UNIT 4: Conflict – Rules help to solve conflicts

Unit 4: Key concept – “Conflict” (for primary level)

Background information for teachers: resolution of conflicts at primary school level

Daily life in primary school provides many examples of conflict situations. Most of the conflicts are based on the general attitudes of students or their inability to withstand pressure. Examples of conflict situations are:

• taking away somebody’s things;
• pushing or touching somebody accidentally;
• getting on each other’s nerves;
• not leaving other classmates in peace;
• bullying each other;
• severe forms such as mobbing or physical violence/emotional abuse.

Students at primary level use strategies of conflict resolution that are different from those used by adults. Strategies also vary depending on the age of the primary school students. The younger ones tend to apply conflict resolution strategies such as physical reactions (hitting, etc.), aggressive reactions, loud verbal arguments, getting an adult to help, leaving the scene of conflict, giving in and resigning, making it “unhappened” or making a symbolic gesture (such as a handshake, a present, etc.).

Older primary school students (aged 10 and over) tend to use different strategies of conflict resolu­tion, such as ignoring the conflict, talking with each other, finding a common solution by looking at both perspectives, finding out who is right and who has therefore “won”, as well as negotiating until everybody involved is satisfied with the solution.

Experts distinguish between three major types of conflict resolution:

• physical confiict resolution;
• one-sided conf ict resolution (making an action “unhappened”, making up through symbolic gestures or presents);
• co-operative conf ict resolution (self-ref ective thinking, or the ability to see two perspectives).

The lessons in this unit take these strategies for conflict resolution into account and are based on these insights into developmental psychology. They are a key element in helping the students to develop an understanding of individual as well as common problems and conflicts, and in helping them to learn the distinction between public goods and private goods. The solution to the problems will affect a wider group of people if they belong to the category of common problems or conflicts and, in the same way, the solution to an individual problem or conflict should only affect the individual and should not affect anyone else.

In primary school, conflicts like the ones described above can often arise for reasons of infrastructure (not enough space), gender (the girl–boy relationship), working together (different speeds of working, different levels, etc.) or as a result of social behaviour (not letting somebody finish speaking, etc.). When conducting these four lessons about conflict, the teacher should be aware that dealing with things that don’t go smoothly in the classroom is not something that can be covered in just one lesson. Despite the formulation and agreement of class rules or rules of communication, problems and conflicts can nevertheless re-occur. Therefore, conflict and conflict resolution, as well as an awareness of the problems that can occur in everyday school life, is something that should be addressed again and again. Only if students become active participants in the discussion of the establishment of rules will they be able to identify with them.

The aim of education for democratic citizenship is to support the development of competences in three areas. This unit has the following competence profile:

Unit 4: Conflict

Rules help to solve conflicts
Resolution of conflicts at primary school level