The role of the leader in the resolution of conflicts and in the management of human resources

Abstract

This study aims to explore the principal’s role in the resolution of conflicts and in the management of human resources. The basic purpose of this article is to study the issue of conflict in primary schools and the role of the principal in resolving it. In addition, it aims to clarify the role and the contribution of the principal as a school leader from the viewpoint of the principals themselves but also from the viewpoint of the teachers. The analysis was conducted based both on theoretical and empirical approaches. The basic research questions of this study were: i) the frequency and the reason for the conflicts, ii) the participants personal opinions about the conflicts and iii) the description of the main role and the characteristics that an effective school-leader should exhibit. The results revealed that there are conflicts between principals and teachers to a large extent. Finally, according to the analysis of the results it was ascertained that there are inconsistencies between the views of teachers and principals, in several parts of the research, and this probably can be attributed to the differences in their roles.