Evaluation of information strategies

¶ … corporal punishment in schools. In other words, the paper analyzes the informational strategies that were efficient and those who were unsuccessful in order to stop the practice of corporal punishment in schools.

Many people are not aware of the fact that corporal punishment in schools is allowed in many states. The states that ruled corporal punishment in schools as legal are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.

The states in which corporate punishment in schools is illegal are: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin (Pearson Education, 2009).

One must take into consideration the fact that corporate punishment "is the deliberate infliction of pain intended to punish a person or change his behavior. Historically speaking, most forms of punishment, where in judicial, domestic, or educational settings, were corporal in basis" (Wikipedia, 2009).

Some of the experts in the field and teachers in general consider that corporal punishment is useful in schools and it helps discipline young students. However, more and more experts, teachers, and parents consider this practice to be too violent and unworthy of the evolved times we are living.

This study addresses the institutions in which such practices are illegal. In states where corporal punishment is legal, we cannot interfere. Therefore, in order to stop such practices, one needs information about incidents that happen in relation with this issue. Without having specific information on teachers that perform such education practices and on their victims, we cannot act efficiently.

Preparing search questions

The step that consists in preparing search questions is probably the most important stage of the evaluation process. This is basically the starting point of the entire analysis.

The search questions in this case are:

Were all the educational institutions in which corporal punishment is present identified?

Does each educational institution keep records of the cases involving corporal punishment?

Were the complaints regarding any potential corporal punishment case reported to the authorities?

Was the parents' point-of-view on corporal punishment taken into consideration?

Were the cases involving corporal punishment resolved on the spot, by settling with the parents in case or were there any other measures taken in order to solve these cases?

These questions and similar ones were used in the evaluation process. In my opinion, such questions are insufficient for analyzing and evaluating the success of information strategies. The information that can be gathered from such types of questions can only suffice for establishing a base or a starting point for a more thorough investigation.

The issue of corporal punishment in schools is a very important and sensitive one. Even more, it concerns an illegal practice. Therefore, it is very important to have credible sources for investigation.

Work strategies well executed

Based on everything detailed above, my opinion is that our best work strategies refer to monitoring information sources. We are very keen on observing any new information that is published on the subject of corporal punishment in schools.

In our work, we must be very informed. We must analyze any new study or article. Each article or study provides new information or a new angle of looking at the issue in case, or new opinions that we have not yet taken into consideration.

Analyzing multiple points-of-view

There are several parties affected by corporal punishment in schools whose points-of-view must be taken into consideration in this analysis. These points-of-view are:

Experts in the field

Teachers

Students

Parents

Authorities

The opinions of most of the experts in the field are divided. Some of them have concluded that corporal punishment is an old practice that has proved to be efficient in building solid, long-term discipline among students. However, there are many experts, psychologists in particular, that state that such type of disciplinary measures have long-term negative effects on students.

Teachers have similar opinions with those of the experts described above. Some of them approve and practice corporal punishment, others approve it but do not practice it, but most teachers seem to completely disapprove to such humiliating practices of punishment.

Students' opinion is probably the most important of all these points-of-view. This is because students are the party that suffers from corporal punishment. Obviously, students disagree with this disciplinary method.

Parents' opinions are also divided. Some of them agree of this practice in school, because they practice corporal punishment themselves at home. Other parents approve of this method in school, but do not practice it at home. Others completely disagree with this method.

Regarding the authorities, most of them disapprove of corporal punishment and try to diminish and to eliminate it. However, there are countries where corporal punishment is legal in schools and everywhere else, countries where it is only legal at home, and countries where it is forbidden by law in any circumstances.

Work strategies that can be improved

Determining appropriate information sources

Apparently, there are no scientific studies that analyze corporal punishment in schools. Therefore, there are no objective studies, articles, or opinions, even if they belong to experts in the field. All opinions and studies of corporal punishment in schools are biased, they cannot be considered objective, because they are based on personal experience and perceptions.