The study specifically examined how teachers’ choice of words and forms of address during everyday learning activities are associated with the development of students’ character values. The researchers identified 312 pedagogical greeting events from recordings of classroom interactions totaling 23 hours. The findings indicate that teachers’ greetings can simultaneously serve social and educational functions, including fostering empathy, self-confidence, discipline, cooperation, and self-respect.
Teacher Language Does More Than Convey Lessons
Character education is often associated with curricula, school activities, and student development programs. However, the study by Djuli, Pane, and Djokaho shows that this process also takes place through simple conversations that occur every day in the classroom.
In Indonesia, character education is part of national education policy and the Merdeka Curriculum. Nevertheless, empirical research on the concrete mechanisms through which character values are developed through everyday classroom interactions remains relatively limited. This study therefore places teachers’ language as one important component of that process.
The researchers emphasize that forms of address can convey messages about how students are perceived by their teachers. Greetings that express appreciation, encouragement, responsibility, togetherness, or recognition of individual abilities can help shape a particular social atmosphere in the classroom.
In other words, character education does not always take the form of advice or dedicated lessons. These values can also be communicated through the way teachers repeatedly address students during routine learning activities. The study describes pedagogical greetings as part of an implicit curriculum, meaning values and norms that students learn through everyday interactional practices even when they are not explicitly taught.
Study Involved Nine Teachers and 27 Students
The study employed a qualitative approach using critical discourse analysis. It was conducted at three public schools in Kupang City: SMPN 5, SMPN 10, and SMPN 20.
Nine Indonesian language teachers participated in the study, consisting of five female teachers and four male teachers with teaching experience ranging from three to 19 years. The researchers also involved 27 students from Grades VII, VIII, and IX. All participants provided written consent, and their identities were anonymized in the research report.
Data were collected through classroom observations, video recordings, conversation transcriptions, and interviews. Each teacher was observed during five learning sessions lasting between 40 and 80 minutes. In total, the researchers conducted 45 observation sessions and collected 23 hours of classroom interaction recordings.
From these recordings, the researchers identified 312 pedagogical greeting events. Interviews with teachers and students were used to understand the purposes behind the greetings and how students interpreted different forms of address.
Five Types of Pedagogical Greetings
From the 312 events analyzed, the researchers identified five categories of pedagogical greetings. Each category had different functions and associated character values.
First, affective greetings. These greetings are used to build emotional closeness and a sense of belonging. They may take the form of expressions that communicate appreciation toward students. This was the most frequently identified category, accounting for 98 events or 31.4 percent. The associated values included empathy, appreciation, and a sense of belonging.
Second, motivational greetings. Teachers used forms of address that highlighted students’ potential or future roles, such as referring to students as prospective leaders. A total of 74 events or 23.7 percent fell into this category. Such greetings were associated with self-confidence, learning motivation, optimism, and resilience in facing challenges.
Third, regulative greetings. This form was related to students’ roles and responsibilities within the classroom structure. A total of 67 events or 21.5 percent were categorized as regulative greetings. One example involved addressing the class leader to ensure that group members were ready to participate in the lesson. The related character values included discipline, responsibility, and accountability.
Fourth, inclusive greetings. Teachers used words or expressions that positioned teachers and students as members of a group working together. A total of 48 events or 15.4 percent were identified in this category. These forms were associated with cooperation, social cohesion, and teamwork.
Fifth, personal-affirmative greetings. This was the least frequent category, with 25 events or 8 percent. Teachers addressed students by name while also giving specific recognition to their contributions or courage. This form was associated with respect for individual dignity, intrinsic motivation, and confidence in one’s own abilities.
How Teachers Address Students Matters More Than the Form Alone
One important finding of the study is that the educational impact of a greeting does not depend solely on the words being used. The context and discourse mechanisms behind the greeting also play an important role.
The researchers identified five mechanisms connecting greetings with character development: enhancing self-esteem through affective greetings, projecting identity through motivational greetings, reinforcing roles through regulative greetings, building solidarity through inclusive greetings, and recognizing individuals through personal-affirmative greetings.
Therefore, teacher training should not merely provide a list of supposedly appropriate forms of address. According to the framework of this study, teachers need to understand the purpose and context of language use so that the greetings they use are genuinely aligned with the character values they seek to develop.
The findings also indicate that the same form of address can serve different functions depending on the context. Mentioning a student’s name, for example, can serve as recognition of the individual or can be used to emphasize the student’s responsibility. The difference lies in the function and context of the interaction.
Implications for Character Education
For the education sector, these findings broaden the way character education can be understood. Character development should not only be examined through school programs or curriculum content, but also through communication practices between teachers and students.
Labu Djuli, Betharia Pane, and Margaret P.E. Djokaho position pedagogical greetings as part of an implicit pedagogical curriculum. Through routine forms of address, teachers can indirectly communicate values such as empathy, self-confidence, discipline, cooperation, and personal dignity.
However, the researchers also identify limitations. The study was conducted in only three schools in one city, focused on Indonesian language learning, and used a limited cross-sectional design. Therefore, the findings cannot yet be considered representative of all junior high schools in Indonesia. Future research is recommended to involve more locations and to be conducted over a longer period.
Author Profiles
Labu Djuli — Indonesian Language and Literature Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang. The author is the corresponding author of the article.
Betharia Pane — Indonesian Language and Literature Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang.
Margaret P.E. Djokaho — Indonesian Language and Literature Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang.
The article identifies all three authors as members of the Indonesian Language and Literature Education Program, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Nusa Cendana University. Their individual academic degrees and more specific areas of expertise are not provided in the available article text.
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