Teachers’ Perception of Influence of Corporal Punishment on Pupils’ Academic Performance in Ilorin South, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined teachers’ perception of influence of corporal punishment on the academic performance of primary schools’ pupils in Ilorin South Local Government, Nigeria. The researcher used descriptive survey research design. The research population comprised all 995 primary school teachers in Ilorin South Local Government Area. The sample size was 100 primary school teachers. The instrument used for gathering data was a researcher-designed questionnaire. The face and content validity were done on the instrument, while Cronbach's alpha method was used to determine the reliability at the index of 0.79. The demographic data were analysed using the percentage; mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while the t-test and Analysis of Variance were used to test the hypotheses formulated. The findings revealed a negative perception of the teachers about influence of corporal punishment on the academic performance of primary school pupils. It was also revealed that there were no significant differences in the perception of teachers based on gender, qualification and experience. It was therefore recommended that in-service teachers and teachers in training should learn to adopt alternative means of instilling discipline in pupils without resorting to corporal punishment.