The purpose of this study was to explore how the newly appointed school principals in elementary and secondary schools perceive, manage, and exercise leadership in various conflicts among school community members. This research puzzles were as follows...
The purpose of this study was to explore how the newly appointed school principals in elementary and secondary schools perceive, manage, and exercise leadership in various conflicts among school community members. This research puzzles were as follows. First, what was the course of life that influenced conflict management as a school principal? Second, what conflict situations did the research participant experience as a school manager and how did he or she develop conflict management leadership? Third, what meaning did conflict management leadership put into the management of school organizations?
As a research method, I basically applied Clandin and Connelly (2000)'s narrative inquiry method. Three newly appointed school principals with more than a year of experience in school management and less than four years were selected as study participants, and data were collected through in-depth interviews, on-site observations, telephone interviews, e-mails, and school management data while maintaining close relationships with them from March 2019 to April 2021. The collected data were analyzed in depth within the three-dimensional space of narratives, using the experiences of research participants as a story according to the narrative analysis process presented by Bedford and Landry (2010).
The findings were as follows. First, until they became school principals, they walked the path of an apostle who gave love, respect, consideration, dreams and hopes for the students as educators. Second, as a teacher, vice principal, and education professional, they made extraordinary efforts to enhance the capabilities that school managers should have by experiencing various things. Third, as the newly appointed school principals, they were seeking a new perception and an efficient approach to conflict management while witnessing and agonizing over conflicts between school communities. Fourth, it applied elements of compassionate rationalist leadership, hard power, and soft power, recognizing that the situation and context of conflicts among school community members were needed to lead the school organization.
The research conclusions were as follows. Although life at school level and at each educational site were different, the experiences of conflict among members of the school community as a newly appointed school principal had significant characteristics. First, leadership development helped the participants to get conflict management leadership practice. Second, participants in the study demonstrated their ability to manage conflicts within school organizations, turning them into opportunities without judging them as risks. Third, the research participants had no difficulty practicing conflict management leadership as newly appointed school principals. Efforts should be made to develop relationships in which teachers and parents respect each other's relationships and cooperate with each other. Fourth, it is important for school members to cooperate with the perception that they are a school community, which means they are on the same boat. Fifth, conflicts among school community members were diversifying and aspects were becoming more complex. Sixth, through conflict management leadership practice, reflections were reverted and new conflict management leadership was practiced. Through this conclusion, the research participants grew up to be true leaders by continuing passion, commitment, challenge, change, reflection and learning, and hoped that their experiences of conflict management leadership would help the newly appointed school principals in charge of future school management.