Engendering discipline : perceptions and practices of students and teachers in a secondary school in South Africa

This thesis aimed to investigate whether there is a gender bias in the way teachers discipline boys and girls. The study was conducted in an affluent school in Cape Town and consisted of 113 participants, 97 students (48 boys and 49 girls) and 16 teachers and staff (6 males and 10 females). The data showed that although teachers assume they are being gender neutral in the way they respond to misdemeanors committed by boys and girls, in reality, this is not the case. However, even though the biases of the teachers are largely unconscious, the students were very much aware of the biased nature of the teachers. The data also revealed that male and female teachers react and respond differently when they discipline boys and girls and that male teachers focus more on serious offenses whereas female teachers focused on the less serious offenses.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

School of Education

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Singh, Marcina

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Gilmour, David

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10780

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10780