Resolution of Value Conflicts by Classroom Teachers.

In order to identify how social studies teachers attempt to resolve values conflict situations, 82 "disinterested" teachers in southeast Ohio responded to a questionnaire. The term "disinterested" is used to describe teachers who did not belong to a professional social studies organization, nor attend conferences specifically geared for updating expertise. Each teacher described a conflict incident and ranked it according to categories of decision making, justice, dissent and equality. Results indicate that the sample teachers are more interested in individual rather than group problems and that these incidents involve antagonists fairly close to themselves rather than socially distant. It is assumed that involvement in conflicts with individual persons is less mature than involvement with larger groups or institutions. Only three percent of the sample identified the antagonists as an institution. The teachers describe how they resolved the dilemma which is then categorized according to resolution by authority, argument, negotiation, capitulation, and avoidance. Forty-six percent of the teachers used authoritative means to solve problem situations while less than one-fourth used compromise as a solution. These results confirm those of Frankels (ED 092 445) whose research on "interested" teachers also indicates that teachers are unable to perceive a situation from another's viewpoint. (DE)