Formation of teachers’ psychological readiness to manage interpersonal conflicts in the educational environment of institutions

Abstract

У дослідженні розглянуто формування психологічної готовності педагогів до управління міжособистісними конфліктами в сучасному освітньому середовищі. Психологічну готовність визначено як інтегративну професійно-особистісну характеристику, що охоплює мотиваційно-ціннісний, когнітивний, емоційно-регулятивний, комунікативний, поведінковий та рефлексивний компоненти. Обґрунтовано важливість міждисциплінарного та практико-орієнтованого підходів до розвитку здатності педагогів ефективно управляти конфліктами й формувати безпечне, інклюзивне та психологічно сприятливе освітнє середовище.

The study examines the formation of teachers’ psychological readiness to manage interpersonal conflicts in the contemporary school educational environment. The research conceptualises psychological readiness as an integrative professional-personal construct comprising motivational and value-based, cognitive, emotional and self-regulatory, communicative, behavioural, and reflective components. A mixed-methods, practice-oriented research design was applied, combining theoretical analysis, observation, questionnaires, interviews, testing, expert assessment, case analysis, role-playing, video analysis, and pedagogical experimentation. The diagnostic stage involved 264 participants: 150 final-year teacher-education students and 114 early-career teachers with up to three years of professional experience. The study identifies four major configurations of interpersonal conflict in school settings: student–student, student–teacher, teacher–teacher, and teacher–parent conflicts. Four developmental levels of psychological readiness are proposed: intuitive, reproductive, constructive-adaptive, and creative-reflective. The findings emphasise that theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient for effective conflict management and should be integrated with experiential learning, emotional self-regulation, communication training, behavioural practice, and professional reflection. Particular attention is given to conflict prevention, context-sensitive professional judgement, and the distinction between ordinary interpersonal conflict and bullying, violence, discrimination, or coercion. The study substantiates the importance of interdisciplinary and training-based approaches to strengthening teachers’ capacity to manage interpersonal conflicts and contribute to safe, inclusive, and psychologically supportive educational environments.