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Conflicts between Teachers: Causes and Effects

Conference Paper · September 2015

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Conflicts between Teachers: Causes and
Effects

Catana L.1
1
Senior Researcher, PhDc, Institute of Educational Sciences (ROMANIA)
luminita.catana@ise.ro

Abstract
Conflict situations are a quite frequent reality in every organization, including the school, and their
identification, understanding and control represent a constant interest area for the psychologists and education
sciences experts, mainly because of their impact on the individual and organizational performance. Even though
it is a reality minimized or “hidden” by teachers and school managers, these conflicts affect the quality of the
learning environment, as well as the teacher’s performance (and, indirectly, the student’s performance).
This paper presents how the professional conflicts are perceived and managed by teachers, based on a
field research done in 2014, including 139 teachers from 23 Romanian schools, covering both urban and rural
areas. It was used a mixed research methodology, data being collected through a questionnaire-based inquiry and
10 focus-groups for teachers and school managers.
The main causes for professional conflicts between teachers (out of a total number of 17 potential
causes) were identified as: different information and previous experience related to a certain issue, different
perception for the same problem, different motivation, interests and personal objectives, inequitable allocation of
tasks. Other important conflict causes were: inequitable allocation of the school resources, limited career
advancement opportunities, subjective performance appraisal of the teachers, breaches in following the internal
rules and regulations, sub-optimal communication (lack of transparency, clarity and addressability).
At the school level, the main effects of the internal conflicts were identified as being the school climate
deterioration and a more difficult internal communication, with a negative impact on the students learning
performance, in the end. At the individual level, the conflicts negatively influence the personal image of some
teachers, and even creates isolation for some of them; also, create demotivation and lack of interest for the
school issues, nervousness and an unfriendly atmosphere in the teachers room, manifestation of professional
vanity etc.
Keywords: school conflicts, organizational culture, conflict solving strategies, learning environment,
school values.

1 Introduction
The modern conflict theories state that a conflict with a low or medium intensity and short duration
could stimulate teachers’ and creativity and their overall professional performance, while a high-intensity and
long-term conflict is not beneficial, neither to the organization, nor to the involved people [1], [2], [3].
The excessive involvement in conflictual situations redirects the people’s energy and attention away
from their common objectives, and often leads to affective conflicts, in which case the professional performance
of the respective people tends to decrease drastically. Both short and long-term effects of the conflicts highlight
the importance of studying and understanding this phenomenon, and justify the effort of a school principal, for
instance, to manage it.

2 Methodology
This paper presents the results of a research conducted in 2014, on 139 pre-university teachers from 7
Romanian counties, in both urban and rural environments. The method used for data collection was the inquiry
based on a questionnaire, whose items were generated based on the preliminary discussions, on the subject, with
the teachers and principals from 5 pre-university schools (1-12 grades).
The questionnaire had a complex structure, collecting personal opinions of the teachers concerning the
following three aspects: the evaluation of their self-trust and self-esteem, the evaluation of some school cultural

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elements that may influence the outcome of certain conflicts, and personal experiences regarding recent
conflictual phenomena in their schools.
The items of the questionnaire were either open, either scaled (using a five-level Likert scale), each of
these items having several questions subordinated.

3 Results

3.1 Evaluation of Teachers’ Self-Trust and Self-Esteem

Regarding the teachers’ self-trust and self-esteem, the answers were homogenous, the homogeneity
coefficient being under 21,5% for all of the items, and the average levels being above 4,5 (on a five-level Likert
scale, from 1 – “not at all” to 5 – “to a very large extent”).
The main results, in percentages, for how the teachers see themselves, are the following:
- 58,51% of the respondents consider they have solid professional competencies “to a very large
extent”, and another 38,12% consider to have them “to a large extent”;
- accepting suggestions from their colleagues is done “to a very large extent” by 36% of the
respondents, and “to a large extent” by 56,29% of them;
- the recognition and appreciation of the work and achievements of their colleagues is done “to a very
large extent” by 52,59% of the teachers, and “to a large extent” by 40% of them;
- the involvement in the professional discussion with their peers is rated “to a large extent” and “to a
very large extent” by 80% of the respondents;
- 80% of the teachers use to consult their colleagues when they make some professional decision;
- most of the teachers admit their errors (36% “to a very large extent”, and 50% “to a large extent”).
These results are similar with those obtained in another recent research, namely the Teaching and
Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013 [4], to which have participated 28 countries, Romania included.
Most of the teachers (more than 80%) have declared that their initial training included classroom practical
applications, which gave them a good start into their profession. Romania is ranking among the first countries
regarding the teachers’ opinion about the specific scientific knowledge required by their courses (80% of the
participants said that they have very good competencies in their domain – i.e., mathematics, biology, fine arts
etc. -, while the rest of 20% opted for a good level of specific competence). Referring to the pedagogical
competencies, the answers given have placed the Romanian teachers on the 6 th position among the 28 participant
countries.

3.2 School Culture Components with Major Impact on Conflicts Evolution

At organizational level, they were identified 3 major causes which influence the time evolution of every
conflict [5]: a. the complexity of the organization’s environment; b. the differences between people, the fear of
the new situations, and the normal resistance to change; c. the way of managing the divergent opinions
(resources management and conflict management, taking care about the different traits of the involved people –
the authors underline the importance of egocentrism, pride, and vanity), as well as the resource limitations and
the organizational constraints.
The teachers were invited to define their work environment through the behaviours which are accepted
in their schools and there are encountered frequently. They estimated that, the most frequent behaviours in
schools are the ones of collegiality (29%), mutual support (21%), tolerance towards colleagues’ different
opinion, behaviours and attitudes (19%), conflict avoidance (18%).
There are, however, other behaviors found in schools that are considered harmful and which were
mentioned by a limited number of respondents: bureaucracy (6%), excessive control and obedient behaviour
(3%), inertia (1%), verbal or behavioural aggression (1%).
In order to understand the teachers’ common behavior in school, they were asked to select from a pre-
defined list (with the possibility to add new items, if considered relevant by a certain respondent) and to rank
some important aspects of their school-life. In the decreasing order of the given importance, it was obtained the
following list: maintaining a pleasant work environment; the creativity and innovation of the teachers; the correct
and on-time completion of the allocated tasks; the opportunities for personal development (each of these aspects
having percentages over 85% of being considered important to a large or very large extent). Other aspects
perceived as important were: inclusion of all the school activities, performed during a school year, in the annual
performance appraisal system (80%), respectively recognition and acknowledgement of the personal
performance (70%).

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3.3 Causes of Conflicts between Teachers
The causes of conflicts between teachers have been categorized in three main groups: a. causes that are
related to an individual (motivations, interests or personal objectives different from his/her colleagues, different
perceptions of the same issue or different knowledge concerning a subject, different personal experiences); b.
causes that depend on the school management (resources allocation, administrative tasks allocation, relationship
between the teachers and the school management team); 3. causes deriving from the organizational culture (the
integration of the new people, the isolation of one or more colleagues, the way of communication etc.). The most
frequent 17 causes of conflict between teachers and their frequency of occurrence are presented in the table
below.
Table 1 The most frequent 17 causes for conflicts between teachers
Frequency of occurrence
Crt
Causes of conflict very
no. very low low medium high
high
a. Individual causes
1 Divergent objectives, motivations, or interests 22% 23% 33% 14% 8%
2 Different perceptions of the same issue 20% 22% 33% 23% 2%
Different previous experiences and knowledge referring to a
3 17% 23% 33% 23% 4%
subject
b. Managerial causes
4 Inequitable task allocation 28% 20% 32% 14% 6%
Bad communication (lack of transparency, efficiency, clarity,
5 48% 32% 3% 12% 5%
addressability)
6 Inequitable allocation of the school’s resources 47% 21% 14% 11% 7%
7 Inequitable allocation of the administrative tasks 38% 26% 22% 11% 3%
8 Subjective performance appraisal 51% 18% 23% 6% 2%
9 Lack of clear, formal procedures 66% 15% 14% 3% 2%
c. Others causes (depending on the organizational culture)
10 Lack of support for educational innovation 49% 24% 19% 6% 2%
11 Limitation of the access to personal/professional development 65% 19% 10% 5% 1%
12 Internal discussions which affect the image of other colleagues 48% 24% 19% 7% 2%
13 Limited promotion / career development options 49% 19% 16% 7% 9%
14 Integration of new people / Isolation of some people 59% 20% 15% 6% 0%
15 Breaking the internal rules and procedures 56% 18% 20% 3% 3%
16 Affective conflicts between teachers 52% 26% 13% 6% 3%
17 Dysfunctional relationship with the school management team 60% 15% 16% 8% 1%

The individual causes that can generate conflicts are distributed following a normal curve; the motives,
interests and different objectives, perceptions concerning a problem or the accumulated experience may be
significant sources of conflict, to a large or very large extent, for over 20% of the interviewed people, and to a
medium extent for about 30%. Nearly half of the teachers believe that the individual aspects only generate
conflicts to a small extent, and even then, they are of small intensity and duration.
Amongst the contextual factors, we can mention those of a managerial nature (respectively, the
delegation of tasks and responsibility distribution, the uneven distribution of resources and the faulty
communication) which are far less important, from the teacher’s point of view, compared to the differences
between the individual aspects. The weighted average of the answers for this category are situated around the
values of 1.8-1.9 (where 1 signifies “to a very small extent” and 2 “to a small extent”; in other words, the overall
belief is that these sources generate conflicts to a small extent). This result is not at all surprising, as long as a
few rules are followed. The tasks and material resources are evenly distributed, following certain routines, and
the communication between teachers is transparent and on time.
Certain limitations in the professional life, like access to training, career evolution and the manner of
teacher’s assessment, do not start major conflicts in schools, being established by a series of formal documents
and rules. The teachers’ answers reflect the compliance to existing rules and the identification of some measures
for career development.

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 Other causes of conflict mentioned in the survey are those that have as source the culture of the teachers
in schools and the lack of compliance to the internal regulations; if in the case of other types of organizations, the
causes referring the organization’s environment and culture generate open conflicts, in the school environment
they will produce only minor effects. About 80% of the surveyed people have chosen either very low or low
frequency of occurrence for this cause. If a decade ago, the teachers were complaining about the procedural void,
now only 14% think that there is a medium frequency for this cause, and only 5% of the surveyed teachers
believe that it has a high or very high frequency of occurrence. Regarding the existing rules, only 26% of the
questioned people believe that the lack of compliance to them it has a medium, high or very high frequency.

3.4 Strategies used in School Conflicts Resolution

Within any type of organization, there are applied several methods for limiting, discharging or
transforming a conflict., as parts of the “conflict resolution” or “conflict solving” process. A classification of the
strategies for conflict resolution is presented in the model of the bilateral concerns, proposed by Rubin, Kim and
Pruitt [6], based on two criteria: the concern regarding the personal results, respectively the concern regarding
the counterpart’s results. Based on this, the conflict resolution strategy could be: submission, if the concern
towards own interests and results is low, while the other person’s interests prevail; there are being introduced the
notions of selflessness and selfishness; the strategy of submission is complementary to the direct strategy, of
imposing; avoidance, if the preoccupation towards the personal achievements and the other person’s
achievements is low; confrontation, if the personal interests overpower the concerns of the other; solving the
problem, if the interest in a satisfactory outcome is great. A similar model has been offered by Andre Beaufre
[7], who classifies the strategies into direct strategies (of imposing), lateral (indirect), cooperative (issue
resolve) and conflictual, when the power of the partners and the negotiation skills are significantly unbalanced.
Using an item with an open answer, there were highlighted the strategies most frequently used for
solving the tensional situations among teachers. These are: direct strategies, which involve imposing the solution
without needing the acceptance of all the parties involved, this kind of strategy being used when there is a power
imbalance; lateral or attrition strategies, which are used as a means to tire out the other party and redirect its
attention towards other minor problems; conflictual strategies, which involve tactics like threatening, blaming,
warning, etc; problem solving strategies; avoidance strategies; denial strategies.
The first type, direct strategies, of imposing, are present in schools, but their frequency is perceived as
low (very low - for 43% of the respondent teachers, low - for 18%, medium - for 24%). These strategies imply a
capitulation of some partners, which means a give-up regarding some personal advantages and a reduced
preoccupation towards own interests. Only 15% of the respondents perceive the existence of the imposing
strategies as frequent or very frequent.
Contrary to the initial expectations, about a third of the questioned people estimate that the lateral
strategies are used with a medium, high or very high frequency, 22% of the teachers think that these types of
strategies are rarely used, and the rest of 47% think that these are used with a really low frequency.
The conflictual strategies still exist in schools (blaming, threatening, retaliation, warnings and
punishments), but to a very small or small extent (78% of the respondents). The rest of 22% think that these
strategies are used to a high or very high extent.
The cooperation strategies / problem solving are the most frequently used, and the results are evenly
distributed between the choices of answer “average frequency”, “high frequency”, and “very high frequency”.
The use of these strategies is frequent when both partners want to obtain the best result achieved by collective
effort. The TALIS study 2013 [4] indicates a few directions to using the strategies of collaboration between
teachers, from the perspective of school principals in Romania: for assuring the discipline within the classroom,
there is mentioned a very tight collaboration (93%), well above the average of the participant countries;
collaboration for educational innovation, for the majority of respondents (above 80%); same as the responsibility
of teachers regarding the students’ results (approximately 90%).
The avoidance strategies are frequent (32% of the respondents) or very frequent (24% of the
respondents); 26% consider that these strategies occur with an average frequency, and the rest of 18%, rarely or
very rarely. This type of strategy is used when no personal interests, but the school climate is perceived as
important.

3.5 Effects of Conflicts in School

The effects of conflicts in school are considered minor by the majority of the respondents. For them, the
conflicts have a low intensity and short duration and their effects are limited in time.
Some of the conflicts’ effects mentioned by teachers are: the school climate deterioration, the
communication between teachers may suffer because of message distortion, isolation of some groups or
individuals, formation of some coalitions between teachers, all of this conducting to an unfriendly atmosphere,
nervousness and negative emotions, with a negative impact on their professional performance.

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 4 Conclusions
The sources of conflict in schools are the same that can be found in any other organization, but the
importance given to them by teachers is relatively different. For example, only 20% of the teachers consider that
a bad communication in their school could generate conflicts, while in some other type of organization, the
perceived importance of communication as a conflict source could be significantly different.
The conflict causes that produce most divergent perceptions among the teachers are the individual ones,
namely divergent objectives, motivations, or interests, different perceptions of the same issue, and different
previous experiences and knowledge referring to a subject. According to our study, about one half of the
respondents consider that the individual conflict causes can create conflicts among teachers quite often, while the
other half think that the conflicts due to this cause are rare.
The understanding of the conflicts mechanism facilitates the identification of the most effective
instruments for school conflicts resolution. A better school climate will allow teachers to improve their overall
professional performance and to deliver more value to their students.

REFERENCES
[1] Deutsh, M. (1973).The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
[2] Gamble, T. K., Gamble, M. (1993). Communication Works. New York: McGraw-Hill.
[3] Panisoara, I. O. (2015). Comunicarea eficienta editia a V-a. Iasi: Editura Polirom.
[4] Mirescu, S. C, Blanariu , L, Avram, E. N., Daniliuc, L. (2014). TALIS 2013. Raport National.
Analiza mediului educational din Romania OCDE. Centrul National de Evaluare si Examinare.
Available at: http://www.rocnee.eu/Files/raport_talis_2012.pdf
[5] Deep, S., Sussman, L. (1966). Secretul oricarui succes: sa actionam inteligent. Bucuresti: Ed.
Polimark.
[6] Rubin, J. Z., Pruitt, D. G., Kim, S. H. (1994). Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate and
Settlement. New York: McGraw-Hill.
[7] Beaufre, A. (1965). Introduction to Strategy .New York: Praeger.

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