APPENDICES
4.2 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA
4.3.2 Principals’ perceptions about discipline
(a) How participants view discipline in their school
All the fourteen participants (P1-P14) stated that discipline is a problem, and is lacking in their schools. Although all schools were provided with the discipline policy by the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal, they still find it very difficult to implement these policies. P1 stated that failure to implement the policies is because of so many other causes behind what is stated by the policy. P1 gave an example of latecoming: so many learners use public transport which makes them late for school. It is very difficult to send those learners back home as is stipulated in the policy.
All the participants (P1-P14) complained about the banning of corporal punishment, which has created some challenges for educators. Respondents stated that implementation of new measures of disciplining learners is a challenge because educators were not trained on how to apply these measures.
Participants believe that new measures of disciplining learners punish the
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educators, who have to remain after school and supervise learners detained. P4 stated that learners have developed an “I don’t care” attitude, and they enjoy suspension or detention.
Eight participants (P1-P8) complained about educators who are not willing to enforce discipline. P3 said that educators lack discipline themselves, and instead of being role models, they try to please learners when they are supposed to be disciplining them. He went on to say that teachers’ lack of discipline means there is no effective teaching and learning taking place in the classrooms, which is a major cause of lack of learner discipline in schools. The participants complained about educators who do not discipline the learners, but send them to the principal’s office. They said that educators believe that it is the principal’s duty to discipline learners.
(b) The Code of Conduct for learners
Schools do have codes of conduct. Some schools (P1 and P5) involve learners in the composition of their Code of Conduct, but others do not. All participants stated that they involve other stakeholders like the members of the school governing bodies and educators, although some participants stated that their governing body members are as good as not there (P2, P3, P7). Participants stated that parents know about the Code of Conduct for their learners because when they apply for their children to be admitted in schools, codes of conduct are given to the parents. The problem that participants have is that parents do not cooperate with the schools, so discipline becomes very difficult to enforce.
Participants believe that parents need to play a major role in the discipline of their children.
Participants also stated that learners do not take the Code of Conduct seriously.
P1 stated that every learner in her school received a copy of it, but learners threw it away. She mentioned the lack of discipline in the classrooms, and learners who
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destroy the codes of conduct that are placed there. P2 said that learners do not want anything that is going to bind them. All schools have a policy document which contains guidance on offences and possible punitive measures but school principals find it very difficult to implement punishment because of the different environments in which their schools are situated.
(c) The role played by learner leaders (RCL) in the maintenance of discipline in schools
Schools have Representative Councils for learners as required by the provincial government, but from the interviews conducted by the researcher, it was discovered that learner leaders do not receive proper training in leadership. Their duties in most of the schools are to bring the concerns of learners to the management team, and alert the school management to any trouble in the community (such as faction fights) that might disturb the school (P4,P9), or any trouble within the school. They are also active in controlling period registers in the classrooms. P6 stated that learner leaders become active at the beginning of the year, but immediately lose interest, which shows that they are not motivated.
Some of the respondents stated that the learners’ Representative Council does not have any specific roles (P7; P11; P13 and P14).
(d) The involvement of members of governing bodies in disciplinary processes
All schools have governing bodies. Some of the participants have experienced some problems with their governing bodies (P2, P3, P8, P11 P13 andP14). P2 stated that his governing body members are very weak, and cannot initiate or contribute anything: they are illiterate. P8 also said the members of his governing body are illiterate and do not understand what is happening in education. P3 stated that in his school members of the governing body are a problem: they are not active at all, and find it very difficult to take decisions. Both P2 and P3 experience the problem of members of the community breaking into the school at
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night, at weekends and during the holidays, and their governing bodies never disclose the intruders’ names even when they know them. All participants (P1- P14) complained about poor attendance at meetings by the members, and their demand for incentives. P5 and P9 give the members of the governing body money for transport, and prepare food for them when there are meetings as a result their attendance improves.