Role conflict and the teacher

by Gerald R. Grace

Gerald Grace here explores the concept of role conflict and the current theorizing about the problems of the teacher's role. He investigates four potential problem areas - role diffuseness, role vulnerability, role commitment versus career orientation, and value conflict - in a sample of one hundred and fifty secondary school teachers in a Midland town. The analysis shows how a teacher's commitment to a particular set of values exposes him or her to conflict in an achievement-oriented and pluralistic society. These conflicts, present in all schools, are seen in their clearest form among secondary modern school teachers. The author suggests that colleges of education, in emphasizing commitment and in assuming value consensus, predispose their students to conflict experiences. He indicates that internal career possibilities in schools and the influence of graduate or certified status are also important factors in conflict exposure. While accepting that certain role conflicts are important in the genesis of change, the author proposes that levels of dysfunctional conflict can be reduced by the action of head teachers, by structural change in the schools and innovations in teaching education.

149 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 2012

Reviews

[Romany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a clearer introduction to role conflict than many books that have been written more specifically on the topic of role theory. Perhaps because teaching became an example through which to explore the varieties of role conflict? It's an old book - originally published in 1972 - but still useful to explore some of the feelings of "unease" that beset teachers in secondary schools.