Influence of Corporal Punishment on English Language Students in Enugu Education Zone

Abstract

There seems to be a belief that ‘if one spares the rod, a child gets spoilt’. This notion seems to negate effective learning. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the influence of corporal punishment on secondary school students in the English language in the Enugu Education Zone. Three purposes of the study and the corresponding research questions guided the study. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. Education Zone has 36 public secondary schools and a student population of 56,620. Out of this number, a sample size 397 was drawn using the Yaro Yamane formula for sample size determination. The instrument used for the collection of data was a questionnaire designed on a Likert scale of strongly agree (SA), agree (A), disagree (D), and strongly disagree (SD). The instrument was validated by lecturers from Enugu State College of Education (Technical), Enugu. The test-retest method was adopted for the reliability test. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was the statistical tool for the computation. The result was 0.796, showing a positive correlation. The mean was used as a tool for data analysis. The decision rule is that it is accepted when the calculated mean in each cluster is 2.50 and above. The reverse prevails when the calculated mean is less than 2.50. Corporal punishment affects class participation in the English language in secondary schools in Enugu Educational Zone. Again, the government should organise workshops on alternative forms of corporal punishment. This is very expedient because there seems to be this inherent notion in Africa and perhaps other climes that if one ‘spares the rod, the child will be spoilt.’