Interpersonal Conflict among Teachers in Community Schools: A Narrative Inquiry

Abstract

Interpersonal conflict among teachers is an important aspect in teacher’s professional development in context of Nepal. The study explores stories of teachers and their perception, understanding of interpersonal conflict in their day-to-day work life. This research highlighted that interpersonal conflict in the workplace affects the quality of work of teachers in community schools. This study used narrative inquiry to investigate interpersonal conflict among teachers in community schools with observation and in-depth interviews. I conducted field work in two community schools with five teachers of Kathmandu. Metropolitan City. I believed in relational realism by following constructivism as epistemology and interpretivism as research paradigm. To present the stories in line with the research question, I grounded my study on Kim's framework for narrative analysis, specifically Mishler's typology of "imposing a told story on the telling." I used Dahrendorf’s authority-relation conflict theory and social identity theory as the theoretical framework to analyze workplace conflict. Authority-relation theory explained how formal and informal power structures cause structural friction, while social identity theory highlighted how diverse group memberships exacerbate these tensions. Together, they comprehensively explain how interpersonal conflict emerges from the intersection of institutional authority and personal identity The study revealed that persistent relational and structural factors such as seniority based informal authority, or new teacher- old teacher relationship ingrained in schools’ culture influenced interpersonal conflict among teachers. Conflicts emerged from perceived challenges to dignity, authority, informal power dynamics, gendered expectations, resistance to change, and differences in teaching approaches. When conflict arose, teachers respond through self-doubt, avoidance, withdrawal, and silence showing that the response mechanisms included detachment, passive compliance, adaptability, conflict, and negotiation. The stories showed that interpersonal conflict in community schools impacted collaboration and the well-being of teachers. Policymakers and education leaders, who aim to enhance school environments as workplaces, can utilize this study as evidence. It also adds empirical and theoretical knowledge to educational research in Nepal.