Perceptions of Parents on the use of Corporal Punishment in Pre - Primary Institutions in Kenya: A Descriptive Survey Study

Though legally banned in Kenyan schools, corporal punishment continues to thrive. The study sought to investigate a) Pre-school parents’ awareness of corporal punishment ban, b) perceptions of parents on the ban of corporal punishment in pre-primary institutions, c) whether the level of education of parents had an influence on the use of corporal punishment, d) the instances when parents used corporal punishment. A descriptive survey design was employed. The pre-schools were chosen using stratified sampling. The pre-schools that made up the sample were chosen using simple random sampling. In order to choose the parents of the sampled schools, incidental sampling was used. There were 107 parents in the sample. Questionnaires were used to collect data. The data was analyzed utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study found that parents were aware of the outlawing of corporal, Parents perceived negatively the outlawing of corporal punishment, the level of education of the parents had no influence on the use of corporal punishment, and the cited instances when parents used corporal punishment on their children had nothing to do with the academic work. The study concluded that corporal punishment was entrenched in the society and by extension the school through a culture supported by a belief systems of the people. Future research on corporal punishment must focus on not only the ban, but also on policies, laws and programs that strengthen and support families and communities by addressing the underlying social factors that allow corporal punishment to thrive.