Are novice teachers professionally prepared to handle conflicting situations in classrooms?

Why do inexperienced teachers fail to solve unexpected incidents in classrooms? Is experience the key to face such peculiarities? Apparently, formal instruction in colleges would seem to be a challenge to accomplish so as to train future professionals capable of tackling unforeseeable problems in educational settings. Providing trainee teachers with real teaching-practice insights appears to be a fundamental requirement for conflict resolutions in school contexts.

In a recent study of critical incidents, Fernández González, Elórtegui Escartín and Medina Pérez (2003) contended that formation in colleges is of paramount importance. Reflection and re-conceptualization based on critical incidents may be undertaken in order to develop school practices. Analysing and interpreting professional practices would enhance trainees’ autonomy and leadership to encounter unpredicted teaching situations, and thus, training would improve classroom management and teaching practices.

Then, how should practitioners be instructed to approach critical incidents? Fernández González et al. (2003) have proposed four distinguishing strategies for conflict resolutions. They suggested that analysing “the context of [problem] occurrence”, “the description of the problem”, “the possible causes” and “the possible solutions” (p. 104) would contribute to improvements in classroom management. Basically, learning how to resolve problems would facilitate trainees to handle complications, and therefore, contributing to their professional growth.

All in all, I believe that future graduates should be professionally qualified on how to face unexpected outcomes in everyday teaching practices. Endowing them with teaching strategies would not only make possible discipline maintenance and classroom management, but also it would foster confidence and self-sufficiency in their professional career prospect. And most importantly, colleges appear to be the keystone in the field of education to fulfil this mission for teacher development purposes.   

References

Fernández González, J., Elórtegui Escartín, N. & Medina Pérez, M. (2003) Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista Interuniversitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17-001. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved September 2010, from http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=274 17107