WhatsApp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in Putrajaya

Long before Covid-19 transitioned in our lifestyle and the ‘New Normal’ began, digital communication through instant messaging application in smartphones has been used over the conventional way of communicating in Malaysia. WhatsApp is the most preferred application when it comes to communicat...

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Main Authors: Suriana Johari, Wan Norbani Wan Noordin, Tengku Elena Tengku Mahamad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20391/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20391/1/56709-187593-1-PB.pdf
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author Suriana Johari,
Wan Norbani Wan Noordin,
Tengku Elena Tengku Mahamad,
author_facet Suriana Johari,
Wan Norbani Wan Noordin,
Tengku Elena Tengku Mahamad,
author_sort Suriana Johari,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Long before Covid-19 transitioned in our lifestyle and the ‘New Normal’ began, digital communication through instant messaging application in smartphones has been used over the conventional way of communicating in Malaysia. WhatsApp is the most preferred application when it comes to communicating with peers, friends and family and that is also true for schools in Malaysia, especially in the Klang Valley. The present study aims to investigate the use of digital communication focusing on parent-teacher engagement in a public school in Putrajaya, Malaysia that uses WhatsApp as the application of choice. This qualitative research employs in-depth interviews to collect data to describe the themes that have emerged in the discussion between parents and teachers on WhatsApp as a medium of communication in parent-teacher engagement process. This study incorporates theories such as Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) and Epstein’s Theory of Overlapping Sphere’s of Influences (TOSI) in describing the data. The results suggest that both parents and teachers agree on the importance of using digital platform for communication and engagement between them. The versatility of digital communication, convenience, speed and cost effectiveness are the reasons for using digital communication. However, the challenges for teachers that have been identified in the use of digital communication are increase of stress, distractions of messages and abuse of working time. Theoretical and practical implications for academics, parents, teachers and students were also included in the study.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:203912022-11-04T07:08:21Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20391/ WhatsApp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in Putrajaya Suriana Johari, Wan Norbani Wan Noordin, Tengku Elena Tengku Mahamad, Long before Covid-19 transitioned in our lifestyle and the ‘New Normal’ began, digital communication through instant messaging application in smartphones has been used over the conventional way of communicating in Malaysia. WhatsApp is the most preferred application when it comes to communicating with peers, friends and family and that is also true for schools in Malaysia, especially in the Klang Valley. The present study aims to investigate the use of digital communication focusing on parent-teacher engagement in a public school in Putrajaya, Malaysia that uses WhatsApp as the application of choice. This qualitative research employs in-depth interviews to collect data to describe the themes that have emerged in the discussion between parents and teachers on WhatsApp as a medium of communication in parent-teacher engagement process. This study incorporates theories such as Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) and Epstein’s Theory of Overlapping Sphere’s of Influences (TOSI) in describing the data. The results suggest that both parents and teachers agree on the importance of using digital platform for communication and engagement between them. The versatility of digital communication, convenience, speed and cost effectiveness are the reasons for using digital communication. However, the challenges for teachers that have been identified in the use of digital communication are increase of stress, distractions of messages and abuse of working time. Theoretical and practical implications for academics, parents, teachers and students were also included in the study. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20391/1/56709-187593-1-PB.pdf Suriana Johari, and Wan Norbani Wan Noordin, and Tengku Elena Tengku Mahamad, (2022) WhatsApp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in Putrajaya. Jurnal Komunikasi ; Malaysian Journal of Communication, 38 (2). pp. 280-296. ISSN 0128-1496 https://ejournal.ukm.my/mjc/issue/view/1527
spellingShingle Suriana Johari,
Wan Norbani Wan Noordin,
Tengku Elena Tengku Mahamad,
WhatsApp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in Putrajaya
title WhatsApp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in Putrajaya
title_full WhatsApp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in Putrajaya
title_fullStr WhatsApp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in Putrajaya
title_full_unstemmed WhatsApp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in Putrajaya
title_short WhatsApp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in Putrajaya
title_sort whatsapp conversations and relationships : a focus on digital communication between parent-teacher engagement in a secondary school in putrajaya
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20391/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20391/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20391/1/56709-187593-1-PB.pdf