Conflict is inevitable. Schools, particularly, are faced with a significant number of conflicts that can be handled by application of various strategic approaches. Conflicts happen when parties take opposing sides concerning an issue; expressed verbally or through actions. The conflict between students and staff members arise when they disagree on several matters relating to promotion, retention, placement in special education, and grades among others. Conflicts in schools are indicated by hostility and misunderstandings between/among teachers and students. Effective handling of disputes helps in creating positive outcomes in schools and an enjoyable learning experience: Conflicts at a school site are destructive because they affect performance and the way people relate to each other due to physical and emotional violence. Individuals, nonetheless, have the opportunity to learn about efficient ways of handling conflict situations through effective conflict management plans. Resolving conflicts between students and staff members empowers students to excel.
Conflict Management Plan: What Type of Conflict is this Plan for?
The plan seeks to assist in the management of conflict in school. The management of conflicts is vital in reducing the negative outcomes. Fostering of a positive learning environment ensures that students can learn and interact with teachers without any hindrance. Conflict management, particularly, has emerged among the leading components that enhance improvement in academic performance (Ciuladiene, & Kairiene, 2019). Notably, conflicts between staff members and students lead to increased school unrests, fatigue, tension, stress among students, and high absenteeism rates. The existence of a conflict between staff members and students further affects performance and how people relate in school and at the classroom level. Therefore, it is necessary for staff members to resolve conflicts with students without affecting the educational process, cooperation and relationships.
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Who are the Participants?
The conflict management plan seeks to address the conflict between students and staff members, who are, thus, the participants of the program. Students and teachers find themselves in conflicts due to competing ideas concerning school life, rules, classroom work, and other issues relating to school unrests. Three incidences of school unrests and one arson case were experienced in one month. Students were resisting strict measures being implemented by staff members concerning the minimum grades in class, elimination of class trips, and changes in study time. As a result, students exhibited aggressive behaviors whereas the staff members and administration were angry about the ongoing events in the school.
What Conflict Mediation Style will you Use?
Collaboration is a suitable conflict mediation style in solving conflicts between students and staff members. The technique is necessary because it assists in revealing the preferences and constraints of each party. Efficiency is maximized through cooperation to enhance a mutual learning process, create new solutions, and boost consensus in the decision-making process. The approach is regarded as the best because the needs of each party are put into consideration before the final decision is reached. The adoption of this strategy will ensure that incidences relating to arsons and school rests are not experienced.
The approach is recommended to be applied in situations of high animosity and hard feelings. The strategy requires the school head to listen to the needs and grievances of students to make sure that they are kept from any form of unrests (Mboya, Kiplagat & Yego, 2016). Collaboration is beneficial because it stimulates creativity to problem-solving and assists in promoting mutual respect. School heads who communicate freely with students are better placed to be aware of a problem before it arises hence mechanisms to avert the problem are developed. Besides, collaboration provides each conflicting party access to the other’s perception of differing goals (Čiuladienė & Kairienė, 2019). This approach assists in ensuring that a solution is reached by integrating the needs and goals of the affected parties.
The collaboration method seeks to establish varying perspectives. The approach supports a conducive learning approach where a dissatisfied party speaks up to seek the audience of the other party to improve the situation. Collaboration allows learners and staff members to establish a common ground by acknowledging the input of all the parties. Students and teachers have overlapping interests that need to be put into consideration to facilitate an active process of conflict mediation.
Communication Plan
Communication plays an essential part in conflict management. The way a communication plan is passed on to employees will determine the effectiveness of the conflict management style. Effective communication of the conflict management style will aid in eliminating misunderstandings. Each party will be aware of what is expected from them thus promote commitment and dedication to the process of conflict management. Collaboration techniques require clear communication where each person is provided with an opportunity to share his or her grievances.
The plan will be communicated through meetings that will be held in the social hall. Students and teachers will hold physical meetings and be taken through the program. Notably, it will be essential to allow both the parties to react to the issue to make sure that they are involved. An open communication framework will be developed to make sure that the engagements are fruitful. Each party will be allowed to raise their concerns to make sure that all the perceptions are put into consideration. The physical meetings are essential because trust will be built thus fostering respect among the participants. The physical sessions will aid in building relationships between staff members and students: Physical meetings allow people to express their emotions thus making sure that an amicable solution is reached through collaboration.
Before the meetings, printed documents of the plan will be shared to the relevant parties including students, staff members, and the administration. The advance sharing of the documents fosters active engagement because people will be aware of the content and informed about the process. During the meeting, class, hostel representatives, and student leaders will be allowed to air their issues regarding the plan. The choosing of course, hostel representatives, and student leaders will aid in saving time and promoting of a healthy engagement.
Measuring of the Effectiveness of the Plan
Effectiveness of the plans will be measured by determining the number of school unrests or incidences or arsons in the school on a monthly basis. Such cases will be compared with previous years to determine whether there is a reduction or not. A reduction in the incidences of school unrests and arsons shows that the plan is effective. Also, individual performance will be measured to determine students are making progress in their academic work. The degree of student and teacher engagement will be recorded to establish whether or not the students are seeking help from the staff members. Lastly, students and teachers will be supplied with surveys to seek their opinion on the extent to which conflicts are being resolved.
In conclusion, conflicts in schools are a normal occurrence. The way conflicts are handled will determine success and school performance. Conflicts lead to negative consequences including poor performance, stress, school unrests, emotional distress, and poor relationships between staff members and students. Proper conflict mediation styles allow healthy relationships, builds trusts, and improves performance and student-teachers’ engagement. Collaboration is an ideal conflict management style that will be used to resolve conflicts between students and staff members. Collaborating is useful because it puts into consideration the concerns and perspectives of the affected parties to ensure that a consensual solution is provided. The conflict management plan will be communicated to teachers and students through physical meetings that will be held to ensure that each person is aware of the plans and what is expected from them.
References
Čiuladienė, G., & Kairienė, B. (2019). The Resolution of Conflict between Teacher and Student: Students' Narratives
Mboya, A. A., Kiplagat, P., & Yego, E. (2016). Collaboration conflict management strategy: A solution to secondary schools‟ Unrests in Kenya.
