Shared Solutions: A Guide to Conflict

The Shared Solutions guide is meant to address conflicts that effect students with special education needs, however these strategies can be used in any situation in which conflict resolution is required in education, as well as any conflict that arises in a general sense.

There are several reasons for which conflict might happen, especially when discussing students with special education needs:

• If the information supplied is misunderstood, or insufficient information is provided for a given situation, then conflict may arise.
• If the message being conveyed is misinterpreted, or the tone/impression made when conveying the message is miscommunicated, then conflict may arise.
• As values and morals tend to be stable, people tend to be less likely to compromise with respect to their values, and conflict may arise.
• Cultural or personal differences in the way that conflict is approached may result in conflict.

From a teacher’s perspective, it is important to consider the pressure that arises on families when adapting to the special needs of their child. It is often difficult to acknowledge, and sometimes takes significant time to come to terms with their feelings. Ultimately, as an educator, understanding the experiences and feelings that parents may go through, and learning to be empathetic to student and parent needs can go a long way towards reducing and resolving conflict.

From a parent’s perspective, it is important to consider that the delivery of a special education program can be difficult for the classroom teacher. As a parent, understanding that educators have to balance many learning styles and interests, as well as delivery methods, within our classroom can also reduce conflict. It is necessary, as for educators with parents, that parents realize that the educator is using their professional judgment to the best of their ability on a regular basis in order to benefit the student.

In general, when dealing with conflict, Shares Solutions is meant to help educators recognize the signs of potential conflict and then manage conflict in a constructive and productive manner. In order to manage conflict, they suggest several strategies, the most important of which is active listening. Active listening requires the listener to feed back what they are hearing to the speaker to confirm what they have heard, and, moreso to confirm the understanding of both parties. Active listening requires listeners to restate, which shows that you are listening to what the speaker is saying. Paraphrasing, or summarizing, confirms the speaker’s feelings in context, which often helps both parties move on and pursue constructive solutions to the problem. Reframing gives the listener an opportunity to express what they feel the speaker truly wants. When spoken with neutral, non-confrontational language, reframing can lead to thinking about solutions to problems as well.

By being patient, active listeners, educators and parents can identify and respond to the possible needs of the participants (in this case, their special needs child), all while keeping in mind the student’s best interests.