Resolving Student - Teacher Conflict

When conflicts occur between a teacher and an individual student very often a one to one chat about the issue away from the classroom will resolve the issue. If not, the following strategy may be effective to resolve the conflict. It has proven successful in obtaining win-win results. 

When a larger group of students in the class have a conflict with a teacher, it is advisable to enlist the support of senior staff to mediate the situation.

The mediator sets the ground rules with the class without the teacher present:

• hands up if you wish to speak and one person to speak at a time
• value everyone’s input and no put downs
• appreciation and mutual respect is a must for all
• problems are identified; whether real or perceived, they are real for the students.
• strive to frame them so that they are not total ‘door slammers’ with no way out; use a whiteboard to record them

The students are asked by the mediator what they have done to address the issue/s and who they believe owns the issue/s. 

Then the class brainstorms possible solutions:

• every suggestion is respected and valued
• it is essential to take accurate notes of what is said; ask a colleague to be the scribe. Also, his/her interpretations of what occurs will be valuable
• the students tend to come up with some excellent suggestions
• the realisation dawns on them that they have the “power” to contribute to solving the problem/s. 

Establishing a plan of action to pursue that arises from students reflecting on their behaviours will be owned by them and will empower them to meet expectations and will be more likely to succeed. ‘Student power’ is so much more effective in resolving conflict than external ‘teacher power’. 

The mediator then arranges to see the teacher involved to discuss the issues and proposed strategies that the class suggested; this is the stage when the teacher having conflict is faced with what he/she can do. Most staff will be accepting and give it a try:

• begin the plan and set a date to see how it is going
• ensure that other staff are informed of the strategies to be put in place because it may benefit their classroom functioning
• Staff that are unwilling to consider students’ proposals and believe the entire problem/s lie with the students need counselling and support from colleagues to help them realise that relationships are central to learning.

Conflict between staff members can have a debilitating effect on school morale and the quality of learning and teaching, and as such, it cannot be left to resolve itself over time. If not addressed promptly, the conflict may spread and develop into other teachers taking sides, a situation that cannot be permitted to occur. 

Resolving staff conflict requires the intervention of a senior staff member such as Head of Faculty, Principal or Assistant/Deputy Principal as they have the necessary skills to assist the teachers involved to reach an amicable solution. 

• Staff conflicts can arise from:
• power plays in faculties
• bullying and harassment
• stress from excessive workload
• a lack of goal congruence and role clarity within the school community.

Staff problems don’t resolve themselves and are generally the most difficult types to address. They can dampen quality learning and teaching and our students suffer. 

We can ignore it but it won’t go away; face it, mediate it, and resolve it.

 The school’s organisational health will benefit considerably through a structured and consistent approach to resolving conflict that is accepted by the school community. 

“The main thing is to make the main thing the main thing” Steven Covey