Teachers’ Mental Health And Corporal Punishment, Change From Inside
When a child is shouted at or hit, the classroom goes quiet. What we seldom talk about is the adult in that moment, the teacher who is already exhausted, overwhelmed, and often carrying their own unspoken trauma. As school leaders, we stand at the point where learner safety, teacher wellbeing, and school discipline collide.
Recent research in South Africa shows that up to half of teachers are considering leaving the profession because of exhaustion, violence, and low job satisfaction. The Mail & Guardian. Teacher psychological wellbeing is directly affected by stress, workload, violence, and work life balance, which in turn affects classroom climate and learner outcomes. Taylor & Francis Online.
At the same time, corporal punishment is still widely used, even though it has been illegal in schools since the South African Schools Act and the Abolition of Corporal Punishment Act. Open Minds Campus. Statistics South Africa reported that as many as one million learners experienced corporal punishment at school in 2018, Section27. and that of learners who experienced violence at school, about 84 percent reported corporal punishment by teachers in 2019. Statistics South Africa.
These are not two separate crises. Teacher mental health and the persistence of corporal punishment are deeply connected.
Good teachers, under pressure, fall back on harmful habits when they feel they have run out of options and support. If we want safer schools and healthier staff, we have to tackle both issues together, starting inside our own institutions.
1. Recognise teacher mental health as a leadership priority
Several South African studies highlight that teachers are emotionally drained by poverty, violence, and neglect in their learners’ lives, combined with heavy workloads and administrative pressure. Health-e News. Under resourced schools face additional psychosocial stressors that affect both children and teachers. SACJE.
The Department of Basic Education has begun responding, including work on an online mental health platform for learners and educators, training in social emotional learning, and plans to place mental health coaches in schools. Department of Education. The South African Council for Educators has also raised teacher wellbeing, safety, and security as a national concern. SACE.
Principals cannot wait for national initiatives alone. Inside our schools we can:
- Put teacher wellbeing on every SMT agenda, not just as “general”, but as a standing item with clear actions.
- Run short, anonymous staff pulse surveys on stress and workload, then share the results and respond visibly.
- Make it acceptable for teachers to ask for support, referrals, or reasonable adjustments without fear of being seen as weak or incompetent.
When teachers feel seen and supported, they are far less likely to default to harsh, reactive discipline.
2. Understand why corporal punishment persists and how it harms everyone
Research over many years shows that corporal punishment in South African schools remains common despite its legal ban. PMC Childline South Africa. Studies link corporal punishment to truancy, fear, aggression, and long term emotional harm, rather than improved discipline. SACJE.
Scholars and rights organisations point out several reasons why teachers still use it:
- Many were themselves raised with corporal punishment and see it as “normal”. Section27.
- Teachers feel they lack practical alternatives that work in overcrowded, under resourced classrooms. ECDOE.
- School culture may tolerate or quietly excuse it, especially when parents also support “the stick”. Section27.
Yet the law is unambiguous. Corporal punishment is illegal in schools and in homes. Open Minds Campus. It also damages teacher learner relationships and increases the likelihood of complaints, disciplinary hearings, and media scrutiny for staff and the school.
For principals, the key insight is this: teachers often resort to corporal punishment when they feel powerless, unsupported, or overwhelmed. Addressing mental health and professional support is therefore part of eliminating corporal punishment.
3. Build a whole school approach to positive discipline
International and local guidance on positive discipline describes it as non violent, solution focused, and rooted in respect, clear boundaries, and good communication. End Corporal Punishment. Childline South Africa, for example, promotes alternatives such as praise, clear rules, restorative conversations, and restorative justice circles. Childline South Africa.
The Department of Basic Education’s Protocol to Deal with Incidences of Corporal Punishment in Schools stresses training and support for teachers in non violent methods and a whole school approach to implementation. Department of Education.
Principals can start this internally by:
- Clarifying policy
- Revisit your code of conduct and staff handbook to restate that corporal punishment and humiliating treatment are prohibited, with reference to national law. Section27.
- Ensure the protocol for reporting and dealing with incidents is clear, fair, and consistently applied.
- Training and practice, not only compliance
- Use existing DBE or NGO training material on positive discipline and classroom management in staff development sessions. ECDOE.
- Encourage teachers to role play scenarios, share what works, and observe each other for supportive feedback, rather than for policing alone.
- Include restorative practices, such as facilitated conversations between learners, educators, and sometimes parents, which research shows can support behaviour change without violence. Childline South Africa.
- Monitoring culture, not just incidents
- Ask heads of department to look beyond whether “the stick” is used and to pay attention to language, sarcasm, public shaming, and other harmful practices.
- Celebrate staff who consistently model positive discipline and build strong learner relationships.
Positive discipline is a skill set. Teachers need time, training, and encouragement to replace old habits with new ones.
4. Create real support structures for teachers
Teacher mental health support cannot be reduced to a motivational talk in October. Sustainable structures matter. Drawing on national and international guidance for teacher mental health, IICBA+2SchoolNet, schools can:
- Set up small, voluntary peer support groups where teachers can debrief after difficult incidents.
- Establish a clear pathway for referrals to employee assistance programmes, union counselling services, or local mental health professionals.
- Build mentoring systems where new or struggling teachers are paired with experienced colleagues for classroom support, not only academic mentoring.
- Schedule regular reflective sessions after serious discipline incidents to ask, “What happened, what did it cost the learner and the teacher, and what can we change next time”.
A teacher who has a safe place to talk about trauma and stress is less likely to express that stress in the classroom through shouting or hitting.
5. Bring parents and the community into the conversation
Research shows that parental support for corporal punishment often undermines efforts to enforce the ban in schools. Section27. Principals can engage parents and school governing bodies by:
- Hosting information evenings that explain the legal position and the evidence on harm caused by corporal punishment. SACJE.
- Presenting the school’s positive discipline framework and asking parents to support it at home.
- Using newsletters, social media, and meetings to normalise conversations about teacher stress and the need to protect both learner and educator wellbeing.
When the community understands that teacher mental health and learner safety are two sides of the same coin, resistance to change begins to soften.
Closing: A call to principals
South African teachers are facing a silent crisis of stress, violence, and burnout. Health-e News+2The Mail & Guardian. Learners are still experiencing corporal punishment, despite clear laws and years of advocacy. Section27.
Principals are uniquely placed to change this story from the inside. By placing teacher mental health on the leadership agenda, enforcing the legal ban on corporal punishment, and building a school wide culture of positive discipline, we protect both the adults and the children in our care.
Change will not arrive as a single national policy or a single workshop. It will come through many small, deliberate decisions inside each school.
As school leaders, we can decide that no child in our care will be hit again, and that no teacher will have to carry their burden alone.
