CONFLICTS AT SCHOOL

Conflict: what is it?

Conflict is actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests.Conflict as a concept can help explain many aspects of social life such as social disagreement, conflicts of interests, and fights between individuals, groups, or organizations.

Phases of conflict:

Prelude to Conflict: Variables that make conflict possible between those involved

Triggering Event: A particular event, such as criticism which creates the conflict

Initiation Phase: Occurs when at least one person makes it known to the other that a conflict exists

Differentiation Phase: Parties raise the conflict issues and pursue reasons for the varying positions

Integration stage / Resolution: Parties acknowledge common grounds and explore possibilities to move towards a solution

Types of conflicts

Community Emotional external group international interpersonal organizational religious-based relationship racial

School conflicts

Pupils against pupils Pupils against teachers

VIOLENCE AGAINST TEACHERS

Teachers as Targets – Violence Against Teachers

Even with all of the measures in place to try to prevent violence in schools and

keep our children safer, it’s been noted that many teachers fear for their own safety when they go to work

Programs have been implemented around the world in order to help prevent school violence against children, but little focus has so far been placed on preventing violence against teachers even though the problem seems to be on the rise. If you are a teacher who has been threatened or had a crime committed against you then the first thing you need to do is speak out and report it.

Anyone who behaves violently towards another person will continue to do so as long as they feel they can get away with it and as long as you continue to let them have control over the situation.

You also need to consider the danger that you could be putting your students in by allowing a violent person to run free in your school.

Reporting violence against teachers is crucial if you want to see something done about the situation and save lives.

Locations for Violence Against Teachers

Cities – 109,800 Suburbs – 78,100 Towns – 27,500 Rural areas – 37,700 Secondary schools – 139,400 Elementary schools – 113,700 Male teachers attacked – 78,500 Female teachers attacked – 174,500

Aggression against teachers 85,000 teachers have experienced pupil "aggression'' over two years 297 teachers took three or more days off work due to assault 58,000 teachers have experienced parental "aggression" over two

years

Teachers Can Diffuse Stressful Situations

Redirect student to an alternative task Use a calm, positive tone of voice – avoid a confrontation Give students two or three choices of academic tasks to manage behavior and increase

success Use verbal praise intermittently in class Use humor, but not sarcasm to defuse conflicts Move close enough to student to engage or redirect behavior (3-5 feet), yet respect

personal space Speak softly, respect the student and solve the problem privately.

When Students are Violent Isolate the student Allow cool-down time Document the incident Resume your regular schedule

Violence against teachers can be greatly reduced if the teacher stays alert to warning signs. But, if the situation can not be avoided, keeping everyone safe is top priority.

BULLYING

Bullying: direct physical aggression ( involves

tangible behaviors such as hitting, pushing and kicking);

direct verbal aggression (includes name-calling and threats);

indirect aggression(spreading rumors and telling tales).

girls

boys

girls

a bully aggressiveanxious

•Active;•Impulsive;• assertive; •Strong;• easily provoked•takes the lead in initiating the aggression;•seeksfor another bully to follow his or her instructions.

• low self-esteem;• lack of confidence; • disruptive temper;• followsthe aggressive bully to compensate for inadequate feelings about him orherself;• seeks approval from aggressivebullies.

A list of six characteristics thatfamilies of bullies tend to have:

‘‘Cool-to-cold emotional environment’’ Permissive parenting Isolation of family from the community, and active social life or

social involvement of family is lacking Conflict between parents, and disharmony within the family Parents fail to punish or may even reinforce aggression Authoritarian parenting with high use of controlling and punitive

discipline Parents try to maintain order with rigid household standards and

rules

Bullies

Control others through verbal threats and physical actions Are quicker to anger and use force sooner than others Have little empathy for the problems of others in the victim-bully

relationship Chronically display aggressive behavior Are angry and revengeful Have contact with aggressive groups See aggression as the only way to preserve their self-image Have inconsistent discipline procedures at home Think physical image is important for maintaining a feeling of power or

control Focus on angry thoughts Have many more family problems than usual Suffer physical and emotional abuse at home Exhibit obsessive or rigid actions

Victims

Have ineffective social skills Have poor interpersonal skills Are less popular than others Feel socially isolated Are afraid of going to school Are physically younger, smaller, and weaker than peers Lack of communication capabilities during high-stress incidents Perform self-destructive actions Believe others are more capable of handling various situations Have difficulty relating to peers

Schools where bullyingtakes place are often characterized by

Students feeling unsafe at school; A sense of not belonging to the school community; Distrust among students; Formation of formal and informal gangs as a

means to either instigate bullying or protect the group from bullying; Legal action being taken against the school by students and

parents; Low reputation of the school in the community; Low staff morale and higher occupational stress; A poor educational climate.