Public School Administration
Successful organizations are measured by their abilities to solve the conflicts that they encounter. Disagreements are part of corporations, and on some occasions, when they occur, they jeopardize corporate activities and relationships between the stakeholders. Teamwork is an important aspect that any manager should encourage. However, it may be affected by conflicts that arise in organizations on a daily basis. Schools are examples of organizations that experience conflicts from time to time. Conflict can occur between students, teachers, or students and teachers. Disagreements among peers affect well-established relationships. Similarly, some teachers have faced the wrath of unruly students. Conflicts between students and teachers may also lead to chaotic fallouts. However, school managers must minimize conflicts proactively and productively. Since conflicts between teachers and students arise due to poor and inadequate communication between the parties involved, and due to teacher dominance in such interactions; the conflicts can be mitigated by involving students in decision making processes.
People experience conflicts during both positive and negative interactions. Conflicts are characterized by personal differences, anger, and violence. Conversely, conflicts arise depending on the mood, values, and attitude of a person along with how such a person thereafter interacts with others with given set up. Unresolved conflicts often end in violence. Conflicts occur when people fail to work as cohesive teams or groups, which might lead to a standstill.
For students, conflicts can amicably be resolved to improve the ability of a student to achieve academic goals. Moreover, resolved conflicts nurtures healthy relationships between peers and teachers. For instance, a conflict that occurs between a teacher and student can significantly affect the latter’s academic performance. For instance, the student may not feel free to attend a class and actively participate. It is imperative for school principals to find a truce between a students and teachers.
A conflict between a teacher and student occurred in a school involving a student named Jacob and his teacher, Mr. Sahin. The student arrived late for class and the conflict ensued when he requested to be allowed into the class. He came in and requested to sit as usual. At the time, Mr. Sahin was by the blackboard explaining to the class how to pronounce confusing words. Jacob was apologetic for coming late. Unfortunately, the teacher was not ready to hear him out, and thus, did not accept the apology. Instead, Mr. Sahin angrily shouted at the student citing that he was not happy with the student’s routine lateness to class. Mr. Sahin went ahead to assert that he would not allow the student in class the next time he came in late. The teacher was angry with Jacob throughout the lesson for different reasons, such as failure to contribute to the lesson. On that day, Jacob was unable to concentrate in class. After class, he was accompanied by a classmate the staffroom to explain his reasons for coming late. Jacob highlighted how he lived far from the school. In addition, his family’s financial situation had worsened and so he had to walk to school. This row is an example of a conflict that must be solved to prevent teachers from subjectively dealing with students.
The school operates under a bureaucratic structure whereby decisions are dependent on the school leaders. For example, issues touching on lateness are to be refereed to class teachers. There are standard procedures and guidelines to be followed when dealing with lateness. First, the presiding teacher must listen to the reasons given by a student for coming in late. The issue of lateness is dealt with on the basis of the prevailing situation. Second, the issue should be dealt with professionally by the concerned formal and informal leaders. Third, the school has frameworks and systems through which students with difficulties can be assisted. Furthermore, such students can be given due consideration if they may not be able to comply with the already set reporting times. The school specializes in promoting teacher professionalism and student discipline. On the contrary, the conflict situation in this school went out of hand in this case. The teacher must know that conflicts potentially affect the academic performance of students. It creates stress, thereby de-motivating and discouraging them from actively participating in class activities.
The source of the conflict was the student’s lateness to class. The student failed to account for his lateness to class. The teacher, on the other hand, was not ready to listen to the student but instead began ranting at him. In fact, the teacher intimidated the student fuelling the conflict further. To this end, this conflict originated from misunderstanding, prejudice, fixed judgment by the teacher, inappropriate communication, and consistent negative behavior exhibited by the student.
The social relationship between students is good in the school within which the conflict arose. Consequently, Jacob, accompanied by a classmate, went to Mr. Sahin to help salvage the situation. However, based on this narrative, the existing relationship between teachers and students is not good. This is anchored on how Mr. Sahin treated Jacob. Schools are social systems that accommodate different people with different values, attitudes, and beliefs. On the contrary, this school does not ascribe to the Social systems theory because different views are not accommodated. In this school, teachers are not courteous, attentive to explanations, or accommodative. Such a culture can jeopardize sound conflict resolution mechanisms.
Heads of schools can mitigate such conflicts in future through the use of the domination strategy. The strategy comprises a plan of action that prompts students and teachers to compromise their positions in regards to beliefs and attitudes in order to arrive at a common goal. For this plan to succeed, teachers are expected to show empathy when dealing with such cases in future. From the narrative, it is evident that Mr. Sahin was expected to show empathy to the student as the first step in preventing the occurrence of the conflict. According to sociologists, empathic tendencies of individuals help influence and establish healthy relationships during conflict management (Suleyman & Turkan, 2016).
It is important to establish appropriate communication channels through which students with difficulties can explain their predicaments to their teachers for guidance. This would ensure that the wishes, opinions, and views of students are not ignored. Lastly, it is imperative to establish a positive classroom climate that promotes active interactions among students, their peers, and teachers. The school principal must assist in the establishment of a conducive climate because without it, teachers may be subjected to psychological stress by the students creating hostility which is a recipe for conflict that can be detrimental to the wellbeing of everyone in the system.
Reference
Suleyman, G., & Turkan, A. (2016). Conflicts at schools and their impact on teachers.
Journal of Education and Training Studies Vol. 4, No. 4. Redfame Publishing. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1091453.pdf. Retrieved May 26, 2018.