Ideas and research “in the service” of solving social problems – the casus of corporal punishment in childrearing

Abstract

Violence in child rearing was a common practice in social history, only in the last decadesit has become a phenomenon that is increasingly criticized and there are calls for decisive steps to eliminate this problem. A huge role is played here by the development of democracy and the idea of children’s rights, but the crucial importance of scientific research is also evident. Its meaning in the process of elimination violence against children is of a varied nature. It is scientific research that “discovered” the violence against children in the present sense and in social history, revealing the nature of this phenomenon. It has shown the extent of violence and its individual and social significance. Research on conditions has become the basis for conceptualization of activities, and monitoring and evaluation studies allow to build and select effective actions, programs and measures. The paper uses the problem of corporal punishment in child rearing as an example of how ideas on the one hand and scientific research on the other can contribute to the elimination of a social problem.