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

45 Pages Posted: 2 Aug 2019 Last revised: 28 Jul 2024

See all articles by Lucy Sorensen

Lucy Sorensen

University at Albany (SUNY)

Charmaine N. Willis

Skidmore College - Government

Victor Asal

State University of New York at Albany

Melissa L. Breger

Albany Law School

Date Written: July 30, 2019

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

Suggested Citation

Sorensen, Lucy and Willis, Charmaine and Asal, Victor and Breger, Melissa L., Paddling the Pupils: The Legality (or Not) of Corporal Punishment in the School Setting (July 30, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3429160 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3429160

Lucy Sorensen

University at Albany (SUNY) ( email )

1400 Washington Ave
Albany, NY 12222
United States

Charmaine Willis

Skidmore College - Government ( email )

United States

Victor Asal

State University of New York at Albany ( email )

135 Western Ave
Building, Room 109
Albany, NY 12222
United States

Melissa L. Breger (Contact Author)

Albany Law School ( email )

80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208
United States
518-445-2311 (Phone)

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