The Role of Teachers' Interpersonal Communication in Fostering Discipline Among Sixth Grade Students at Cahaya Makmur Public Elementary School

Abstract

This study aims to explore the role of teacher interpersonal communication in fostering disciplinary behavior among sixth-grade students at SD Negeri Cahaya Makmur. Using a qualitative descriptive approach with a case study design, the research focuses on how teachers communicate disciplinary values through daily classroom interactions. Data were collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews with the homeroom teacher, students, and school administrators, as well as documentation analysis. The findings reveal that teacher interpersonal communication plays a crucial role in shaping students’ discipline through a combination of verbal and nonverbal communication. Verbal communication includes explanations of rules, persuasive advice, dialogic interactions, and constructive reprimands, while nonverbal communication is reflected in teacher role modeling, gestures, facial expressions, and consistent behavior. Based on Lasswell’s communication model, the effectiveness of discipline development is determined by the integration of the communicator (teacher), message (disciplinary values), channel (interpersonal communication), receiver (sixth-grade students), and effect (disciplinary behavior). The study also identifies four dominant communication strategies—participatory, instructional, motivational, and relational—that collectively contribute to students’ discipline in terms of punctuality, task responsibility, classroom orderliness, rule compliance, and cleanliness. These findings emphasize that discipline is more effectively fostered through empathetic, dialogic, and relationship-based communication rather than through authoritarian control