South African Parents’ Perspectives on Learner Discipline

Abstract

One of the under-researched aspects of the problem of learner discipline in South African schools is that of family-related factors. This article reports on research attempting to fill this void. A semi-self-constructed questionnaire for discovering South African parents’ perspectives regarding the discipline of their children, both at home and in school, was applied to a sample of parents. The questionnaire comprised the subscale ‘authoritative parenting style’, a section pertaining to ‘the state of discipline of their children at home’ and a third scale, covering the aspect ‘discipline in school’. The mean score registered on the second subscale ‘the state of discipline at home’ was found to be high (3.67 out of a maximum of 4.00). The respondents apparently perceived the state of discipline of their children at home to be very favourable. The score on the third scale (‘discipline in school’) was also high, namely 3.27 out of a maximum of 4.00, indicating that the respondents were very positive about the state of learner discipline in schools. The correlation between these two scales was also found to be high: the parents who had a positive view of the state of discipline at home tended to have a concomitantly positive view of the state of discipline at school. Close examination revealed that both these subscales are aligned with an authoritative parenting style. Some recommendations flow from these findings.