Gender Differences in Risk Factors for School Corporal Punishment: The Case of Rural China

• In Event: 77.057 - MTCC Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: 77.057-10 - Professional Development Through an International Lens

Abstract

Although corporal punishment has been banned in many countries, there is some evidence that teachers sometimes resort to physical tactics, such as purposefully kicking, punching, hitting, or grabbing students, despite these bans. This paper uses representative, longitudinal survey data to investigate prevalence of corporal punishment in school as well as the individual and contextual risk factors associated with corporal punishment in rural middle schools in one of China’s poorest interior provinces. The results from multi-level logistic regression analysis indicates students report experiencing corporal punishment at relatively high levels in rural schools. Importantly, the analyses indicate that male students are at greater risk, the sociocontextual dimensions of schooling matter, and the specific risk factors differ for male and female students.

Author

• Jennifer H. Adams, Drexel University