Corporal punishment at school and in the family: a long process for its complete elimination

Obedience and punishment have been part of the training device in such a continuous way over time and so rooted in the collective consciousness that they appear completely “natural”: this has led to considering the exercise of authority through the barrel as an indispensable aspect and the educational relationship cannot be changed, as a duty of the parent to guarantee the keeping of the family and the uninterrupted transmission of values between the generations. or a very long time the adult-child relationships – in the family and at school – have had a prevailing authoritarian imprint: the first duty of the child was obedience, which was assured with corporal punishments of various types. Obedience and punishment have been part of the training device in such a continuous way over time and so rooted in the collective consciousness that they appear completely “natural”: this has led to considering the exercise of authority through the barrel as an indispensable aspect and the educational relationship cannot be changed, as a duty of the parent to guarantee the keeping of the family and the uninterrupted transmission of values between the generations. During the Twentieth century, a number of factors contributed to modifying these assumptions with obvious repercussions in the collective imagination: take the example of the positions expressed in the pedagogical and psychological field (especially Psychoanalysis), to sociological developments in the family and women’s rights, to encouragement for “youth protagonism” starting from the Seventies, to regulatory changes to protect minors (starting in Sweden, in 1979), to the growing international attention for children’s rights, and their well-being. As documented by The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, the number of Countries that have completely eliminated the use of corporal punishment has grown, especially in the 21st Century, although the legal prohibition does not necessarily imply abandoning the practice in the daily life.