Corporal Punishment in Schools - Longitudinal Evidence from Ethiopia, India, Peru and Viet Nam

Globally the use of corporal punishment in schools is increasingly prohibited in law, yet in many contexts its use continues, even where outlawed. Proponents argue that it is an effective and non-harmful means of instilling discipline, respect and obedience into children, while others point to a series of detrimental effects, including poor academic performance, low class participation, school dropout and declining psychosocial well-being. Establishing whether corporal punishment has lasting effects on children’s cognitive development and psychosocial well-being has been hampered by a lack of longitudinal data, especially from Low- and Middle-Income Countries