodologies employed and the
research design procedures of the study. It states empirically, the procedures that were
employed in the process of data collection for the study. The following are the
components that are covered in this particular chapter; research design, target
population, sampling and sampling techniques, instruments for research and the
efficiency of the instruments.
According to Dawson (2019), a research methodology is the primary principle that
will guide your research. Research methods are defined according to Polit and Beck
(2017:743) as: “The techniques used to structure a study to gather and analyze
information in a systematic fashion”

Research Design
The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the
different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring
you will effectively address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the
collection, measurement, and analysis of data. Note that the research problem
determines the type of design you should use, not the other way around! (De
Vaus,2001). According to Jahoda, Deutch & Cook “A research design is the
arrangement of conditions for the collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims
to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy and procedure”. Research
design is the plan, structure and strategy and investigation concaved so as to obtain
search question and control variance” (Borwankar, 1995). Henry Manheim says that
research design not only anticipates and specifies the seemingly countless decisions
connected with carrying out data collection, processing and analysis but it presents a
logical basis for these decisions (Selltiz, 1962). It refers to the overall strategy utilized
to carry out research that defines a succinct and logical plan to tackle established
research question(s) through the collection, interpretation, analysis, and discussion of
data. Descriptive research design aims to systematically obtain information to
describe a phenomenon, situation, or population. More specifically, it helps answer
the what, when, where, and how questions regarding the research problem rather than
the why.
Study Area
The research will be conducted in public basic schools in Tamale Metropolis.
Location, Size and Physical Features
Population size, structure and composition
Household size, composition and structure
Literacy and education

Population and Sampling

Target Population
The study particularly focused only on teachers and students in public basic schools
ranging from basic 7 to basic 9 in the Tamale Metropolis.
Sample frame
A sampling frame is a researcher's list or device to specify the population of interest.
It's a group of components that a researcher can use to select a sample from the
population. A sampling frame is a list of the actual cases from which sample will be
drawn. The sampling. frame must be representative of the population.

Sample size
According to “intrac for civil society”, Sampling is a process that enables information
to be collected from a small number of individuals or organizations within a project or
programmed, and then used to draw conclusions about a wider population. A sample
is a smaller group of subjects drawn from the population in which a given study was
conducted for a purpose of drawing conclusions about the population targeted. For
example, Kothari (2004) argued that the result from the sample can be used to make
generalizations about the entire population as long as it is truly represented. The
calculation of the sample size is represented as;

N
n=
1+ N (e)²
Where;
‘n’ represents desired sample size
‘N’ represents population size
‘e’ represents margin of error

Sampling techniques
Sampling technique is a process of selecting a sample from a given population. There
are different types of sampling techniques such as simple random sampling,
systematic sampling, cluster sampling, deliberate sampling, quota sampling, and
stratified sampling. For the purpose of this study, the following sampling techniques
would be used;
Simple random sampling : A simple random sample is a randomly selected subset of
a population. In this sampling method, each member of the population has an exactly
equal chance of being selected. This method is the most straightforward of all the
probability sampling methods, since it only involves a single random selection and
requires little advance knowledge about the population. Published on August 28,
2020 by Lauren Thomas. Revised on December 18, 2023.

Research instrument

Questionnaire is the research instrument consisting of a series of question and other

prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents (Mellenbergh,
2008). This method of data collection is widely used, particularly in case of big
numbers.

Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained first hand by the researcher on the
variables of the interest for the specific purpose of the study. Some of the examples
are individuals, focus groups and panels of respondents whose opinions may be
sought on specific issues (Sekaran, 2003).

Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from existing sources (Sekaran, 2003).
Secondary data are data collected before by another researcher (Kothari, 2004). In
other words, these are data which are already collected, analyzed and stored for public
use including reports, journals, research papers and other relevant data relating to the
subject at hand.

Data analysis
Analysis refers to dividing a whole into its separate components for individual
examination. Data analysis is a process for obtaining raw data, and subsequently
converting it into information useful for decision-making by users. Data is collected
and analyzed to answer questions, test hypotheses, or disprove theories.

Data analysis is the practice of working with data to glean useful information, which
can then be used to make informed decisions. (Coursera Staff • Updated on Apr 1,
2024)