Human rights values or cultural values? Pursuing values to maintain positive discipline in multicultural schools
Discussions on discipline in education often accentuate corporal punishment or measures to infuse moral fibre. In addition, many authors argue that inculcating a particular value system can promote discipline in schools. This could however be profoundly problematic in the light of the Constitution....
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Education Association of South Africa
2010-01-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-01002010000100002 |
| _version_ | 1811262089795207168 |
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| author | Petro du Preez Cornelia Roux |
| author_facet | Petro du Preez Cornelia Roux |
| author_sort | Petro du Preez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Discussions on discipline in education often accentuate corporal punishment or measures to infuse moral fibre. In addition, many authors argue that inculcating a particular value system can promote discipline in schools. This could however be profoundly problematic in the light of the Constitution. We argue that positive discipline in multicultural school environments needs to be based in part on human rights values that are neither solely universally interpreted nor particularistically interpreted. We report on the data generated at a research workshop held as the final dissemination process of a four-year international research project entitled "Understanding human rights through different belief systems: intercultural and interreligious dialogue". Dialogue was chosen as a form of data gathering since it is more spontaneous than conventional questioning techniques and can thus generate more naturally occurring data to strengthen the outcomes of the project. It appears that some teachers believe discipline can only be maintained through the elevation of cultural values (particularism). We argue that schools should start negotiating, at the most basic level, the values, including emancipatory, human rights values, and cultural values, which could underpin positive discipline in multicultural schools. Drawing solely on cultural values is not only unlikely to solve the problem of discipline, but could also undermine the efforts to transform our diverse, democratic society. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:18:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0ce415c3a860425aacd954a95e45991f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0256-0100 2076-3433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:18:58Z |
| publishDate | 2010-01-01 |
| publisher | Education Association of South Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-0ce415c3a860425aacd954a95e45991f2022-12-22T03:19:39ZengEducation Association of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Education0256-01002076-34332010-01-013011326Human rights values or cultural values? Pursuing values to maintain positive discipline in multicultural schoolsPetro du PreezCornelia RouxDiscussions on discipline in education often accentuate corporal punishment or measures to infuse moral fibre. In addition, many authors argue that inculcating a particular value system can promote discipline in schools. This could however be profoundly problematic in the light of the Constitution. We argue that positive discipline in multicultural school environments needs to be based in part on human rights values that are neither solely universally interpreted nor particularistically interpreted. We report on the data generated at a research workshop held as the final dissemination process of a four-year international research project entitled "Understanding human rights through different belief systems: intercultural and interreligious dialogue". Dialogue was chosen as a form of data gathering since it is more spontaneous than conventional questioning techniques and can thus generate more naturally occurring data to strengthen the outcomes of the project. It appears that some teachers believe discipline can only be maintained through the elevation of cultural values (particularism). We argue that schools should start negotiating, at the most basic level, the values, including emancipatory, human rights values, and cultural values, which could underpin positive discipline in multicultural schools. Drawing solely on cultural values is not only unlikely to solve the problem of discipline, but could also undermine the efforts to transform our diverse, democratic society.http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-01002010000100002cultural valueshuman rights valuesmulticultural schoolspositive discipline |
| spellingShingle | Petro du Preez Cornelia Roux Human rights values or cultural values? Pursuing values to maintain positive discipline in multicultural schools South African Journal of Education cultural values human rights values multicultural schools positive discipline |
| title | Human rights values or cultural values? Pursuing values to maintain positive discipline in multicultural schools |
| title_full | Human rights values or cultural values? Pursuing values to maintain positive discipline in multicultural schools |
| title_fullStr | Human rights values or cultural values? Pursuing values to maintain positive discipline in multicultural schools |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human rights values or cultural values? Pursuing values to maintain positive discipline in multicultural schools |
| title_short | Human rights values or cultural values? Pursuing values to maintain positive discipline in multicultural schools |
| title_sort | human rights values or cultural values pursuing values to maintain positive discipline in multicultural schools |
| topic | cultural values human rights values multicultural schools positive discipline |
| url | http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-01002010000100002 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT petrodupreez humanrightsvaluesorculturalvaluespursuingvaluestomaintainpositivedisciplineinmulticulturalschools AT corneliaroux humanrightsvaluesorculturalvaluespursuingvaluestomaintainpositivedisciplineinmulticulturalschools |