Conflict Management in Schools

To live in society requires to successfully conduct oneself through the daily conflicts and challenges of life. A school’s primary function is to prepare students, teachers and parents to adapt and overcome the challenges and struggles of a world full of rapid changes and interpersonal conflicts, contributing to the individual’s development process.

Conflict cannot and will not cease to exist, as it is intrinsic to human behaviour and an integral part of moral and emotional growth. Therefore, conflict is present in all schools. It is important to face conflict and resolve it with skills to manage it properly and constructively, establish cooperative relationships, and produce integrative solutions. Harmony and appreciation should coexist in a classroom environment and conflict should not interfere, negatively, in the teaching and learning process.

Each school has a micro-level society, in which relationships are primarily defined based on relative hierarchical positions, and yet, these are dynamic, constantly reflecting changes. Since school environments are different, in order to deal with conflicts inside the school’s micro-society teachers need to find approaches that help them understand the circumstances more effectively, identify which strategies better apply to the conflict and make better use of their strengths and weaknesses. The teacher has a central role to play as far as school conflict is concerned and to successfully handle conflict and pass on that knowledge to students, the teacher must seek to learn the know-how embedded in conflict management theories, apply it to each situation and understand the rationale behind the various conflict management spectrums. Especially, as it pertains to the school precinct and classroom learning environments.