Answer

Introduction

Globally, administrators make efforts to keep order and maintain control in learning institutions.  There is a growing expectation that schools will provide efficient, effective, and socially tolerable measures that will guarantee healthy learning environments characterized by minimal or compete absence of untoward behavior. The role of schools and formal learning is elevated in this context. True as it were, schools are considered as institutions where students gain knowledge and acquire behavior and attitudes with the capacity to not only shape their relationship with society, but also transform the learners into resourceful societal members. According to Dewey (2017), schools play an integral role in impacting physical, emotional and mental well-being of children in addition to safeguarding their healthy future. For success to be realized in these respects, it is imperative that effective discipline approaches are established and pursued. It is in this breath that many schools have adopted reinforcements as a way of instilling and maintaining discipline and as such creating safe learning environments.In the global arena, a number of countries where physical punishment has been outlawed such as Sweden, Japan, Australia, Canada among others currently embrace both positive and negative reinforcement to modify the behavior of school going children. Early this year (January 23, 2018), the government of Punjab issued a notification to School Education Department of the province enforcing a complete ban on the physical punishment in all learning institutions. Notably, a similar notification had been issued in 2005. However, a majority of teachers still use corporal punishment in correcting learners in India. It is time for actors in the education sector to rethink discipline strategies, among them being positive and negative reinforcements, which have been said to work better than the more punitive measures that have been traditionally been employed in schools. It is light of the perceived effectiveness of reinforcements that this study will seek to explore their impacts in schools, thereby make a case for their adoption in place of punitive measures.

Project Objective

The proposed study’s objective will be to explore the impacts of positive and negative reinforcements in schools. By so doing, it will ultimately make a case for the adoption of these discipline strategies in Punjab province, as opposed to the more punitive measures that have traditionally been employed.

Project Scope

While reinforcements are applicable in other spheres of life, the interest they generate in this study is limited to the school setting and school life in general, in other words matters education. This study shall therefore investigate their impacts in such a context. The research will be investigating the impact of negative and positive reinforcements in a bid to advance the case for their adoption and application over punitive measures. Importantly, the study will be conducted in Punjab province, India, nevertheless with hope that its findings will be generalizable and applicable elsewhere.

Literature Review

Pursuance of discipline in schools has traditionally relied on punitive measures including corporal punishment, fines, ejection, expulsions, and suspensions (Garret, 2015). A policy of zero-tolerance is emphasized in many learning institutions where failure to obey culminates in suspension and expulsion/removal of disruptive students (Maag, 2012). While this continues to be the case in many schools, research has shown that such approaches have a minimal impact in instilling and maintaining discipline; they do not help much in adopting socially acceptable behaviors (Carter & Pool, 2012; Skiba, 2014). Actors in the education sector are increasingly advocating for the use of reinforcements (negative and positive) as these are considered to be more effective.

According to Parsons (2015), the tough and strict approaches to discipline are widely viewed as being part and parcel of the curriculum agenda. This is linked to an industrialized economy that places demands on schools to produce competent workers; schools are therefore considered as training grounds. This tough and strict regime has been blamed particularly because it makes life difficulty for students who may opt to drop out.

Several studies have demonstrated the ineffectiveness of corporal punishment that nevertheless enjoys wide social approval and acceptance (Skiba&Losen, 2016). Additionally, punitive measures have been shown to have an array of negative impacts like lower discipline standards and poor academic performance (Shah & McNeil, 2013;Skiba, 2014).  In the same vein, students who have experienced punitive measures are more likely to repeat their negative behaviors. Taking into account these reasons as have been identified in literature, there is need to consider adopting and employing alternative strategies/approaches, hence justification for the proposed study and the case for positive and negative reinforcements.

The use of reinforcements is largely credited to Ivan Pavlov who identified unconditioned stimuli as likely enforcers, which would qualify as reinforcement when used in combination with other natural stimuli. Reinforcers are specific things that when presented increase the likelihood of a certain behavior occurring repeatedly or becoming stronger when certain things or situations are minimized or eliminated. In the same vein, positive and negative reinforcements are defined as “a specific behavior by providing a positive reward for that behavior” and the removal of “a negative experience that causes discomfort or harm by performing a specific behavior” respectively (Greene & Todd, 2015: p. 1). The desirable reaction/response achieved in both cases occurs repeatedly with each reinforcement.

Generally, positive and negative reinforcements have been found to improve social behavior and safety within the school environment (Robinett, 2012; Thompson, 2016). Some of the factors that have been related to this impact include improved/positive relationships between learners and their teachers, adoption of disciplinary codes that are learner-friendly, and the fact that students become conscious of their conduct (Robinett, 2012). Reinforcements also lead to better academic performance besides reduced cases of discipline (Hoque, 2013; Thompson, 2016).  Thus, in relation to discipline, reinforcements emerge as effective and better strategies for its realization in schools (DiTullio, 2014; Shahzada et al., 2017; Simpson, 2012). They also foster learning by creating conducive and safer learning environments (Greene & Todd, 2015).

A study by Shahzada and colleagues (2017) revealed that whereas positive reinforcement motivates learners to learn, negative reinforcement makes them uneasy. The latter aspect of this finding is quite interesting and as such prompts further research to investigate further the effects of both negative and positive reinforcements. The implied incongruence with other studies that point out the positive impacts of negative reinforcement is without doubt itself a good justification for the proposed study. Still, save for this difference, the findings of this study are largely in agreement with other studies that elevate the role of reinforcements in creating conducive learning environments.

An earlier study by Vincent (1997), just as a more recent one by Hoque (2013 found out that learners who had been subject to reinforcement showed greater satisfaction and interest in learning and they were more likely to follow teachers’ instructions and school rules in general. Vincent did not stop there; he investigated the impact of positive reinforcement on teachers and found that it makes teachers more confident and gives them a variety of options when dealing with students who may display negative behaviors.

In a word, literature shows that negative and positive reinforcements are more effective in promoting discipline and discouraging negative/anti-social behaviors, in opposition to punitive measures that have an array of negative impacts and have been shown to be less effective. While the impacts of these reinforcements have been illuminated in literature, there is need for more research to increase understanding. The fact that some the findings of some studies have been noted to be incongruent with other as pointed out in this literature summary elevates further the need for the proposed study. The need for further illumination of the subject of the proposed study has made it imperative to consider the situation in Australian and Punjab schools. According to Goss et al. (2017), the situation is not so good in Australia and as these authors report, a lot needs to be done by Australian teachers as far as negative and positive reinforcements are concerned. The teachers’ responses to student issues are not as optimal and clearly, the implied approaches have not been embraced as would be expected. However, the situation seems better in Punjab where, as Dad et al. (2010) inform, many schools in Punjab have indeed been deploying reinforcement practices and they have proved to be useful tools for developing desired behaviors in students.  However, this is not to say that deployment is optimal or 100%. This study will strengthen the case for adoption of these practices.

Research Questions

The research shall be guided by the following primary question and secondary questions.

Primary Question

What are the impacts of negative and positive reinforcements in relation to academic performance, discipline, and safety within the school setting?

Secondary Questions

1. To what extent can reinforcements be said to be more effective than corporal punishment?
2. How can reinforcements best be implemented within the school setting to achieve optimal outcomes?

Research Design and Methodology

A qualitative approach will be adopted in the proposed study. It will involve fieldwork where the researcher will physically go and observe participants’ normal and natural behavior in their setting. Qualitative research seeks to illuminate how participants construct meanings and make sense of the word around them as well as their experiences (Creswell, 2003; Merriam, 2002).A case study design will be employed as it is thought to offer a relatively exhaustive investigation that is generalizable.

The study population will include participants drawn from eight schools in Punjab province. To ensure inclusivity, the schools will be purposively selected, with four being government and four being private. The four schools under each stratum (government or private) shall comprise of two in an urban area and the other two in a rural setting.The study will have 48 participants who will include the heads of the eight schools as well as sixteen prefects (two from each school), eight counsellors (one from each school), and two members of each school’s disciplinary committee.

For data collection, the research will use focus group as well as semi-structured face-to-face interviews. According to Alsaawi (2014), these are convenient for they will allow the researcher to conveniently alter the questions if need be in the course of the interview, thereby elucidating uncertainty besides ensuring that participants comprehend better rephrased and repeated questions. This will also contribute to boosting the research’s validity and reliability. Data will be coded systematically then analyzed thematically with the research questions in mind. To further ensure reliability, trustworthiness, and credibility, data triangulation and member checks will be employed (Guba& Lincoln, 2005). Ethical issues possibly arising in the study will be taken into account so necessary steps will be taken namely ensuring participation through informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, and protection of participants from any harm.

Research Limitations

The presence of limitations in every research is widely acknowledged (Vithal& Jansen, 1997).  In the proposed study, the presence and participation of the researcher in the interviews might make participants uncomfortable and as such affect their contribution (in terms of what they choose to share). To address this limitation, the researcher will be as courteous and friendly as possible so that participants will be feel free, comfortable, and natural.

Time Schedule (Research plan)

Conclusion

In conclusion, the proposed study will be seeking to investigate the impacts of negative and positive reinforcements in schools. This will be in a bid to advance the case for the adoption of these approaches in Punjab province. The study will be qualitative in nature and shall focus on 8 purposively selected schools in the province from where participants will be selected through convenience sampling. Data will be collected through focus group and semi-structured face to face interviews. It will then be analyzed thematically. It is hoped the findings of the study will go a long way in informing policy formulation in relation to the use of negative and positive reinforcements to create safer learning environments characterized by high standards of discipline.