The influence of educators' life experiences on classroom discipline practices

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate how the life experiences of educators impact upon classroom discipline. The study considered the present situation regarding classroom discipline practice. As circuit manager directly involved with schools I was concerned to see that there were dysfunctional schools in my area because of the failure to manage classroom discipline effectively. <p.>The findings of the study indicate that classroom discipline practices can be improved if we understand the life experiences of educators. A qualitative narrative approach was applied and narrative interviews, observation and lived stories of educators were used to gather data from nine participants. All these educators were drawn from one circuit in the Nkangala Department of Education, a region in Mpumalanga Province, and are teaching in secondary schools. Purposive sampling was used to select the nine participants; all were prepared to share their lived experiences and ultimately, data analysis provided cogent answers to the research hypothesis. The research focused on issues such as recent South African studies conducted on discipline and corporal punishment, theories of discipline, how lived experiences impact on current behaviour. From what I have observed and heard, it has become clear, as is set out in this thesis, that the classroom discipline practices implemented by educators are indeed influenced by their own classroom experiences when they themselves were learners.