Pseudo-Synergy: Communication Dysfunction of Parents and Catholic Religious Education Teachers in Strengthening the Religious Character of Students in Central Kalimantan Rural Elementary Schools

Abstract

This article examines the collaborative relationship between parents and teachers of Catholic Religious Education (PAK) in strengthening the religious character of elementary school students in remote Catholic communities in Central Kalimantan. This research responds to a problem that often goes unnoticed in rural pastoral contexts: cooperation that appears to be institutionally established but is barely felt by the family, a phenomenon that in this article is referred to as the illusion of collaboration (pseudo-synergy). With a descriptive qualitative design, the study involved twelve purposively selected informants: the principal, the PAK teacher, five Catholics in class V, and five parents of Catholic students. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and supporting documentation, then analyzed using the interactive model Miles, Huberman, and Saldana. The validity of the data is maintained through credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, which are pursued through source and time triangulation, member checking, thick description, and reflective field notes. Three main findings are presented. First, there is a significant narrative gap between the school's claims of cooperation and the actual experience of parents, with most parents reporting never being contacted directly by a PAK teacher despite the school claiming to have engaged in active communication. Second, the same educational vision, easily accessible communication technology, and the willingness of parents and students to participate are the strongest supporting factors, while the absence of communication initiatives from teachers, parents' busy work, and geographical isolation are the dominant obstacles. Third, this inequality of cooperation leads to fragmentation of religious character formation between school and home, although children with parents who remain actively involved show more consistent character outcomes. This article proposes a Synchronized Pastoral-Pedagogical Model that integrates scheduled meetings, structured digital engagement, daily devotion monitoring sheets, and specialized mentoring for students from less supportive families. This pattern of communication dysfunction is suggested as a starting point for comparative studies in other minority and geographically isolated Catholic educational communities.