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Classroom conflicts: The Ministry of Education has armed teachers and students with an "antidote"
The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation has sent to the heads of educational organizations a clear algorithm of actions in case of conflict situations between teachers and students. It includes several stages: from meetings with sports participants, accompanied by psychologists and mediators, to contacting regional commissions. Prevention through educational work and monitoring of complaints are also taken into account. Experts reacted to the initiative in different ways: many believe that without systemic reforms, including salary increases and staff expansion, it risks remaining on paper. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Instruction of the Ministry of Education on the algorithm of actions in conflict situations: what is it
The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation has sent instructions to the regions for heads of educational organizations on algorithms for dealing with conflict situations. The document, approved by the Council of the Ministry of Education for the Protection of Professional Honor and Dignity of Teaching Staff, is aimed at prompt, fair and lawful dispute resolution, taking into account the law "On Education in the Russian Federation."
The instruction details a step-by-step algorithm for resolving school conflicts: first, a meeting is organized with participants to collect explanations and characteristics, where a full-time teacher-psychologist, mediators or a trade union representative may be present. The stages take a certain amount of time: from one to several days.
If the dispute cannot be resolved locally, the case is referred to the regional commission for the settlement of Educational relations disputes. Additionally, conflict prevention is stipulated — through educational work for the growth of legal culture, mandatory mediation and psychological support for all parties, and in case of complaints against a teacher, tough protection of his honor, without bias.
The head of the school is obliged to conduct constant monitoring and prevention in order to minimize the risks of repeated incidents, the Ministry of Education explains.
"The instruction prepared by the Ministry of Education brings order to the resolution of conflicts within schools and helps to build clear and transparent rules of conduct for all parties: teachers, students and parents," explains Igor Murog, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture. — The new document is designed to strengthen trust in the education system and increase the level of legal protection of teachers.
This instruction focuses on this type of school conflict, such as student aggression towards the teacher.
— That is, we have before us the prompt reaction of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation to the high—profile events of recent weeks, - says Zoya Proshkova, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, senior researcher at the Sociological Institute of the National Research Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPb).
The instructions suggest five steps to respond to the situation. In her opinion, it is most socially useful to discuss the conflict, but only if all its participants actively listen.
Rights skewed: students without responsibilities
Education practitioners are convinced that the instruction does not correct the systemic imbalance, where schoolchildren demand education without effort, and teachers suffer humiliation.
— There are two impossible points in the goals and objectives of the instruction: to ensure prompt, fair, comprehensive and legitimate conflict resolution and to protect the honor and dignity of teaching staff, — emphasizes Alexander Shevkin, mathematics teacher, Honored Teacher of the Russian Federation, author of teaching aids.
According to him, the instruction alone cannot provide anything, even if the administration of the institution follows it strictly.
"Our students have the right to receive secondary education, but they do not have the obligation to study conscientiously," the teacher explains.
The appearance of instructions on how to act in the event of a conflict situation between a teacher and participants in educational relations is rather a way to actualize the problem, rather than actually solve it, says Tatyana Dorokhova, associate professor of the Department of Pedagogy and Pedagogical Comparative Studies at the Institute of Social Sciences of the Ural State Pedagogical University.
According to her, the problem of conflicts between teachers and students, as well as aggression against teachers, is just the tip of the iceberg. The problem lies deeper: in changing attitudes towards schools and teachers, towards the socio-economic status of teachers and the values of all participants in the educational process. A turn for the better is hardly possible without profound changes, Tatiana Dorokhova believes.
Bureaucracy instead of permission
Detailed documentation of the stages to a certain extent threatens to turn the dialogue between teachers, students and parents into a clerical marathon, distracting from live communication in classrooms, draws the attention of Igor Murog, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture.
— Of course, when implementing such tools, there is always a fear that the process will become overly formal. However, the point of the instructions is not to increase the paper load, but to establish an effective conflict prevention and resolution system," the parliamentarian explains.
It all depends on how the school management integrates the document into their daily work.
But in acute situations, which served as the impetus for creating the instructions, it will quickly become clear which of the proposed measures are effective and which are not, sociologist Zoya Proshkova notes.
— The problem is not that there are no instructions for conflict resolution today, but that the very established system of conflict regulation prepares the ground for new disputes, — says Anna Sternberg, a member of the Council of the Uchitel trade union, a teacher of Russian language and literature.
Staff shortage: psychologists are worth their weight in gold
Overloaded schools without specialists will not be able to pull off the algorithm, where each stage requires time and expertise, analysts warn.
— The staff has training, because people with a pedagogical diploma have attended specialized courses, including in conflict management. But there is no time and resources to follow the procedures suggested in the instructions, or they are not enough," Zoya Proshkova is convinced.
However, today much determines the willingness of schools to apply new standards in practice. This requires methodological and organizational support, such as training of principals and teachers, expert advice, and legal assistance, Senator Murog points out.
— Teachers themselves, as practice shows, are unlikely to be ready to apply the proposed algorithm in practice. The advice that is addressed to teachers is mainly psychological, and not everyone is ready to implement it," emphasizes Tatiana Dorokhova.
You can create a reconciliation commission and come up with procedures, but in the end everyone will have difficult feelings for each other, which will not make it easier for the participants in the dispute to continue living in the same space, says one of the Russian school teachers of the Teacher trade union.
— You won't have to sort out every sneeze on the commission. It is necessary that the conflict be resolved for the parties, and this is a very difficult and delicate psychological work," the representative of the trade union sums up.
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