The aim of this study is to reveal the difficulties teachers face, and to clarify the characteristics of teachers’ conflict management strategies. The data was collected through 818 minutes of semi-structured interviews at a public elementary school. Interviews were done with 16 teachers, and the data was qualitatively analyzed by using qualitative research method (Sato, 2008). The results of this study show that teachers’ conflict management strategies have three characteristics: maintaining motivation, creating a supportive environment, and risk avoidance. Each of the three elements is used to deal with various difficulties while maintaining an inseparable relationship with other strategies. These strategies are primarily characterized as practical-oriented and relationship-oriented. “Practical oriented” represents when teachers attempt to pursue visible or tangible results or easy-to-visualize solutions. “Relationshiporiented” represents when teachers attempt to maintain good relationships with colleagues.
Ikuyo Oda (Sun,) studied this question.