Conflict Management and School Leadership

Vuyisile Msila

PO Box 392, College of Education, University of South Africa, UNISA 0003 South AfricaE-mail: msilavt@unisa.ac.za

KEYWORDS Conflict Management. School Management And Leadership. School Culture. Team Work

ABSTRACT Schools are prone to conflicts and breakdown in communication especially in an age where all role-players areaware of their rights. School-based conflict can be ignited by a number of aspects. Yet school principals as managers, areexpected to be able to creatively address conflicts in their schools. This was a qualitative study that included eight schoolprincipals from four primary and four secondary schools in two historically black African areas (townships) in the GautengProvince, South Africa. The participants were interviewed and their schools were observed as well. The study found out thatfew principals are prepared adequately for conflict management. They tend to misunderstand the role of conflict and maintainthat it should be immediately avoided or halted. The discussion closes with recommendations, and among these is the need toempower school principals with conflict management training before they assume their leadership positions.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

The South African Schools’ Act (SASA) of1996 stipulates that the school principals havedelegated powers to organise and control effec-tive and learning at their school (Potgieter et al.1997). However, many school managers havefound themselves occupying challenging posi-tions and assuming a number of roles. Not onlyare they expected to lead curricular changes butthey are also required to be decisive changemanagers. As curriculum leaders, school prin-cipals have to provide guidance to teachers asthey deal with constant educational changes. Asleaders in change, the school principals need toguide their followers as they mini-mise the fearand resistance to change. Kotter (1999) pointsout that among others, leaders need to alleviatethe fear to change. There are a number of au-thors who have written about the unpredictableworld that school principals generally find them-selves in. Patterson (1986) wrote of a nonrationalworld that school managers operate in, whilePeters (1994) opined of “crazy organisations”that engulf the 21st century managers. Manyschool principals may be daunted by the rap-idly changing or fluid nature of the school as anorganisation. School principals need to learnfrom their mistakes, because that can strengthenthe teaching profession by providing an honestand accurate stance of their position (Grady2004). All meticulous school principals strivefor effectiveness and effective school managersalso have strong commitment to fellow teach-ers in their schools as they build relationshipswith the learners (O’Hanlon and Clifton 2004).

In his study of effectiveness in schools Msila(2011) states that the challenge of school prin-cipals is to identify the problems endemic intheir schools. Furthermore, Msila cites Bothawho contends that the workload of school prin-cipals is becoming unmanageable and as a re-sult many school principals, especially in sec-ondary schools, lack the time for and an under-standing of their leadership roles. Currently, ina period where rapid changes are occurring at aphenomenal rate, much is needed to empowerand enhance the practice of school principals.Growing research has been conducted to acquirea better understanding of the politics of “fail-ing” historically disadvantaged schools in SouthAfrica. However, there is a huge gap in schoolmanagement research in South Africa in thatthe aspect of conflict management has been ne-glected. Yet, many schools are plagued withdebilitating challenges and these schools’ per-formance is usually hampered by conflicts aswell as protracted breakdown in communica-tion.

Conflicts are caused by a number of aspectsthat create tensions between people. Corvette(2007) contends that conflict exists wherever,and whenever there is an incompatibility of cog-nitions or emotions within individuals or be-tween individuals. Moreover, this author aversthat conflict arises in personal relationships, inbusiness and professional relationships in orga-nisations, between groups and organisations,and between nations. Many schools have bro-ken down relationships because of the existenceof this incompatibility. School managers in “con-flict schools” will face mammoth task as they

© Kamla-Raj 2012 J Communication, 3(1): 25-34 (2012)

try to be effective. It is also important to notethat the leader’s philosophy will influence howthey react to conflict; some perceive it as some-thing to be avoided at all costs while others seeit as an aspect that is necessary to propel changeand foster organisational regeneration. Corvette(2007: 34) posits:

It is the perception or belief that opposingneeds, wishes, ideas, interests, and goals existthat create what we commonly call conflict.Conflict is everywhere, and it is inevitable. Itarises from many sources. In addition to beingthe antecedent for negotiation, conflict may alsoarise during negotiation.

The subject of conflict is large and complex.Conflict if misdiagnosed, can lead to a spiral ofantagonistic interaction and aggravated, destruc-tive behaviour.

This paper explores the anatomy of conflict.The author first looks at the theory behind con-flict and conflict management before the explo-ration of the case studies. More research in un-derstanding the evolution of dysfunctionalityneeds to be conducted as this will shed light onconflict management skills. This study seeks tounderstand some of the complexities linked toconflict and school leadership. Sometimesschool principals may not be able to identifyconflict when it happens. The study was neces-sitated by a huge gap in research. Few studieshave investigated conflict management inschools. Understanding the dynamics of con-flict will minimize the negative effects of con-flict among educators. It is in light of this thatthis study explores the question: What are theconflict management needs of school principalsin selected Gauteng schools?

Objectives of the Study

In light of the above question the study seeksto explore the following objectives:• To investigate pertinent skills that school

principals need to be able to deal withconflict in their schools.

• Exploring how school principals buildpositive strategies to deal with conflict.

• To investigate how school principals canintroduce and sustain an effective schoolculture and school climate that enhancesschool growth despite conflicts.

• To see whether the idea of building teamsin schools is ideal for dealing with conflictseffectively.

Literatur e Review

School managers and leaders need to under-stand what is entailed in conflict managementand need high conflict competence to be able tobe effective in their schools. When conflict man-agers have determined and defined the natureof the conflict in a conflict situation, they tryand find ways of resolving it. Various conflictwriters have highlighted various ways of resolv-ing these conflict situations. Many of these arerelevant in school situation. Effective schoolprincipals will have the qualities highlighted inconflict literature. Blake and Mouton (1964)identified five conflict solving strategies;smoothing, compromising, forcing, withdrawaland problem solving. Furthermore, Dana (2001)avers that leaders need to comprehend structureto be able analyse conflicts well. There are sixparts of conflict structure that people can payattention to:• interdependency – How much do parties

need one another?• number of interested parties- How many

distinct parties, individuals or groups havean interest in how the conflict is resolved?

• constituent representation-Do the partiesrepresent the interests of other people whoare not personally or directly involved inthe process of resolving the conflict?

• negotiator authority- If the parties consistof more than one individual, say a depart-ment within an organisation, is the personor team of people who represent the inter-ests of that department within an organi-sation, is the person or team or team ofpeople who represent the interests of thatdepartment able to make concessions orreach creative solutions without going backto their constituents for approval?

• critical urgency-Is it absolutely necessarythat a solution be found in the very nearfuture to prevent disaster?

• communication channels-Are parties ableto talk to each other face to face in the sameroom.

Dana perceives these six dimensions as ele-ments that are necessary to be able to analyseconflict well. There are many similar theoriesthat analyse conflict resolution and manage-ment. Anderson et al. (1996) contend that ne-gotiation is one of the most common techniquesfor creating agreements during conflict situa-

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tions. Furthermore, these authors cite Putnamwho defines negotiation as a type of conflictmanagement characterised by an exchange ofproposals and counterproposals as a means ofreaching a satisfactory settlement. The HarvardBusiness Essentials publication (2003: xi) con-cur with the above definitions when they aver:

Negotiation is the means by which peopledeal with their differences. Whether those dif-ferences involve the purchase of a new automo-bile, a labour contract dispute, the terms of asale, a complex alliance between tow compa-nies, or a peace accord between warring na-tions, resolutions are typically sought throughnegotiations. To negotiate is to seek mutualagreement through dialogue. Negotiation is anever-present feature of our lives both at homeand at work.

Negotiations also present a form of conflictmanagement that is more consciously controlled.Yes although negotiation involves more con-trolled communication than other conflict situ-ations, the overall process is marked by greaterambiguity because of the stakeholders’ lack ofcontrol over the outcome (Anderson et al. 2003).Negotiations are sometimes plagued by pitfallsthat might hinder any success in resolving theconflict situation. Deutsch (1991) highlightsaspects such as cultural factors and how theyhave a potential of hindering negotiations.Deutsch argues that negotiators need to havean implicit understanding of cultural assump-tions which are likely to determine how nego-tiators from different places perceive the world.“Lacking such knowledge, negotiators from dif-ferent cultural backgrounds are likely to mis-understand one another and apt to engage inbehaviour that is unwittingly, offensive to theother: circumstances not conducive to construc-tive conflict resolution” (Deutsch 1991: 36).

Significance of the Study

As highlighted above, this study is signifi-cant to those who want to understand teachercommitment, school dysfunctionality and teach-er morale. Many schools are broken down byconflicts that alienate teachers from their pro-fessional work. Runde and Flanagan (2010)examine the need for leaders and managers todevelop conflict competence if their organisa-tions are to prosper. School principals who can

differentiate between functional and dysfunc-tional conflicts will know how to act in times ofconflict. When leaders have self-awareness, theyare more likely to have this quality. Ross (1993)also contends that successful conflict manage-ment should address the underlying sources ofconflict constructively and these are the devel-opment of shared interests among the disputantsas well as the transformation of the disputants’interpretations of each other’s needs and mo-tives.

Snodgrass and Blunt (2009) assert thatunmanaged conflict can create dysfunctionalschools which deprive learners of their rightsto citizenship through free and equal education.These authors also point out that constitutionalvalues embedded in the Constitution of the Re-public of South Africa such as human dignityand equality cannot be attained in an atmosphereand contexts where conflict is endemic. Thisstudy will be significant in that it wants to com-prehend the role of school principals as theywork in challenging situations where there areconflict situations.

RESEARCH DESIGN

This study was conducted through qualita-tive research methodology. Qualitative researchmethodology was appropriate for this study be-cause the researcher wanted to hear anecdotalaccounts from the participants. The researcheralso wanted to focus on the school environmentsunder study because human behaviour does notoccur in an empty space. Struwig and Stead(2004) point out that contextualism stresses thevarious macro and micro contexts of the indi-vidual and how these contexts dynamically in-teract with one another. Furthermore, these au-thors state that contextualism is closely alignedto holism which examines social environmentsin their totality. The participants were selectedthrough purposive sampling. Sometimes re-ferred to as judgemental sampling or theoreti-cal sampling, this is a type of non-probabilitysampling based on the judgement of the re-searcher regarding participants (Brink 2000).For this study, the researcher selected fourschools that were beset with conflicts and fourthat had no known conflicts and appeared to berun well or effectively.

All the selected schools are situated in his-torically black African areas (townships) and are

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 27

primary and secondary schools. Four of the par-ticipants were female and four were male. Ofthese participants, three females were leadingprimary schools. The researcher interviewedeach of the participants twice during the courseof the study. The interviews were an hour long;the first one was conducted in the first weekand the second one in the eight (final) week ofthe study. In-between the researcher observedhow the teachers operated in the schools. Theresearcher made use of an observation instru-ment and among the aspects that were observedwere teacher communication, teacher collabo-ration and school climate. The researcher wasnot able to observe staff meetings in all theschools for in two of these schools no meetingswere scheduled during the course of the study.In these two schools the researcher was only ableto observe subject committee meetings. Duringthe observations the researcher was a non-par-ticipant observer.

Rich information in the form of words wasgathered by the end of the study. Qualitativeresearchers usually begin their data analysisduring the data collection process. They use stepsfor coding themes and categories “and makingmemos about the context and variations in thephenomenon under study, verifying the selectedthemes through reflection on the data and dis-cussion with other researchers or experts in thefield” (Brink 2000: 192). In this study the re-searcher also initiated coding at the beginningas he organised data collected in the interviewsand observations. These were all manually de-veloped as the researcher searched for catego-ries. During the interviews the researcher madea thorough review of what was recorded. Forexample, some statements about conflict wereclassified according to perceptions about con-flict, feelings portrayed, understanding aboutconflict resolution, theories about conflict, roleof management and so on. For the characteris-tics of the participants see Table 1.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The participants in the study reflected a num-ber of aspects in conflict management strate-gies. All maintained that conflict was not anaspect that was needed in schools for it tends to“stall progress”. They also felt that schools thatexperienced conflict will never prosper “becausethe energies are usually directed at ending theseconflicts. Only one participant curtly pointed out

Table 1. The participants’ characteristics

Gender Age School Experience Highest qua-as princi- lificationpal

Female 56 Primary 8 years BEd HonoursFemale 51 Primary 6 years BA and Higher

Diploma in Education

Female 47 Secondary 5 years Secondary Education Diploma

Female 39 Primary 2 years BA and Pri- mary Teachers Diploma

Male 38 Secondary 1 year BAEdMale 44 Secondary 3 years BSc and High-

er Diploma in Education

Male 58 Secondary 9 years Secondary Teachers Diploma

Male 61 Primary 19 years Advanced Certificate in Education (Environ- mental Educa- tion)

that conflict was sometimes necessary becauseit could help in changing “the internalised cul-tures in the school”. However, all the partici-pants highlighted that conflicts created cliquesin the staffroom, suspicion, breakdown in com-munication as well as low teacher morale. Fur-thermore, the participants agreed that conflictimpacted badly on teaching and learning in theirschools. All of them also stated that their teachertraining never prepared them for conflict man-agement in the schools. Yet they have learnt thatconflict becomes a daily occurrence in theirschools from two learners fighting for a pen, toa staff member shouting the school principal inher/his office.

All the participants stressed the need for theholistic preparation of school principals inschool management and leadership. One of theparticipants had been a school principal for closeto two decades but he stated that he could havedone better as a school principal had he beenmentored before assuming the position. Hepointed out:

Unfortunately, I was never mentored when Ibecame principal. The school inspector just ac-companied me to this school. He left me liter-ally at the door of my office and said good luck.That first week I experienced much conflict be-cause the teachers at the school expected the

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deputy to assume the position of principal. Iwas devastated, and had to strive under diffi-cult conditions.

He is supported by another participant whostated:

When I assumed this position I expected maleteachers to be opposed to my leadership. I wassurprised though, for it was the female who werevery confrontational towards me. It is difficultbuilding a school when people are against you.Teachers can make it impossible for you to op-erate. To make matters worse as principals wewere not really trained to overcome some ofthese obstacles. We learn on the job.

All the participants contended that they hadseen different kinds of conflict when they wereordinary (post level 1) teachers in their schools.However, they stated that it happens when oneis at the helm of the school it becomes different.As one participant asserted, “soon you realiseyou are the man to diffuse, the fire. It is daunt-ing!” it was interesting to hear the participantstalking about mentoring as one of the possiblesolutions that can enable school managers to begenerally effective managers and specificallyefficient conflict managers. The participants alsoconcurred that conflict appears to be ongoingin many schools and that “successful principalswill be able to avoid it.”

The idea of avoiding conflict was an inter-esting aspect. Only one participant out of theeight stated that conflict sometimes needs to beencouraged because “it may steer the school to-wards necessary change”. Two participants, onefrom a secondary school and the other from aprimary school related how their schools arerelatively more successful than other townshipschools because of the way in which they areable to “ward off conflict” when it starts. A par-ticipant from one of these two schools used theexpression; “nipping conflict in the bud” if onewants to run a successful school. Both partici-pants use similar tactics to quell conflict andconfrontation in their schools; they make use oftheir School Governing Bodies (SGBs) as wellas School Management Teams (SMTs). Further-more, one of these two participants stated that aleader needs to “stamp his foot down or else thepandemonium linked with conflicts will turn theschool upside down”. According to him, an ef-fective leader “can smell impending conflict andwill be able to extinguish it”.

The participants illustrated a number of ex-amples where they felt that conflict could be

totally avoided. There were three kinds of con-flict that seemed to come out from the inter-views;(i) Conflicts that were on a personal level-

these affected and usually strained personalrelations. Frequently these were betweenteachers and teachers or teachers andlearners.

(ii) The second kind of conflict are unionconflicts. All the participants highlightedhow union conflicts could affect the ope-rations in the schools. The participants gavevarious examples of how one union wouldstrike while another is not supporting thestrike. They said that this can create muchconflict among staff members from variousunions.

(iii) Some conflicts are by staff members againstthe school management. The participantsstate that this can also due to various rea-sons, some reasonable and some not. Theyshowed how for example, enforcing schoolrules can be interpreted negatively by teach-ers and lead to bitter conflicts.

The participants gave various examples toexemplify these in their schools. In one schoolthe participant found herself in an unenviableposition because she refused to support the sus-pension of a teacher who was impeached ofmisusing school funds. The participant statedclearly that the complainants needed to provethat before any action could be taken. In an-other school, teachers were hostile towards theirSMT because they maintained that they wereonly supporting grade 12 teachers and did notcare about lower classes. The latter created ten-sions in the school. Common to many of theseconflict experiences was the lack of conflict com-petence among the school principals. Unmana-ged conflict can be a health hazard the partici-pants related how conflict situations can lead topsychological trauma and prolonged stress.

The participants though mentioned an im-portant aspect that conflict usually hits themhard because school managers are usually alonein times of conflict. They were using the terms“sharing leadership” and “team work” inter-changeably; to signify that it was necessary touse these if any school was to be able to keepconflict at bay. The participants maintained thatconflicts where the school principal is not work-ing closely with the staff members, conflicts arelikely to be protracted and be very hurtful to the

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 29

role-players. One participant summed this wellwhen she stated:

In many of these we easily find ourselves asprincipals isolated. Sometimes nobody plans it,it happens on its own. You find yourself on theone side with your School Management Teamand teachers on the other. This can be hurtfuland creates deep scars. Many of our schoolsneed to instil responsibility where every teacherwill see himself as a leader. I think we are toblame too as principals; we want to be perceiveddifferently by teachers, as bosses. Teachers donot want this, they want leaders.

However, in the schools under study, theschool culture did not support team work. Infour of the six meetings attended, the researchercould easily pick up how past conflicts weresurfacing in the present agenda. In two of theseschools there were agenda items that were on-going because of deep divisions among staffmembers. In another, there were three clear di-visions among staff members who were oppos-ing each other openly and in a hostile fashion.In the other two schools the participants weretrying at all costs to “stop” conflict wheneverthey saw it starting. As one explained, “themeeting is where you need to show the teachersyour control. If you lose it in meetings, yourschool will be ruled by these conflicts”. Gener-ally, it was clear that the participants lackedconflict competence. In one school the re-searcher observed how the school principalcould not “discipline” one teacher who was inthe staffroom whilst his class made noise withno one to teach. The school principal just opined:

No one tells Mr X anything. He is about toretire and he likes no one in here. I have foughtwith him so many times; he just stays in thereor under that tree smoking his pipe.

In some schools though the climate was ap-peared appealing although it hid deep seatedhatred when one heard what the school princi-pal said or observed the communication amongstaff members.

This study reflects varied responses to con-flict management in schools. The data was codedinto themes as to assign meaning to the infor-mation elicited. A code though is never perceivedas separate. Struwig and Stead (2004) point outthat a code could be linked to a word, a phrase,a sentence, a paragraph or larger sections ofdata. In this study too, codes were not perceivedas isolated units of meaning. Some codes were

linked to the development of conflict manage-ment. In turn this had a connection with othercodes such as perceptions, beliefs and schoolclimate. The data in this study is analysed un-der three themes:• Conflict competence and school manage-

ment;• Conflict management and the ‘right’ school

culture;• School teams and conflict management.

Conflict Competence and SchoolManagement

Conflict resolution is an important area thatcalls for professional development among theparticipants. The participants showed that theylacked negotiation and mediation skills whenconflict situations arose. Many school princi-pals lack the capacity to manage conflicts andthis can be detrimental to organisational growth.Foley (2001) states that in a time where manyschools support collaboration, conflicts arebound to happen. Foley (2001:20) argues:

Principals and teachers may experience con-flict due to unclear parameters of their roles ina collaborative-based system, presence of com-peting responsibilities (for example, instructionof class vs. making time for team planning), andoverload of tasks due to inadequate time, en-ergy or resources (Cliff et al. 1992). Thus con-flict resolution skills may be a prerequisite skillfor administrators supervising collaborative-based programming.

Emerging and established research showsthat for leadership excellence to be attained,leaders need to manage conflict effectively. TheDynamic Leadership Essential Four (online)lists skills that effective leaders will have andthese include;• Management of own emotions;• Addressing own conflicts;• Addressing others’ conflicts;• Assertiveness;• Negotiation; and• Mediation.

Johnson (online 2003) also lists guidelinesfor becoming an expert conflict manager:• Beginning each conflict episode with an “I

win you win” intent to resolve conflict;• Use communicator styles that show a focus

on others, rather than on self;• Assess the power relationships involved in

the episode;

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• Employ strategies used by expert problemsolvers;

• Spend time reflecting on the relationshipsof conflict responses, problem-solving,communication, and power to each conflictscenario;

• Analyse the behaviour of expert schoolleaders who have become expert conflictmanagers;

• Evaluate and reflect the aftermath of one’sconflict episode for signs of emerging ex-pertise in conflict management and conti-nue to work toward expert leadership.

This section looks at Runde and Flanagan’s(2010, 2008) theory as to what strategies canensure that school leaders become effective con-flict managers. The participants reiterated howthey lacked conflict management skills. Theywere never trained or prepared for conflictslinked with their positions.

The participants showed that it was crucialfor them to develop conflict competence to beable to deal with conflict situations in theirschools. All concurred that schools experienceconflicts from time to time and when schoolprincipals are competent in handling conflicts,this would help in ensuring that teaching andlearning never stops in their schools. Runde andFlanagan (2010) define conflict competence asthe ability to develop and use cognitive, emo-tional, and behavioural skills that enhance pro-ductive outcomes of conflict while reducing thelikelihood of escalation or harm. Furthermore,these writers point out that the results of con-flict competence include improved quality ofrelationships, creative solutions, and lastingagreements for addressing challenges and op-portunities in the future.

Runde and Flanagan (2008) assert that con-flict is at the root of many leaders’ best ideas aswell as the core of their worst failures. In thisstudy the participants highlighted how conflicthas worsened relations, collegiality and team-work in their schools. All pointed out that theywere not competent enough to deal with con-flict. They attribute the lack of competency tothe lack of training or induction when they wereappointed school principals. Their schools areusually in dire straits during times of conflictbecause they utilise instincts than expertise todeal with conflict. Conflict is also compoundedby the fact that few people understand it asshown in the study. Runde and Flanagan (2008)

contend that most leaders define conflict in nega-tive terms such as anger, frustration and stress.Few describe conflict with words such as op-portunity, energizing or resolution. The latterwas also evident in this study when many par-ticipants maintained conflict needs to be avoidedand discouraged.

Self-knowledge is important if one is to bean effective conflict manager. Understandingone’s own values in relation to others as well asdifferent conflict management styles are key.Managers who will manage conflict well needto use a phased approach which emphasisescooling down, slowing down and engaging con-structively (Runde and Flanagan 2008). Belowthe focus is on these processes explicating howthese two authors envisage these.

Cooling down – this is a phase that startswith increasing one’s self-awareness about whatgets one angry. This self-awareness is a crucialfirst step in learning to cool down. In a school aschool principal will be irritated by various col-leagues but has to know how to deal with each.

Slowing down – the challenge that leadersencounter is to stay cool in a conflict situation.Yet it is important for a person to wait until theycool down before moving ahead in a conflictsituation. It is also crucial at this stage to stepback and try to get a clear picture of what ishappening. A person needs to be momentarilydistracted from the conflict so as to begin to re-lax and be able to reflect well. In the ensuingparagraph the focus is on how a competentschool principal can create and sustain the“right” school culture after working on his orher conflict competence.

Conflict Management and the ‘Right’School Culture

The “right” school culture is crucial in anyschool if it was to deal with conflict effectively.Effective school principals would set an atmo-sphere of collegiality where conflict is managedto the benefit of all in the organisation. Schoolprincipals and their management teams shouldfoster a culture that would be receptable tochange. Usually it is change initiatives that area source of many conflicts in schools. Manyschool principals who are attempting to changethe culture in their schools do so by instilling aculture of collegiality and collaboration. Sergio-vanni (1991) defines collegiality as the respon-

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 31

sibility given to teachers to become an integralpart of the management and leadership pro-cesses of the school. There are a number of waysto achieve this collegiality. Leithwood et al.(2004) highlight three crucial leadership prac-tices:• Developing people-enabling teachers to do

their jobs effectively, offering intellectualsupport and stimulation to improve thework and providing models of practice andsupport;

• Setting directions for the organisation-developing shared goals, monitoring orga-nisational performance and promotingeffective communication;

• Redesigning the organisation-creating aproductive school culture, modifying orga-nisational structures that undermine thework, and building collaborative processes.

Linked to the above is Martinez’s (2004: 32)assertion that successful schools can be repre-sented in a triangle (Fig. 1):

School Collegiality

Administrativeeffectiveness

Classroomcompetence

Fig. 1. Martinez’s triangle of collegiality

Martinez stresses that for collegiality to beingrained in a school’s culture each of the threeaspects in the triangle needs to be addressed well.These also relate well to Leithwood et al. (2004)cited above. Both shed light on an effectiveorganisational culture. The thesis in this studyis that conflict is unavoidable and is necessary.Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that the schoolculture has correct practices. In the study par-ticipants underscored how their schools lackeda culture of collaboration and collegiality. Inmany instances this resulted to conflict leadingto strained relationships and these strained re-lationships made running the schools very chal-lenging.

Martinez (2004) contends that in a collegialschool environment teachers are able to:

• Work well with other teachers;• Work well with administrators;• Manage conflict with others, including

teachers, administrators, parents and stu-dents; and

• Match their educational strengths andpreferences with an appropriate school.

A number of schools in the study lacked theabove qualities. Yet, collegiality contributes toensuring that change does not lead to dysfunc-tional conflict. It is very difficult to handle con-flict in the absence of collegial environment.Collegiality is about relationships forged by pro-fessionals. It hinders aspects that can stuntorganisational growth. The participants por-trayed that their schools lacked collegiality.DeLima (2001:97-98) postulates:

School may benefit from teacher collegial-ity by taking profit from a co-ordination ofteaching work across classrooms, from a betterorganisation for tackling pedagogical andorganisational innovations, and from betterpreparation to buffer the negative effects of staffturnover, by providing assistance to newcom-ers and socialising them into the values and tra-ditions of the school (Little 1987). Collabora-tive schools may also be better prepared thanothers to promote instructional effectiveness(Smith 1987) and to provide teachers with in-creased and enriched opportunities for profes-sional growth and accomplishment

De Lima also highlights the need to buildprofessional communities. In communitiespeople feel more interdependent than when theyact in isolation. In communities people wouldwant to deal with conflict in positive ways thatwould build the organisation.

Teams and Conflict Management

One of the effective ways utilised by manymanagers today is to develop teams as many ofthem believe that it is much easier to attain theschool’s vision and goals when teachers workas teams. In the study, six of the participantsstated that they try to work in teams. In the studythe participants highlighted the importance ofteams in their schools. However, many did notknow how to use these teams effectively in timesof conflict. Yet, Somach (2008:360) writes:

In applying teamwork in education one mustrecognise that in schools tasks are often struc-tured for the individual, and teachers are iso-

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lated within their classrooms. The teachers’main socialisation into the teaching professionhas been characterised by an individualist ap-proach: professional training, development, andpromotion focus on specialisation, and teachersare trained to develop their careers indepen-dently of their staff colleagues (Somech andDrach-Zahavy 2007).

Despite, these challenges in the nature ofteaching and schools, principals need to developteams that would be beneficial to their schoolsespecially in times of conflict. The school prin-cipals who have teams in their schools shouldbe able to identify the various dynamics at playwhen it comes to schools and teamwork. Whentrying to see cooperation happening conflict mayhappen and school principals need to be able todeal with this. In the above discussions we haveseen that conflict is not necessarily negative.Many organisations that use teams cannot andwill never avoid conflicts. Without these con-flicts teams could never grow and perform opti-mally. Conflict is about power and participantsin the study have spoken about the way in whichgroups from unions clash in their schools. Anempowered school principal would prepare teammembers for a number of roles that they need toplay in the organisation, including conflict reso-lution. Convey (1994) states that if a team is tobe successful, it is crucial that members knowthe basics of conflict resolution, delegation andconsensus building. As highlighted above, theschool principals in this study lacked the ca-pacity to deal with conflict in their teams. Con-flict literature points out that managers need todevelop strategy of training members to dealwith conflict. Gahr (1995) lists training phasesthat may be useful for school principals work-ing with teams:• Conflict resolution awareness• Conflict resolution training• Mediation training• Reinforcement training• Reinforcement workshops• Institutionalisation of the programme.

However, what is apparent above is that ifschool principals are not equipped with skillsof dealing with conflict, they cannot train theirteams. Therefore, group performance in manyschools will be far from best. Behfar et al. (2008)point out that a number of scholars have con-tended that conflict management and conflictresolution are important predictors of group

performance. Teachers who lack skills of man-aging conflict will hardly be satisfied in theirjobs. When teachers learn to solve conflict inteams, they learn fairness, justice and moraluprightness.

CONCLUSION

This study has shown that conflict affectsschools and other organisations almost all thetime. Moreover, the participants underscoredtheir need to be empowered in conflict manage-ment to be able to steer their schools to success.The participants also identified crucial skills thatwould enable them to be effective conflict man-agers. These included the ability to work inteams, and learning more about the theories ofconflict. Conflict competent school principalsare able to deal with conflict situations well.Moreover, effective conflict managers under-stand themselves well and this is crucial in con-flict. Understanding oneself is as important asunderstanding the other party and this is thebasis for creating effective school managers.Effective school managers will also eschew see-ing conflict in negative light. The school’s vi-sion can be attained after the conflict has beenhandled well. In fact, schools that grow are thosethat have experienced some kind of conflict.Successful schools will be those that have effec-tive conflict managers at the helm. Below, thepaper closes with the study’s recommendations.

RECOMMENDA TIONS

After the completion of the study the fol-lowing recommendations were drawn:• The induction of school principals should

be mandatory and conflict managementshould be among the important aspects inthis induction;

• Practicing school principals need an on-going formal professional developmentbecause education practices constantlychange all the time;

• School principals should not only refinetheir own professional development butshould build more teacher leaders in theirschools. This would equip the school witha team of “expert educators” who will knowwhat to do during the times of conflict;

• More research needs to be conducted inschools regarding the instilling of conflictmanagement among school principals.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 33

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