Corporal punishment was banned in Zimbabwean schools in 2013 and replaced by alternative disciplinary measures. Literature shows that detaining students after school, manual labour, suspension, and exclusion are inappropriate disciplinary measures and can lead to violence, hostility, and discord among teachers, students, and parents. In this article we report on a study in which indigenous parenting approaches that may be applied to address disciplinary difficulties in primary schools in Zimbabwe, which may have worldwide implications, were investigated. A qualitative and instrumental case study design was employed with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with participants. Twelve general teachers, 2 guidance and counselling teachers, 2 educational psychologists, 4 parents, and 12 Grade 7 students were purposely sampled. Indigenous knowledge systems and Africanisation theory provided theoretical insights. The findings demonstrate that indigenous parenting approaches in which traditional folktales and proverbs, rapport-building strategies, praise and rewards are applied could help to maintain positive student conduct in primary schools in Zimbabwe. These findings could be relevant to schools worldwide. We recommend incorporating indigenous parenting methods into teacher-training curricula in teacher colleges and universities.

https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v45ns2a2586

ORCiD iDs of authors:
Logic Magwa - https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7092-0812
Kamleshie Mohangi - https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4981-6003