Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: A Continuing Challenge for School Social Workers

Abstract

Although corporal punishment has been banned in 29 states, more than a million cases of corporal punishment in U.S. schools continue to be reported annually, with states located in the southeastern and southwestern United States accounting for the vast majority of instances of corporal punishment. This article provides an overview of corporal punishment in U.S. public schools and includes a discussion of the influence of cultural and religious attitudes on the use of corporal punishment as a means of disciplining students. It offers several strategies designed to reduce the frequency of corporal punishment in general as well as strategies that specifically target those communities where strongly held religious and cultural beliefs reinforce the routine use of corporal punishment, and it calls on school social workers to advocate for effective alternatives to corporal punishment and to work to ban corporal punishment in those 21 states where it remains legal.

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