Teachers' Conflict Management Styles with Peers and Students' Parents

Abstract

This study examines the conflict management styles that elementary school teachers use with their peers and 'with their students' parents. Elementary school teachers (N = 156) provided responses anonymously to Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory II and demographic questions. Teachers' conflict management styles were different in all five styles of conflict management from those a normative group of the business managers. No differences were found between responses of teachers in urban and nonurban schools. Teachers in urban schools reported being more likely to use dominating styles with their students' parents than with their peers. Based on these findings, the authors suggest continuing education for teachers to learn intentional ways of dealing with conflicts, both with peers and with students' parents.