Beyond the Cane: Reimagining School Discipline in Fiji and the Pacific
Keywords:
Corporal punishment, school discipline, Fiji, Pacific education, restorative practices, positive behaviour support, ethics of care, culturally responsive pedagogy, student behaviour, educational reformAbstract
Corporal punishment has historically been embedded within schooling systems across Fiji and the Pacific, often justified as a culturally accepted method of maintaining discipline and authority. However, increasing global advocacy for child protection, alongside regional policy reforms aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, has intensified calls to critically reassess its role in contemporary education. This paper interrogates the continued use and perceived effectiveness of corporal punishment in addressing student behavioural challenges, arguing that it is neither pedagogically sustainable nor ethically defensible in modern learning environments.
Drawing on interdisciplinary literature, policy analysis, and emerging empirical insights from the Pacific context, the study highlights the adverse psychological, social, and educational consequences associated with punitive disciplinary practices. It further situates corporal punishment within broader ethical frameworks, particularly deontological ethics, utilitarianism, and the ethics of care, to demonstrate its incompatibility with principles of dignity, equity, and relational pedagogy. Importantly, the paper foregrounds the tension between entrenched cultural norms and evolving human rights discourses, emphasizing the need for contextually grounded yet transformative approaches to discipline.
In response, the paper advances a reconceptualization of school discipline through the lens of positive behaviour support, restorative practices, and culturally responsive pedagogy that resonate with Pacific values of respect, community, and reciprocity. It argues that effective discipline must move beyond compliance-driven models toward approaches that foster self-regulation, accountability, and holistic student development. The study concludes by offering policy and practice recommendations aimed at supporting educators, school leaders, and policymakers in transitioning from punitive to restorative and ethically grounded disciplinary frameworks.
Ultimately, this paper contributes to ongoing debates on educational reform in Fiji and the Pacific by positioning discipline not as control, but as a transformative process central to nurturing inclusive, respectful, and future-ready learners.
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