What Is Conflict?

Conflict is a natural part of life… and a fairly common part of life, too! 

Conflict occurs for a number of reasons; however, it most generally occurs when a person’s ideas, needs or beliefs are out of alignment with someone else’s. Conflict can arouse different responses in different people. Some people may feel sad, angry, frustrated, helpless or even excited when in the midst of a conflict situation.

Adults most commonly experience situations of conflict in their homes and workplaces. On the other hand, the most common setting where children experience situations of conflict (apart from the home) is in the school playground.

What Are Conflict Resolution Strategies?

Conflict can be unpleasant, but it doesn’t have to ruin your day… or those of your students! There are many strategies that can be applied to negotiate, manage and solve the conflicts that may pop up in the course of daily life. The earlier these strategies are put into regular practice, the higher the chance that these skills will become second nature as our students transition into adulthood.

Five Top Tips for Conflict Management

This informative classroom poster has been designed to familiarise your students with five of the very best tips for responding to and dealing with conflict. They are:

1. Be aware of your emotions. Wait until you’re calm before responding. 
2. Communicate your view of the situation using ‘I’ statements.
3. Actively listen to others and empathise with their viewpoint.
4. Brainstorm possible solutions and identify the ‘win-wins’.
5. Offer and/or accept apologies and commit to moving forward.

How to Make the Most of Your Conflict Resolution Poster

This poster has been created by a team of dedicated teachers to support social-emotional learning in your classroom. You may wish to use it in the following ways:

1. Print the poster on A3 paper and display it in your classroom as a reminder of how playground conflicts can be managed.
2. Print the poster on A4 paper and provide the students with a copy to include in their student diary or homework book for regular reference.
3. Use the poster as a stimulus for a group discussion. Ask the students to share a conflict they have recently experienced, then explain how the tips on the poster could have been applied to manage and solve this conflict.

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