“An ‘us versus them’ mentality”: Experiences and outcomes of conflict between teachers and parents

Abstract

Conflict between teachers and parents, while not widely studied (e.g., Dodd, 1998; Russo, 2006; Zaretsky, 2004), is prevalent enough to warrant recent legislative action in the state of Indiana (McCollum, 2009). Moreover, parent-teacher conflict has not been studied in relation to conflict style of teachers, professional identification, intent to leave, job satisfaction or perceived organizational support, which this study examines. While results of the current study did not indicate statistical significance, open ended responses indicated that teachers did experience many memorable instances of conflict that warrant further research, especially in the area of perceived organizational support. Additionally, the current study allows the opportunity for future research and valuable insight for policy-writers