School Discipline Practices: Narratives Of Sirawan National High School Teachers

AUTHOR(S)

FLORDELIZ M. GLORIA

ABSTRACT

—— — School discipline and classroom management problems continue to rank at the top of the teacher’s headache list. Volumes of books and hundreds of journal articles have been written discussing components of discipline in the classroom. As with any plan in education, the individual school’s culture and climate must be considered when implementing a discipline program. This study described the discipline practices of teachers in schools. Qualitative phenomenological approach was employed to 15 teachers in Sirawan National High School in Toril, Davao City. To gather data, in depth interviews were conducted. The results of the interview were transcribed, translated, and coded to produce themes. As regards the experiences of teachers, the following were the themes revealed on their experiences: parental participation and involvement; parental inattention and non-engagement; school-wide adoption of child protection policy; diverse levels of teacher acceptance; teacher inadequacies and inconsistencies; and continued indiscipline of students. Looking upon their challenges in the student discipline practices the following themes were created: parental engagement and collaboration; provision of teacher guidance and support; use of ―positive discipline; diverse levels of teacher acceptance; and use of creative approaches. As to their insights, the following themes were generated: parental involvement is essential to student discipline; schools should be steadfast in the implementation; be positive and constructive; teachers need understanding and support; and discipline should be relevant and pertinent. Keywords — Discipline, child protection, positive approaches, corporal punishment