PEDAGOGY OF PRESENCE: THE TEACHER BETWEEN STAGE, SYMBOL AND RELATIONSHIP – PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION AND DIDACTIC PROTOCOL AS FORMS OF SYMBOLIC AUTHORITY

<doi>10.24250/jpe/SI/2026/MBI/</doi>

Abstract

This paper develops the concept of ”pedagogy of presence”
as a symbolic-communicative framework for understanding
educational authority in contemporary educational
environments. Drawing primarily on the sociological
perspectives of Pierre Bourdieu and Erving Goffman, the study
examines how pedagogical legitimacy is constructed through
symbolic capital, communicative performance, nonverbal
interaction, impression management and professional protocol.
The analysis adopts a conceptual-synthetic approach situated
at the intersection of educational sociology, communication
studies, semiotics and pedagogical theory. Particular attention
is paid to the role of visibility, symbolic representation,
corporeal communication, public speaking and institutional
conduct in shaping professional identity and educational
credibility. The paper proposes an integrative model of
pedagogical presence and outlines five typologies of
pedagogical identity characteristic of contemporary education:
the institutional teacher, the performative teacher, the
relational teacher, the symbolic teacher and the digitalrepresentational
teacher. The study argues that educational
authority increasingly depends on communicative coherence,
symbolic intelligibility and relational credibility rather than on
institutional hierarchy alone. By conceptualizing teaching as a
form of symbolic mediation and embodied communication, the
paper contributes to a broader understanding of educational
legitimacy in contexts characterized by digital exposure,
communicative acceleration and evolving professional
expectations.