The corporal punishment in schools from the aspects of Chinese Confucianism and Taiwanese Law Author : Chien-Hsun Chiang Graduate Institute of Educational Administration and Policy Development, National Chiayi University, Taiwan( R.O.C.)

1. Preface An Overview of Campus Corporal Punishment from the Perspective of Chinese Confucianism An Overview of Campus Corporal Punishment from Perspective of Taiwanese Laws Condition of Legislation on Regulations of Corporal Punishment in the World

Table 1 Perspective of Chinese Confucianism ConfucianismContents Mencius Everybody has innate kindness, justice, courteous and honest heart. ConfuciusPeople must live with peacefully, and should show loving care for others. The Doctrine of Mean The kind-heartedness is innate. People must live with kindhearted natural instinct. Xun ZiSetting explicit regulations is important in society. 2. An Overview of Campus Corporal Punishment from the Perspective of Chinese Confucianism Source of Data: Data sorted by the author

3. An Overview of Campus Corporal Punishment from Perspective of Taiwanese Laws Article 8 of Educational Fundamental Act: Students right to learn and receive education as well as their body decision-making power and right of personality development should be protected, making students to be free from any corporal punishment which will cause physical and mental harms.

Table 2 The Legal Liabilities Arising out of Improper Corporal Punishment When Teacher Gives Disciplines to Students LiabilityLaws and DecreesConsequence Administrative Liability Article 3 of Criteria of Rewards and Corporal Punishments for Educational Personnel Demerit recorded Civil Liability Article 184 of Civil Code Liable for damages Criminal Liability Article 276, 277,284,309 and 354 of Criminal Law. Imprisonment, detained or punished paying the money Source of Data: Data sorted by Jen-Chin Chung (1997)

Table 3 List of Nations (Areas) Legislating the Prohibition of the Practice of Corporal Punishment on Campus Areas The quantity of Nations (Areas) Account for the percentage of every area EuropeTotal 39 Nations (Areas)91% of the European country Middle EastTotal 13 Nations (Areas)68% of the Middle East area OceaniaTotal 9 Nations (Areas)64% of the country of Oceania AfricaTotal 25 Nations (Areas)46% of the African country AsiaTotal 12 Nations (Areas)40% of the Asian country AmericaTotal 10 Nations (Areas)29% of American country Arctic OceanTotal 1 Nations (Areas)Arctic Ocean is not listed in calculating Total 109 Nations (Areas)56 % of the whole world country Source of Data: Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children GI, retrieved December 8, 2006, from by the author. 4. Condition of Legislation on Regulations of Corporal Punishment in the World

5. Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporal Punishment Advantages (1) Instant effect (2) Effect of intimidation (3) Punishing someone as a warning to others Disadvantages (1) Giving harm to students physical and mental health (2) Having negative effects upon the relations between teacher and students (3) Improper demonstration (4) Leading students to the negative development for their personality (5) unwilling to investigate into the real causes of students improper behaviors (6) Stimulating students extreme behaviors (7) Giving rise to resistance (8) Having negative influence on students learning atmosphere

6. My Advices to Corporal Punishment (1)Take students physical and mental conditions as consideration of priority (2) Enhance class management skills of teachers (3) Skills to change behavior (4) Study counseling skills (5) Regulations governing rewards and corporal punishment (6) Enhance the motivation and practicing of students rather than corporal punishment (7) Allow more time for students explanations (8)Give explicit admonitions about the term or frequency

7. Conclusion Children who grow in an environment with love will learn to show gratitude in the future; children grow in an environment with tolerance will learn to show tolerance in the future; children who grow in an environment with practice of democratic disciplines will learn liberalism in the future; children who grow in an environment with forgiveness will learn to show compassion in the future. I do hereby bring up the following advices for educators reference:

The report is finished. Thanks.