Efektivitas Komunikasi Guru Melalui Retorika Aristotelian: Kerangka Logos, Ethos, dan Pathos Dalam Komunikasi Guru Orangtua Anak Usia Dini

Abstract

Communication between teachers and parents in early childhood education (ECE) settings remains a persistent challenge, often characterized by one-way information delivery that limits parental engagement and undermines educational partnership. While existing literature has extensively examined teacher communication competence in corporate and leadership contexts, its application to ECE teacher-parent communication particularly through a structured rhetorical framework remains significantly underexplored. This study addresses that gap by applying Aristotle's classical rhetorical theory, specifically the triadic dimensions of logos (logical clarity and message structure), ethos (speaker credibility and trustworthiness), and pathos (emotional engagement and empathy), as an analytical framework to evaluate teachers' communication effectiveness with parents at TK IT Al-Fajar Bengkulu. Aristotle argued that persuasive and effective communication is achieved not through a single dimension alone, but through the integrated and simultaneous activation of all three rhetorical appeals a principle that this study adapts into the educational communication context. Employing a descriptive qualitative approach, data were collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews with four teachers and eight parents, and documentation analysis. Findings reveal that communication effectiveness is achieved when teachers organize messages systematically and accessibly (logos), demonstrate consistent relational credibility rooted in deep knowledge of each child (ethos), and establish authentic emotional connections through and empathic engagement (pathos). Crucially, this study finds that in ECE contexts, ethos functions as a foundational prerequisite that determines the receptivity of both logos and pathos a nuance absent in prior corporate-focused frameworks. The integration of Aristotelian rhetoric into ECE communication practice provides both a theoretical contribution to educational communication studies and a practical framework for developing teachers' professional communication competence.