Peer-reviewed article
Teacher's Verbal Violence in the Indonesian Language Teaching and Learning Process at SMP Negeri 4 Keerom Regency
Aleda Mawene, Riana Wibawati, Robert Masreng ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This qualitative single-case study looked at how one Indonesian language teacher used verbal violence in Class VIII at SMP Negeri 4 Arso, Keerom Regency. Researchers observed classes, interviewed, surveyed and recorded the teacher and 83 students. They identified 30 utterances containing verbal violence, mostly competitive or conflictive speech acts. Students reported tolerance, fear, discomfort and reduced motivation to learn. The authors call for respectful and child-friendly communication in classrooms.
Key points
- Thirty verbal utterances containing verbal violence were identified.
- Competitive speech acts were most frequent (14 utterances, 50%), followed by conflictive (13, 43%) and collaborative (3, 7%).
- Teacher domination appeared as satire, warnings, commands, protests, belittling, mocking, cursing, threatening, demanding, stating and announcing.
- Student responses included tolerance, fear, discomfort and reduced motivation to learn.
- The study stresses the importance of respectful and child-friendly communication in the classroom.
Limitations
This is a single-case study of one teacher in one school, so the findings cannot be generalised to other teachers or settings. The abstract does not describe how common such behaviour is or test any intervention. The reported percentages (50%, 43%, 7%) do not match the stated counts of 14, 13 and 3 out of 30.
Abstract
Background: Verbal violence by teachers in classroom interactions may affect students’ psychological well-being and learning motivation, particularly in situations characterized by unequal power relations. Objective: This study aims to describe forms of verbal violence committed by an Indonesian language teacher in Class VIII of SMP Negeri 4 Arso, Keerom Regency, and to examine teacher domination through conflictive, competitive, and collaborative speech acts. Methods: This descriptive qualitative single-case study involved one Indonesian language teacher and 83 Class VIII students, consisting of 24 boys and 59 girls. Data were collected through classroom observation, interviews, questionnaires, video recordings, and field notes. The primary data consisted of teacher utterances containing elements of verbal violence and students’ statements related to these experiences. Data were analyzed using the Miles-Huberman interactive model. Results: Thirty verbal utterances were identified. Competitive speech acts were the most frequent, comprising 14 utterances (50%), followed by conflictive speech acts with 13 utterances (43%) and collaborative speech acts with 3 utterances (7%). Teacher domination was manifested through satire, warnings, commands, protests, belittling, mocking, cursing, threatening, demanding, stating, and announcing. Student responses included tolerance, fear, discomfort, and reduced motivation to learn. Conclusion: Teacher verbal violence in this case was predominantly expressed through competitive and conflictive speech acts. The findings emphasize the importance of respectful and child-friendly communication in classroom interactions.