The comparison of school punishment in the 20th and 21st centuries and the impact on the child

Punishment was and always will be an important part of education in school as well as at home. In the past, whenever a child broke a rule punishment followed. Throughout history the form of punishment changed. Various physical forms of punishment were used as late as the 19th century, they included: carrying around a wooden axel, beating (using bare hands, a wooden bar etc.), whipping, winding ears etc. In 1870 physical punishment was outlawed as it was deemed inhumane, but it was still supported at some places. Various records show that the use of physical punishment peaked between the two world wars, especially during the occupation. In the 20th and 21st century various other forms of punishment were being introduced such as: mediation, restitution, imposing sentences, verbal punishment as well as community work; as it came to be known that physical punishment left behind long-lasting consequences, physical and mental. In this master's thesis we wish to compare what punishment was (in the 20th century) versus what it is now (in the 21st century); through this thesis we would also like to research how punishment affects children. For this paper we will be using the descriptive method of pedagogical research. We will approach the empirical part of this study in a quantitative way. The sampling method will be purpose-made. A total of 63 students of the second triad of Ljubljana’s primary schools, aged between 9 and 12 years, will be taking a part in this research paper, as well as 60 adults older than 60 years. With the research results, we found that according to our sample more children are punished today than before and that the gender did not influence whether the child was punished or not. We also came to the conclusion that today the punishement is a little more effective, which is also reflected in the fact that children were punished more often in the past as they are today. Although corporal punishment has been forbidden for a long time, we have found that teachers still used it in the past, it is also present today, albeit less often. Each teacher has his own way of punishing a child. In the past, teachers used stricter penalties, such as: earrings, screams ... Today, they are dominated by a signature in the notebook. The most common causes of punishment in the past, and now in the present is inappropriate behavior during classes. With the results of the research, we would like to point out that the corporal punishment has been used and is still in use, even though it was banned in 1870. We would also like to draw teachers' attention to the consequences that the punishment leaves on a child. In particular, we want to remind teachers that if they do use penalty in class, that it be effective and well-intentioned