CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE

PHILIPPINE EDUCATION CONTEXT

Lizamarie Campoamor-Olegario, Ph.D.
U.P. College of Education
WHAT IS A CONFLICT?
WHAT IS CONFLICT?

A situation in which
people, groups or countries are
involved in a serious
disagreement or argument
(Oxford Advanced Leraners Dictionary, 8th Edition p. 304).
REFLECT ON THE PICTURES
YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE
Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Major General Restituto Padilla
said a total of 1,009 have been killed in the war to include 168 government
forces, 978 fighters of the local armed groups, and at least 87 civilians.
The school is the modern day of the society
and modern society is a product of the
school… The school is very sensitive to the
dilemmas, contradictions and contests in the
society, economic, political, ideological,
religious, etc conditions of the society
(Okujagu, 1993).
The school as a miniature society
cannot be regarded as a natural institution
but a “hand work of man” and if it does not
engage in developing the human capital and
social structures of the school, it will
experience defiant and anti-social
behaviours
(Ohaka, 2011)
TYPES OF CONFLICT
Functional Dysfunctional
• Win-win attitude • Win-lose attitude
• Harmony exists • Hostility is produced
• Typically issue- • Typically person-
focused focused
• Stimulates creativity, • Stifles communication
open communication
DESTRUCTIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION
• Avoidance • Deceiving
• Proving who is • Lying
right
• Personal
• Blaming attacking
• Bagging
• Power struggle
• Blowing up
• Silent treatment
WHAT IS CONFLICT RESOLUTION?
 WHAT IS CONFLICT RESOLUTION?

• Conflict management is the process of

resolving and minimizing the disagreements
resulting from perceived or real differences
Greenhalgh (1986)
WHAT IS CONFLICT RESOLUTION?
Conflict resolution is designed
to provide students with a neutral,
and safe, environment
where they can express
their point of view and
discuss issues in a
mutually satisfactory manner.
Conflict resolution is NOT just a one
time dispute resolution.

It is a range of processes aimed at

alleviating or eliminating
sources of conflict
WHAT IS CONFLICT RESOLUTION?

• Conflict Resolution Education (CRE)

• Peace Education
• Peacemaking
• Violence Prevention
• Violence Reduction
CORE COMPETENCIES IN CRE
• Emotional Awareness
• Empathy and Perspective-Taking
• Emotional Management
• Problem-Solving
• Communication (listening, negotiation, and
mediation)
• Effective Decision Making
BASIC GOALS OF CRE
• Enhance Children’s Social and Emotional
Development
• Create a Safe Learning Environment
• Create a Constructive Learning Environment
• Create a Constructive Conflict Community
CONFLICT RESOLUTION MODELS
Seek to create opportunities for students and other
members of the school community to:
• Recognize that conflict is a natural part of life
and that it can be resolved peacefully,
• Develop awareness of their own unique
responses to conflict
• Understand the diversity with which others
respond
CONFLICT RESOLUTION MODELS
Seek to create opportunities for students and other
members of the school community to:
• Learn and practice the principles of conflict resolution
and the skills of peaceful problem-solving processes
• Empower themselves to be individually and
cooperatively responsible for resolving conflicts
peacefully, and
• Integrate this responsibility in their daily lives.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER?
The teacher’s responsibility in school
as an in loco-parentis
goes beyond classroom teaching into the
encouragement and promotion of
peaceful and affable attitudes in the students
through instruction and, guidance and motivation.
The teacher is to exemplarily model his life
within the school precinct so as
to build sustainable harmony and cordiality
between him and fellow teachers.
ASPECTS IN THE BEHAVIOR OF THE TEACHER
• Maintaining good classroom structure which
could be either cooperative or competitive;
• The nature of leadership which the teacher
chooses to adopt and such leadership pattern
could either be participative, directive or
permissive;
(Yelon and Weinstein in Awotua-Efebo, 1999:293).
CLASSROOM STRUCTURE
CONSTRUCTIVE CONFRONTATION
• Recognizing their personal feelings and
allowing them to express them
• Understand and explore each
other’s perceptions and feelings
• Helping them define the problems for themselves
• Encouraging the students to
explore alternative solutions
• Getting them develop their own implementation plans
and also provide pieces of advice and
help should they ask
(Armstrong, 2011:154)
REMINDER
In school conflict management situations where
the teacher will have to play the role of a third
party,
s/he must avoid the temptation of
supporting or appearing to be supporting
either of those in contention.
CONSIDER THE COMMON GROUND

• Conflicts deteriorate into

one side insisting on "our way" and
the other side saying, "No, our way!"
• The wise mediator and collaborator observes
that neither way will likely prevail, and
charges participants to fashion a third way
--one that builds on common and cumulative
interests.
FOUR COMMON STRATEGIES

• Peer Mediation
• Process Curriculum
• Peaceable Classrooms
• Peaceable Schools
PEER MEDIATION
specially trained student mediators work with their
peers to resolve conflicts
• reduce the use of traditional disciplinary actions
• encourage effective problem solving
• decrease the need for teacher involvement in
student conflicts
• improve school climate.
PROCESS CURRICULUM
• Teachers who devote a specific time
• a separate course
• a distinct curriculum
• a daily lesson
• to the principles, foundation abilities, and
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution
PROCESS CURRICULUM
Components
• community building,
• understanding conflict,
• perception (understanding different viewpoints),
• anger management, and
• rules for fighting fair.
PEACEABLE CLASSROOM
• integrates conflict resolution into the curriculum and
daily management of the classroom
• uses the instructional methods of cooperative learning
and “academic controversy”
• It emphasizes opportunities to practice
• cooperation
• appreciation of diversity
• caring and effective communication
PEACEABLE SCHOOL
• incorporates the previous three approaches
• seeks to create schools where conflict resolution
has been adopted by every member of the
school community
• promotes a climate that challenges youth and
adults to believe and act on the understanding
that a diverse, nonviolent society is a realistic
goal.
TAKE NOTE
Young people CANNOT be expected
to promote and encourage
the peaceful resolution of conflicts
if they do NOT see
conflict resolution principles and strategies
being modeled by adults
in all areas of their lives,
such as in business, sports, entertainment,
and personal relationships.
The ability to effectively and peacefully handle conflict is
NOT necessarily intuitive; rather, it is a LEARNED SKILL.
Johnson and Johnson (1991, p. 3)
 Conflict resolution in education is linked to
democracy and citizenship,
developing a peaceful world, cooperative learning,
multicultural education, prejudice reduction, social
justice, violence prevention and intervention,
critical thinking and problem-solving, and
site-based management.
(Bettmann & Moore, 1994; Bodine, Crawford, & Schrumpf, 1994; DeJong, 1994; Miller, 1994).
HOW WOULD YOU DO THINGS
DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME?
Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Major General Restituto Padilla
said a total of 1,009 have been killed in the war to include 168 government
forces, 978 fighters of the local armed groups, and at least 87 civilians.
QUESTIONS?