Paddling the Pupils: The Legality (or Not) of Corporal Punishment in the School Setting

Abstract

Corporal punishment against children as a classroom disciplinary tool occurs in many countries, despite the 1990 adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and despite a surge in criticism of the practice. What accounts for the legality of corporal punishment in schools globally? In this paper, we construct a dataset of 192 countries from 1970 to 2016 to offer one of the few cross-national analyses of factors associated with the use of corporal punishment in schools. Results indicate that ratification of the CRC does prompt countries to subsequently adopt corporal punishment bans. Results also indicate that countries of English legal origin and countries with low levels of female political empowerment lag behind similar countries in their legal actions against corporal punishment. These findings shed light on emerging global patterns in the protection of rights of children.

An updated, condensed version of this article was published as a chapter in the book Children's Rights in Crisis (Manchester University Press) edited by Salvador Santino Regilme (2024).

Keywords: CRC, corporal punishment, children, schools, gender, common law, civil law, child rights, discipline, classroom

JEL Classification: K36