Integrating the rights of the child with local cultural values: a precursor for meaningful discipline in Malawi schools

Abstract

Literature review indicated that a gap exists between how different stakeholders understand the universal values espoused in the rights of the child and the place of local values. This affects discipline in primary and secondary schools in Malawi in that school managers are unsure of which set of values they should promote. Guided by the theoretical lens of the theory of incompatibilities and culturally responsive methodology, this conceptual article examines how the gap between some rights of the child and the local values can be bridged. Having examined theories of deliberative pedagogy and democracy, global citizenship education, transformative pedagogy, multiculturalism, and democratic education, negotiation between stakeholders was considered an appropriate approach to analysing the compatibility of the local and universal values with the purpose of adopting values they agree with and rejecting/adapting those that are questionable. In this connection, a model that involves key stakeholders has been developed to guide negotiations. It is hoped that integrating local and universal values will reduce conflict between the stakeholders and therefore improve discipline in schools in Malawi.