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Educational Conflicts, Special Education Educational goals are perceived as being mutually exclusive, such as when the goals of each person or group are seemingly frustrated by the other. An example of this is when teachers believe that counseling is not benefiting students academic learning. Another example is when classroom teachers and school counselors question the efficacy of what is being done with a particular student in a special education program while he or she is missing general classroom instruction. Activities that must be undertaken to reach goals are regarded as interdependent, such as when groups or individuals must work together to accomplish educational tasks.
An example of this is when teachers and counselors perceive their goals as being mutually exclusive and are placed in situations where they need to work together to promote success of their shared students. Two or more individuals or groups must draw upon the same limited resources to accomplish their goals. An example of this is classroom teachers, special education teachers, and counselors competing for time with the same students. A particular case that may produce conflict among school professionals occurs when both school counselors and special education teachers are expected to provide consultation services to classroom teachers, parents, and significant others responsible for certain at-risk or special needs students. In such a case, it is important to identify the sources within the school setting that might contribute to conflict between these professionals, as well as to have clearly articulated and mutually understood roles and responsibilities. Understanding possible sources of conflict that might occur between counselors and special education consulting teachers is the first step in avoiding the same.
Sources of school conflict may be categorized as being due to (a) differentiation of function among subgroups (e. g. , classroom teachers, special education teachers, counselors, principals); (b) power struggles that arise when some groups seek advantage over others, as by competing for a commonly desired reward (e. g. , higher salaries, career ladder credit, formal time to consult); or (c) role conflicts occurring when individuals fail to comply with role expectations set by others in their organization or when there is overlap among the various roles. Conflicts regarding roles occur when individuals fail to comply with role expectations set by others.
This discrepancy results usually because there are mixed perceptions about what the role should be. It may be because (a) the persons who established the role may have established a role different than the one the individual is fulfilling, or (b) the role is being fulfilled as it has been defined, but others within the organization have not been given sufficient information about what the role is. In either case, there is an obvious need for role clarification and dispersal of information regarding the role to all individuals involved, including both service providers and the recipients of those services. It is likely in the previously discussed scenario that there are differences in perceptions among all three involved parties, not only regarding the roles of the consultants, but also regarding the role of the classroom teacher. There also may be a power struggle between the two consultants, as discussed later. There are tremendous and powerful sources of conflict that could arise between a school counselor and a special education resource-consulting teacher who have both been assigned to consult with classroom teachers and parents.
What is needed to avoid these sources of conflict, first, is for all involved to understand clearly the roles and responsibilities of each of the two positions. Second, establishing use of a particular model of consultation, such as collaborative consultation, can serve as a guide to establishing teams of professionals to solve school-related problems. Third, it is important to consider the types of skills such professionals should possess in order to promote the collaborative problem-solving process. Fourth, training these professionals to use a framework consisting of stages of problem solving can lead to efficient and systematic collaborative problem solving. Bibliography: Mary Bloom.
Elementary School Counselors and Special Educators Consulting Together: Perilous Pitfalls or Opportunities to Collaborate. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, Feb 92, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p. 202.
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Research essay sample on Educational Conflicts Special Education
