Rewards and Punishments in Schools

Abstract

Many school psychologists today are looking beyond the individual crisis-centred approach. Instead, by seeking to 'prevent' rather than 'cure' problems, they aim to enhance the learning experiences of children in a school as a whole. There is now considerable evidence that pupil behaviour can be influenced by the use of rewards and punishments in school, and that a reorganization of school sanctions can improve the educational experiences of both pupils and teachers. In the present study, views on the effectiveness of rewards and punishments in English secondary schools were gathered by means of a specially designed questionnaire, supplemented by written comments and information from discussions with pupils. Five-hundred-and-ten pupils and ninety-nine teachers from four mixed comprehensive schools participated in the final study. Pupils and teachers differed in their opinions of some of the strategies yet agreed about the effectiveness of (some) others. Despite evident individual differences, the study showed sufficient agreement between pupils and teachers to take into account when deciding general school policy. The majority of respondents felt that involving parents is of fundamental importance and that many traditional punishments serve little useful purpose.