Investigation of conflict management strategies of primary school principals

The study aims to examine the perspectives of school principals working in primary schools on conflict phenomenon and conflict management processes. The study, which was conducted using phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research methods, was carried out with 20 school principals working in Kağıthane and Şişli districts of Istanbul province, selected by convenience sampling. In the research conducted in the 2024-2025 academic year, a semi-structured interview form was preferred to collect data. The qualitative data obtained were analysed by content analysis technique; codes, categories and themes were reached in this process. As a result of the analysis, the findings collected under 16 categories were presented within the framework of 6 main themes. These themes are as follows: conflict dynamics and managerial effects in school environment, conflict parties, effects of conflicts on educational process and institutional functioning, effects of socio-economic factors on conflict management, effective management strategies applied in school conflicts, difficulties encountered in conflict management. According to the findings of the study, as a result of the interviews with principals working in Şişli and Kağıthane districts of Istanbul, the most important causes of conflicts were identified as communication deficiencies, organisational culture problems and socio-economic factors. The most common conflicts were found to be between teachers and between teachers and parents. Principals stated that conflicts negatively affect the school climate, but they can also provide opportunities to recognise deficiencies. Principals' strategy preferences change according to socio-economic level; in high level regions, contingency approach comes to the fore, while in low level regions, conflict avoidance tendency comes to the fore. Effective communication, open dialogue, cooperation and democratic leadership are among the most common strategies used by principals. It was concluded that the most challenging situation for school principals in conflict management is lack of understanding. Within the scope of this study, it is recommended that in-service trainings should be increased to improve the conflict management skills of school principals, a communication environment based on trust should be established in schools, and collaborative approaches that ensure the participation of all stakeholders in the process should be adopted.