School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships

Abstract

This study was designed to identify school conflicts, its causes and management strategies in classroom relationships. Accommodation, avoidance, competition, collaboration, compromise are the management strategies for conflict resolution in schools. The review of relevant literature shows that conflict is an essential and unavoidable human phenomenon because where there is human interaction, there is likelihood of personal likes and dislikes. Conflict exists in all schools. The school is inserted in a space where the conflict manifest itself daily and assumes rel4evance, being the result of the multiple interpersonal relationships that occurs in the school context. Thus, conflict is part of school life, which implies that teachers must have the skills to manage conflict constructively, recognizing the diversities of school conflicts. This study aimed to present its causes, highlighting the main ones in the classroom, in the teacher-student relationship. Causes of conflict includes difference in perceptions, overlapping authority, poor communication network, misunderstanding amongst others. Based on this discussion, the paper suggests that teachers and students should be educated and enlightened on their code of conduct, there should be good communication network, vertically and horizontally in the school system and infusing and integrating conflict resolution into school curriculum and culture is also imperative.