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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 30 Apr 1980

Vol. 320 No. 2

Written Answers. - Corporal Punishment.

237.

asked the Minister for Education if any of the organisations he consulted on their attitude to corporal punishment indicated that they would communicate with him further after giving him their initial views; if he has now heard from these organisations and if he will publish their subsequent observations in a similar form to the earlier published observations of the organisations concerned.

I would refer the Deputy to my reply of 6 December 1978 in relation to this matter. Since then, further observations have been received from the Teachers Union, of Ireland and, with the permission of An Cheann Comhairle, will be circulated with the Official Report.

AONTAS MUINTEOIRÍ ÉIREANN

Discipline in Schools

Discipline problems exist in schools. Their causes are many and the methods to deal with them vary considerably. The TUI is opposed to the use of corporal punishment to deal with these problems.

If a child is displaying anti-social tendencies and behaviour in class the reasons may be rooted in, (a) Specific learning difficulties, (b) Medical problems, (c) Previous educational experience, (d) Problems related to the home environment, (e) The irrelevance of what is being taught—often as perceived by the child.

Whatever the primary reason or reasons for anti-social behaviour, it is necessary for the teacher to establish the cause of the problem and so attempt to deal with the situation in a positive manner.

To assist the teacher in understanding the root causes of the child's problem we would recommend the following:

1. That a complete profile of the child is built up in a records system designed to show relevant aspects of the social, educational and medical background of the individual child. Appropriate financial resources should be allocated to schools for this purpose.

2. In the case of a child displaying disruptive tendencies there must be consultation with the parents.

3. Class teachers and year teachers should be allocated time-tabled time ex-quota for the purpose of pastoral work, and guidance teachers should be provided in each school.

4. That where a child has specific difficulties in literacy and numeracy, that an adequate remedial and guidance service is present in the school. It should be noted that the failure to have remedial teachers outside the quota is a hindrance to the proper development of such a system.

5. For children who are deemed remedial, syllabii and texts should be developed which would meet their own particular needs. Attempts to fit these pupils into academic and examorientated courses leads only to frustration and tension on the part of both pupils and teachers. Considering the numbers of pupils in this category—20 per cent of all first year students—and the imbalance of these students in Vocational Schools, as a union, we condemn the limited resources allocated to this sector by the Department of Education.

6. Where referred by a Department psychologist, children who have severe emotional disturbances or behavioural problems, should have available to them special facilities or non-residential schools where they could be given short to medium term specialist care.

We believe that if the proposals outlined were implemented, then we would be progressing towards a school environment in which the incidence of aggressive behaviour would be curtailed and contained in a manner conducive to the educational development of the individual child.

23 February 1979

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