Survey results on the Project Grundtvig learning Partnership

"Learning Positive Discipline"

Amici del centro socioculturale San Francesco_Umbertide_Italy

Once we received the questionnaires by the Romanian colleagues, we convened representatives of the parents of all schools in town of Umbertide and the city administration, to present the project. It was decided to extend it to all parents of pupils aged 3 to 18 years old, after having presented it to the respective school headmasters. The questionnaire was translated and printed in 2530 copies, which were distributed to all parents. The data collection was divided by school and has been analyzed a representative amount of each, for a total of 400 questionnaires. There is a willingness to analyze all the questionnaires distribuited to get an accurate situation to be used at the municipal and local level. The fact that the parents involved in the investigation of all school-age children , also aims to raise awareness of the application and dissemination of the principles of positive learning disciplines. In our city there is a strong presence of foreigners ( approximately 23%) of various nationalities which causes some difficulties in preparing the questionnaires for a problem of language and culture.

This will result in the fact that the rules of good positive discipline required to be disclosed in different languages in order to penetrate different ethnicities. The survey was conducted between late January and early February.

Data analysis

The respondents The data sample of primary school (6-10 years) and secondary school level (11-13 years) is composed by 257 families. The respondents were for 67% mothers and for 33% fathers. The predominant age is the one that goes from 25 to 44 years (61%). The 54% have High school degree, 24% have a University degree, 17% have graduated middle school and only 5% has the title of Elementary School. The place of residence is 82% urban, suburban is 18%. The 82% is represented by families of 'nuclear type' with father, mother, and at least one child. The 10% also include grandparents. 8% of respondents claimed to be separate-divided. The status of the family is good with 68% claiming to lead enough or what is sufficient to live on. 18% say they have no problem and they can afford to buy expensive things, although with a little 'sacrifice'. Unfortunately, 13% say they are not able to cover even basic expenses. Disciplinary methods Apparently punishment (68%) and rewards (72%) are given by both parents. Tended to be more mothers than fathers dispensing rewards 20 % versus 6 %, and 18 % compared to the punishment of only 7% of fathers. In front of a problem the disciplinary strategy can be summed up in three lines: the one that provide to remain calm and discuss 77 %, with often (48%) and very often ( 29%). Punishment justified : as the ban to the children to take some actions to be loved by their children such use of the network , or watching TV with friends (25 %). The third one is limited to three main punitive items: quarrel 70% say yes. In particular, it argues , sometimes ( 33 % ) , rarely (31 % ) and often ( 6 % ) . The threat of beating is a practice reported by 43% , even if the threat does not follow the act , as opposed to 57 that says never. Spanking and slapping: 32 % do so , compared with 68 % who say never . In particular : rarely 21% ; sometimes 10% and very oftenl the 1 % . Overall, the parents , particularly mothers " scream " arguing threaten complain ..... but then fortunately did not go to the beating. The interesting thing is that there is a very strong correlation between the behaviors reported by parents who responded to the questionnaires and those adopted by their parents when they themselves were children. In many cases the percentages coincide and when the attitude changes is always for the better. For example : The practise of remain calm and discuss current is equal to 77% , compared with 65% of the parents of the past. No parents today declare to lose the calm and renounce discuss to a problem , responding to the item at all ( 0% ). That is to say, " It is very little discussion or debate but there is always a dialogue". While for their parents, although with small percentages , on facing a problem the 5 % report never .

Translated into everyday practice the attitude of education of the parents of respondents had this dimension : " It is so . End of story". Even the spanking follows this trend : today, 68% of interviewed parents answered never , compared with 48 % of yesterday. 7% reported that at one time, for their parents , spanking and more generally the " beating" was a common practice against the 1% of today. Parental attitudes toward punishment being given to children show light and shadow. If at first sight they do not approve and strongly disapprove of such behavior : the slap 85 % ; physically punish the 89 % , the other leaked some answers even more dissonant in part with the first statement. To the question " punish physically damages the relationship between parent and child " 20% do not approve or disapprove strongly this statement with 12% who can not decide. In addition to the question " physical punishment is the last situation that parents should use ? " the results are overturned. The 67% agrees. Specifically , approve ( 34%), strongly approve (33%) with a 5 % neutral. This apparently " not worrying " figure reveals , however, that physical punishment even if it shakes (as applies) exists as a possibility and is present in their educational universe. Without wishing to dramatize the fact, however,the date is and remains positive. However we can say that the attitude of the parents toward physical punishment ( beatings and slaps ) remains a percentage that goes from 18 to 25 %. This percentage represents parents who believe that the punishment is a educational tool , even if only in power (only a possibility). In all the questions and the various items the percentages of likelihood or approval stood on this datas. Psychologically say that 20 out of 100 parents approve physical punishments may seem "acceptable" . If we transform it in 2 out of 10 and still 1 of 5 parents who have this idea , it changes the perception of the problem : a parent in five believes that physical punishment is a permissible method of education . This puts in some questions from an educational point of view in our way of seeing things.

Comparative analysis

In this phase we will analyze the questionnaire data of parents of pupils aged 14 to 18 years with the sample data from 6 to 13 years. We will cover only any macro differences or meaningful differences in relation to those already produced. The number of households who responded to the questionnaires for parents of pupils in high schools is 128. Of these, 72% were mothers and 24% fathers. As if increasing the age of the children, the mothers "resist" in their educational role while the fathers steal away a bit . The prevalent age is higher than that of the previous sample. It ranks from 45 to 54 years (56%). The data on school qualification possessed is almost unchanged. As well as the area of residence. The family composition is similar: the only increasing percentage is the one of those who claim to be separate-divided: from 8% to 13% of respondents.

Disciplinary methods

Punishments and rewards are given by both parents even in this age group. But there are changing modes that express approval : more verbal claims (55% ) than embraces (23% ), compared to respectively 32% and 40% of the previous sample. Clearly, the age of the children growing reduces the impulses of " tenderness" by the parents. Faced with a problem you tend to remain calm and discuss with the same percentages of the sample as before, but you fight slightly more. In particular sometimes (37%), often (13%) very often (2%) is compared to a sometimes (33 %) , often (6 %) very often (0 %) of the previous sample. The beat is similar to threaten and even here the parents , particularly mothers " scream " arguing threaten complain , but then do not go to the fight. Even in this sample of parents slightly more mature than the first, there is a very strong correlation between the behaviors reported by parents who responded to the questionnaires and those adopted by their parents when they themselves were children. And even in this case, parental attitudes toward punishment be given to children show light and shade , rather they are even more marked. If you also do not approve and strongly disapprove of behaviors such as slapping and physically punish the other leaked some answers even more dissonant in part with the first statement . In particular, the question " physical punishment is the last situation that parents should use ? " The results become even clearer than the previous sample : 71% agrees (67% in the previous sample). Specifically, 40% approves ( against 34%), 31% strongly approve , (it was 33%), with an 8 % against the neutral ( 5%). This attitude puts in some questions from an educational point of view as for the parents of children.

Conclusions A first reflection we can do as educators is that , even though times have changed and they are certainly for the better relationships between parents and children, there are some "scabs of the past" of the old pedagogical certainties. The physical punishment as a tool, even if seen as the last card to play. This is indicative especially in an area like ours that has always experimented with new ways about parenting and teaching. Umbertide has a long experience of this area of intervention since the 70s , with structured interventions and experimental (pioneer phase). The system of interventions in this age group is currently rich and varied offerings. Umbertide was among the first municipalities giving birth to the Center of aggregation minors, information centers , youth centers , rehearsal rooms for music, parents' associations, etc. That seem to have produced a greater awareness of the role and educational strategies. But despite this all, the idea that physical punishment serves...remains. One possible way to be developed within the European project may be an attempt to try to remove these "scabs" through a process of adult learning that should not be in a unilateral sense: the adult who teaches the child and the adolescent learner.

Changing strategy could be to approach an educational system seen as co-evolution, which means building relationships, rules, narratives (ie, meanings ) " between all parties involved, understanding and respecting of educational processes of all adults and not without making value judgments. The slogan could be "disarm educational tools for a more effective relationship between parents and children". Disarming the old ideas on skills (for example a digital native boy is more or less competent than an adult in terms of new technologies , media etc ?) the size of the co-evolution may be a chance for all those fathers - and mothers - sons . Only in this way we could achieve the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of minors indicate that not only as an object but a subject of law by placing them in an educational context as people. For adults it can be a possibility of personal enrichment in the logic of learning and not a defense of "power".

Coordinator_Prof. Sergio Bargelli (President of the association 'Amici del centro socio culturale San Francesco')

Questionnaire and data treatment_Dr. Federico Ciarabelli

Data analysis_Dr.Aldo Manuali

(Pedagogist and vice President of the parents association 'Togheter for...')