UNICEF - SENEGALCountry Programme 2012 – 2016 Learning Program on Advances in Social Norms and Social ChangeUNICEF -University of Pennsylvania.July 1st to 12th, 2013

CASE STUDY ON CORPORAL PUNISHMENTS OF

By Macaty FALL, Education specialist, Unicef SenegalUniversity of Pennsylvania, 12July, 2012

Senegal is a Sahelian country located in the most western part of Africa with a national territory of 196,722 km² and is part of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). With a population estimated at about 13.7 million, in 2012, its economy is dominated by a few strategic sectors, including groundnuts, fisheries and services. The role of the agricultural sector, and especially of groundnuts, has declined over time, as Senegal’s position bordering the Sahel has led to frequent droughts. High rural poverty and limited access to rural infrastructure and basic services(Education, Health etc) have fueled migration to urban areas, and the country’s informal sector accounts for about 60% of its gross domestic product .Education sector received big investments en terms of finances and building infrastructures but school environment and quality of Education remains serious challenges.

MAP OF WEST AFRICA

By Macaty FALL, Education specialist, Unicef Senegal

University of Pennsylvania, 12July, 2012

MAP OF SENEGAL

PLAN OF PRESENTATION I. Description of challenge

II. Critical Evaluation of the Work done so far

III. Change in Practices

Some Social indicators

Population growth rate (average annual ) 2010-2015 2.6  

Urban population growth rate (average annual %) 2010-2015 3.3  

Rural population growth rate (average annual %) 2010-2015 2.1  

Urban population (%) 2011 42.5  

Population aged 0-14 years (%) 2011 43.5  

Population aged 60+ years (females and males, % of total) 2011 4.1/3.7  

Sex ratio (males per 100 females) 2011 98.4  

Life expectancy at birth (females and males, years) 2010-2015

60.9/58.6 

Infant mortality rate (per 1 000 live births) 2010-2015 49.8  

Fertility rate, total (live births per woman) 2010-2015 4.6  

Contraceptive prevalence (ages 15-49, %) 2006-2010 11.82005.  

Refugees and others of concern to UNHCR end-2010 22849 

Education: Government expenditure (% of GDP) 2005-2011 5.6  

Education: Primary-secondary gross enrolment ratio (f/m per 100)

2005-2011

62.2/62.2 

Education: Female third-level students (% of total) 2005-2011 37.3UNESCO estimate.  

Seats held by women in national parliaments (%) 2011 22.7  

1. Description of the challenge

1.1 Contexte

a study conducted by UNICEF during 2009 in Regions of Kolda, Sedhiou and Ziguinchor revealed many instances of violence on students including corporal punishment, sexual abuse, rape, pregnancy and early marriages. In each region, we found more than two hundred of early pregnancy and marriages based on social practices and behaviors;

Final annual reports of the Academic regional Inspectors have also confirmed the same situation in regions of Tambacounda and Kedougou ;Such a situation was the cause of high school dropouts. Several NGOs and partners tried with enormous resources to combat the phenomenon without success because violence is exercised both in families and in schools, even though the law explicitly forbids it.  

1.2 Content of the problemThe findings of the survey are exposed bellow:

Distribution of violence in school according findings of the study

In order to increase both rates of schooling and achievement in the targeted areas, UNICEF and Ministry of Education make an agreement to struggle against violence in school and more specifically address corporal punishment, sexual violence and absenteeism amongst teachers. We thought it would be better to have strategies that involved community leaders.

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1.2 Content of the challenge …. 1.2.1 Factors

Several factors contribute to maintain corporal punishment:

- In the Wolof community, the word Education is translated by whip: it provides some informations on the place of violence in education: a parent told us, "If we no longer need to hit the children what we do at instead they have to fear us! . " Recognizing that behavior change is a long process, we believe parents and teachers to experience the strategy of empowerment of the child itself on matters of discipline.Corporal punishement must be considered like social norm.

- Parents may also believe that others will judge them negatively(like pretentious or lax) if they don’t hit their child or not marry their daughters early even if they are students.

 

- In addition these preferences are conditional preferences because they depend on what other people think if parents don’t hit their child.Teachers hit child also because it is conform to parents”s practices

- A Social Norm is defined as « a pattern of behaviour such that individuals prefer to conform to it on condition that they believe (a) that others in their group conform and (b) that others in their group believe that ought conform. »

1.2 Content of the challenge …. 1.2.2 Impacts

They are Empirical expectations because, in the past,parents and teachers used to hit child and this practice appears like accepted by the society and if you don”t beat your child you appear to others as someone who lacks rigor .By doing that,they develop also normative expectations : that is to say expectations about what other people think of us.

In fact there is a factual believe consisting to beat the child in order to perform him by producing fear and better result. In addition, there are also conditional preferences based on empirical expectations because teachers and parents believe that other colleagues or neighbours in their relevant network do the same thing and expect the same thing from them.

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2. Critical analysis of the work done so farEliminating violence against child must be dealt with two main segments or places of residence of the child on violence simultaneously: Students reported that some parents continue corporal punishment even if the teacher does not anymore. In school, students must be also strengthened to say no when necessary in case of violence and to report it .2.1 Strategies

It is based on the following steps:

- Participatory diagnosis of the current situation of the rights of children

- Training of trainers on the Right Based Approach

- Training of teachers, parents and students on the rights of children

- Installation and Revitalization of School Management Committee

-Elaboration of school actions plan to fill up gap and solve identified problems

2. Critical analysis of the work done so far…In these 5 axis, advocacy, Social mobilization , Communication for Behavioral Changes:they aim to behavioral changes through promotion of new individual and community practices .

Social mobilisation and partnership with core groups and NGO for behavioural change and creating new practices

 - Under this approach, school governments and school children's parliaments were created and many responsibilities were assigned to children as may be agents of change in behavior:in each school a “Committee monitoring and warning on violence”have been created.

- So children can report all cases of violence by sending sms or by informing the members of the school governments, which in turn inform the Management Committee and the Association of Parents of pupils;this experience consisting to assign responsibilities’ to children .

- This strategy of entrusting children responsibilities had unexpected effects in other areas because it induced changes in beliefs about the roles of children

2. Critical analysis of the work done…

2.2 analysis of the strategy…-In an elementary school in Tambacounda, a school principal had reported in its diagnosis absenteeism of many teachers because most of them come from big cities and therefore are not used to live in the rural area. As part of the accountability of students on issues of disciplines, students have planned a schedule of absences for students and a notebook for teachers. -When a teacher or a student is absent, after school, a small delegation of students goes to the absent for a courtesy visit and see if it is health that goes wrong. This tool has reduced absenteeism of teachers who were embarrassed to see students come to visit them after their absence. This experience has been widely shared with parents to show them that the "rule" which means that the child is not accountable is not always good because thanks to an initiative of the students we had a change of behavior teachers (although this behavior is not a social norm).This practice is a custom:according to Cristina Bicchieri “It is a pattern of behavior such that individuals prefer to conform to it because it meets their needs”.

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3. Change in Practices

Following the analysis of strategies utilized so far,this strategy - Provide evidence to communities allows faster changing their beliefs and

behavior of a heavy theoretical argument: the parents and other opinion leaders were involved in the process to see the added value.

- In this way Parents Association,Mothers’s Association,religious leaders,chiefs of villages,trade-unions of teachers,children”s associations have organized debates and talks on the negative and psychological impacts on children's future.Success stories like examples of students of Tamba were exposed in order to change beliefs and expectations of adults and core groups.

- Corporal punishement are both social norms and plague very resistant to changes. Value deliberation on coranic school and corporal punishement a a serious proressive step

We believe that to develop new social norms in lieu of these norms, it is very important to show evidences and add value of new social norms.

Corporal punishment is a social norm based on empirical and normative believes, and norm changing it will require change in empirical and normative expectations. For change and abandonment of this social norm,it is crucial to focus intervention on these expectations.

In both cases there is a conflict between legal norms prohibiting these practices and social norms tolerating that.

However, the ideal situation is one where there is a harmonization of social norms, legal norms and moral standards.

Unite for smiling Child.

At the Begining At the End