South Korean EFL teachers' perceptions of corporal punishment in school: Cultural vs. educational system factors

Bu çalışma Güney Koreli yabancı dil öğretmenlerini sınıf içinde fiziksel şiddete yönelten ve özellikle de eğitim sisteminden kaynaklanan faktörleri yabancı dil öğretmenlerinin sınıf içi fiziksel şiddet uygulamasıyla ilgili algılarını ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Güney Kore’deki bir devlet ortaokulunda yüz yüze görüşmeler yoluyla bir nitelik bir araştırması yapılmış ve altı İngilizce yabancı dil öğretmeni ile görüşüldü. Fiziksel şiddetin öğrencilere yardımcı olduğu inancı yerine eğitim sistemi faktörlerinin Koreli İngilizce öğretmenlerini fiziksel şiddet uygulamasına ya da bunu desteklemesine yönelttiğine karar verildi. Öğretmenlerin fiziksel şiddetin olumsuz etkilerinden bir kaçını farkettikleri ancak bunların çoğunun yararlarının olumsuz yönlerine ağır bastığını ve bu da Kore’deki İngilizce sınıflarında özellikle de 40 ya da daha kalabalık olan sınıfların yönetiminde fiziksel şiddetin yararlı olarak algılanmasına yol açtığı görülmektedir.

This paper aims to explore the perceptions of South Korean English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers on the use of corporal punishment in the classroom, including cultural factors and factors stemming from the educational system that lead Korean EFL teachers to use corporal punishment, whether Korean EFL teachers believe that benefits of corporal punishment outweigh the negatives, and whether Korean EFL teachers use corporal punishment because they truly believe it helps their students, or because of factors stemming from the educational system. An interview-based, qualitative study method was used in a Korean public middle school; six Korean EFL teachers were interviewed. It was determined that educational system factors led Korean EFL teachers to use and/or support the use of corporal punishment—rather than the belief that corporal punishment helped their students. The teachers acknowledged some of the negative effects, but most of them believed the benefits outweighed the negatives, which in turn led them to perceive corporal punishment as beneficial in managing Korean EFL classrooms—particularly classrooms with 40 or more students.

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