CONFLICT RESOLUTION TRAINING

TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS IN A SINGLE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Heitler (1990) has reported that debilitated capacity for conflict resolution is the core of emotional distress and lack of productivity in all interpersonal relationships be these family, business, financial, political or any other forms of relationship. As Heitler (1990) puts it:

...we live in paradox, functioning simultaneously as we and as I. Neither alone is sufficient. Either without the other can jeopardize our emotional well-being. Somehow we need to negotiate competing interests in a manner that gets us what we want without sacrificing our membership in significant groups. (p.4)

In the educational profession, there is often conflict. This point has been made by Margolis (1986) in his discussion of conflicts faced by school administrators. In particular, Margolis asserts that administrators often must deal with angry parents, teachers, and superiors, and that they frequently misunderstand the etiology of anger and thus mismanage situations.

Margolis recommends conflict resolution training as a tool to help administrators better understand and successfully work with angry people. Such training, he reports must focus on the causes of anger, the negotiating process, trust building, problem solving, confrontation strategies, and deadlocks.

Conflict in the educational setting was also observe

. . .
resolution. Workshops are given to supervisory staff aimed at teaching them a mediation attitude, communication skills, and strategies to use when an impasse occurs. In their evaluation of the approach, Finkel and Kaminsky (1991) concluded that the program increased satisfaction of both managers and subordinates in terms of ending conflicts. In addition, there have been fewer incidents of conflict and increased productivity. A group approach to conflict-resolution training has been designed by Barrett and Cooperrider (1990). According to these authors, this approach can be used to resolve dysfunctional conflict and defensiveness in any business, industry or institution. Termed the Generative Metaphor Intervention, the group approach works to generate new and fresh perceptions, thereby allowing for the revitalization of the social and collective will to take action. Findings said to be associated with the Generative Metaphor Intervention approach to conflict resolution are said to include: (1) liberated aspirations and the development of hope; (2) decreased interpersonal conflict; (3) strategic consensus around a positive vision of the future; (4) a renewed collective will to act; and (5) a renewed sense of unity and mutua
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Anderson Watson, Leyden Nickerson, According Weber, Background Heitler, Null Hypothesis, Conclusions Examination, Hoffman Kluver, Negotiations Concept, McFall Lillesand, Educational Status, conflict resolution, resolution training, conflict resolution training, teachers administrators, educational setting, conflict management, administrators teachers, significantly depending trainees, anderson watson, trainees teachers, training significantly depending, school district, training significantly, depending trainees teachers, trainees teachers administrators,
Approximate Word count = 7124
Approximate Pages = 28 (250 words per page)

More Essays on CONFLICT RESOLUTION TRAINING