Discipline in the educational process: punishment, control and prevention

SUMMARY DISCIPLINE IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS: PUNISHMENT, CONTROL AND PREVENTION In recent years humanisation of the educational process in comprehensive schools has led to a shift in application of disciplining measures, moving away from punishment and control towards preventive means. These means, however, do not seem to be functioning properly in a complex Lithuanian educational system of today, whereas punishment and control, the measures seemingly more adequate and efficient within the school setting, are seen by some contemporary theoreticians as too controlling and restrictive. The present MA thesis sets out to examine the concept of discipline and self-discipline in the educational process and its development, to discuss contemporary paradigms of disciplining, as well as highlight the tendencies and perspectives in application of punishment, control and prevention as the key disciplining measures within the school setting. The theoretical part of the paper presents an overview of different schools of thought in the light of discipline, providing the insights of the thinkers and educators from the past, i.e. Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment, etc., as well as dwelling on contemporary psychological and sociological paradigms and their development within the framework of education. Based on the questionnaire results, the empirical part of the MA paper provides an analysis of teachers‘ attitudes towards student disciplining and self-discipline in the educational process. It also takes into account the disciplining measures applied in the educational setting, such as punishment, control and prevention. The results have revealed that the most frequently used disciplining measures are: warning, constant control, lowering of the mark (punishment), individual conversation, feedback on term results, inner school rules (mechanisms of control), examples of good behaviour, engagement into an interesting activity, promise of reward for good behaviour or action (preventive means). The research has shown that the use of disciplining measures by teachers largely depends on school philosophy, teacher age, gender and working experience. It has been found out that schools with their own specific philosophy tend to address the problem of discipline in a more constructive and efficient manner, as compared to more traditional educational institutions