The Use of Teachers' Authority Over Students Through School Spaces in Thai Teen Series During 2013 - 2021

Abstract

This research article aims to analyze the portrayal of teacher power dynamics towards students through school settings in Thai teen series. The study found that these series depict teacher authority through various mechanisms such as monitoring and enforcing discipline near school gates, issuing commands and punishments in areas like flagpoles, classrooms, and parent rooms, and even using detention rooms to discipline students. These portrayals reflect intense power dynamics and the use of force by teachers within schools. However, the study also reveals that these teen series do not portray teachers as unquestionably authoritative figures but rather show student resistance through various forms of communication such as questioning rules, challenging norms symbolically, and using digital technology to expose unjust uses of power. The research highlights that Thai teen series depict schools as spaces where power negotiations between teachers and students occur, illustrating that schools in these series are no longer exclusively domains of absolute teacher authority.