Theacers’ Professional Vulnerability in Student Character Discipline Practices : A Case Study of Digital Parent-School Communication

Abstract

Teachers play a strategic role in developing students’ character through disciplinary practices in schools. However, teachers face challenges in balancing educational responsibilities, child protection, relationships with parents, and professional risks arising from disciplinary practices. This study aims to examine teachers’ professional vulnerability in student character discipline practices and the role of digital communication between schools and parents in the context of parental reporting cases. This study employed a qualitative approach with a case study design. The participants consisted of one classroom teacher, one religious education teacher, and one school principal in Soppeng Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Data were collected through interviews, observations, documentation, and analysis of WhatsApp conversations, and were analyzed using thematic analysis supported by Atlas.ti software. Data trustworthiness was ensured through source and technique triangulation. The findings indicate that teachers perceive character discipline as a moral and professional responsibility in developing students’ character. Teachers maintain disciplinary practices through habituation, positive approaches, consistency in rule implementation, peer support, and religious practices. However, experiences of parental reporting create professional vulnerabilities, including increased caution, decision-making dilemmas, and psychological pressure. Digital communication through WhatsApp supports transparency, documentation, clarification, and school–parent coordination, but it also has the potential to generate misunderstandings. These findings demonstrate that character discipline practices occur through a negotiation process between efforts to develop students’ character and teachers’ management of professional risks within school–family relationships.