Conflict can arise from opposing needs, values, and interests between individuals, groups, or organizations. There are various phases of conflict including a prelude, triggering event, initiation, and potential resolution. Conflicts in schools commonly involve pupils against pupils or pupils against teachers. Violence against teachers is a problem that seems to be increasing, with many teachers fearing for their safety at work. Bullying in schools can include direct physical or verbal aggression, as well as indirect aggression such as spreading rumors. Bullies often have characteristics like a lack of empathy and impulse control, while victims may have poorer social skills and feel isolated from peers. Schools where bullying occurs tend to have students who feel unsafe and a lack of trust and sense of
2. 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.
3. 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
4. Types of conflicts
Community
Emotional
external
group
international
interpersonal
organizational
religious-based
relationship
racial
7. 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.
8. 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
9. 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
11. 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
12. a bully aggressive
anxious
•Active;
•Impulsive;
• assertive;
•Strong;
• easily provoked
•takes the lead in initiating
the aggression;
•seeks
for another bully to follow
his or her instructions.
• low self-esteem;
• lack of confidence;
• disruptive temper;
• follows
the aggressive bully to
compensate for inadequate
feelings about him or
herself;
• seeks approval from
aggressive
bullies.
13. A list of six characteristics that
families 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
14. 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
15. 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
16. Schools where bullying
takes 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.