ABSTRACT

Many policy interventions designed to achieve gender equality in education are predicated on the assumption that the enforcement of a human rights framework will promote equality and reduce (gender) inequalities. In South Africa, the ending of apartheid led to the introduction of a rights-based constitution in 1996. In line with this Constitution the education system was overhauled and a new Act, the South African Education Act of 1996 came into force. Despite one of the most progressive constitutions in the world and the authority of the Education Act, progress has been limited towards reducing gender inequality and gender-based violence. In this paper we focus on the continuing illegal use of corporal punishment (CP) to explore the limitations of a right-based approach to gender transformation in schools. Drawing on research undertaken in schools of vastly different socio-economic status we argue that rights-based approaches against CP resonate most in middle-class schools that have close links to formal work. In contrast, in other schools, certain types of CP have persisted often with the approval of parents and learners where they are thought of as a caring and necessary means to redress schooling inequities.

摘要

许多旨在实现教育中性别平等的政策干预措施的前提是，执行人权框架将促进平等并减少（性别）不平等。在南非，种族隔离制度的结束导致1996年引入了基于权利的宪法。根据该《宪法》，对教育制度进行了全面改革，新的法案即1996年的《南非教育法案》生效。尽管是世界上最先进的宪法之一，也是《教育法》的权威，但在减少性别不平等和基于性别的暴力方面取得的进展有限。在本文中，我们着重于继续非法使用体罚（CP）来探索学校中基于权利的性别转变方法的局限性。根据在社会经济地位迥异的学校中进行的研究，我们认为，针对基于CP的基于CP的方法在与正规工作有着密切联系的中产阶级学校中引起最多的共鸣。相比之下，在其他学校中，某些类型的CP经常在家长和学习者的认可下持续存在，在那里他们被视为关怀和纠正学校不平等现象的必要手段。