Analysis of conflict resolution in physical education depending on a teacher's gender

Abstract

Background: Although many studies about conflict handling and resolution have so far been conducted, only a limited number of them have delved into the sphere of physical education. The specific nature of work with physical education in certain situations intensifies the occurrence of conflicts. The teacher as an expert in the educational process can, in such cases, provide a good example of how to handle a specific conflict. Objective: The study aimed to gather information about differences in the resolving of conflict situations which arise during the physical education process between male and female physical education teachers in terms of which conflict resolution strategy they selected and how consistently they applied them. Methods: For this purpose 158 physical education teachers from randomly selected Slovenian primary schools were surveyed (78 men and 80 women, aged 28-60 years) in April 2010. Teachers at selected schools volunteered to take part in the study and their participation was anonymous. A questionnaire (Bežek, 2000; Stihec, Bežek, Videmsek, & Karpljuk, 2004) with 17 questions was used. The frequencies of responses were calculated. The x2 test was applied at a 5% risk level (p ≤ 0.05) to verify whether there were any differences between male and female physical education teachers in terms of selecting a conflict resolution strategy. Results: It was established that teachers use various approaches to resolving conflict situations. Most often they take an authoritarian approach (insisting on one's own opinion). Statistically significant differences were identified between the results of the male and female physical education teachers in some pedagogical situations in terms of choosing a conflict resolution strategy. Conclusions: The teachers mainly approach the resolving of conflict situations by insisting on their own opinion. In the course of resolving a conflict, inconsistencies often occur but are mainly the consequence of the desire to ensure an efficient and the fastest possible elimination of the conflict behaviour. It was also established that in some cases the male physical education teachers differed from their female counterparts in terms of which conflict resolution strategies they selected. In further research some other factors, such as the teacher's age, cultural environment, the teacher's target orientation, the teacher's emotional intelligence andleadership styles could be analysed.