Written by Dr Penny Rabiger, in 2016, this personal yet incisive piece, discusses the challenges the persistence of collective punishment in schools, despite its well-documented ineffectiveness.
Drawing on both professional insight and a child’s perspective, the post illustrates how these tactics damage trust, inhibit learning, and punish children for behaviours beyond their control. The author rejects the common rationalisations for collective discipline, arguing that it reflects an institutional failure to respond to complexity with care. Instead of modelling fairness or accountability, collective punishment enforces compliance through fear, undermining the very moral development schools claim to foster.
Dr Rabiger shares this video to help people understand why collective punishment is wrong:
About the author
Dr Penny Rabiger is a UK-based educationalist, equity strategist, and founding trustee of the BAMEed Network. With a background in teaching and leadership across global and national contexts, her work centres on antiracism, inclusion, and systemic transformation in education. Learn more
