ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 16 March 2022 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.818431 The Role of Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management. Case Studies Geared Towards Improving Teacher Training Ibis M. Alvarez 1* † , Montserrat González-Parera 1† and Borja Manero 2† 1 Department of Basic, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 2 Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain The purpose of this paper is twofold: firstly, to explore the emotional aspects underlying classroom conflict management, and secondly, to apply these notions to the contrasted analysis of two case studies. Our findings underscore the importance of examining teachers’ emotional regulation to better understand their performance when dealing with conflicts that affect classroom climate. In the final section, we make suggestions for introducing this perspective into initial teacher training through the use of Virtual Edited by: Reality, a scenario that would allow pre-service teachers to experiment, record and Matteo Angelo Fabris, University of Turin, Italy reflect on affective and attitudinal issues that are decisive for effective classroom Reviewed by: conflict management. Deborah Sonia Pino-Pasternak, Keywords: classroom climate, emotion, secondary school, conflict resolution, teacher training, virtual reality University of Canberra, Australia Javier Torres-Vallejos, Andres Bello University, Chile INTRODUCTION *Correspondence: Ibis M. Alvarez Today’s society is characterized by a multiplicity of changes. The educational context is no stranger ibismarlene.alvarez@uab.es † These authors have contributed to this situation; as a reflection of society, changes in classroom composition and newly emerging forms of interaction can affect the climate of coexistence, since there is an issue that permeates equally to this work and share first authorship educational settings as a social and inevitable condition in human relations: school conflict. Despite the undoubted importance of teachers commanding the competence to manage Specialty section: classroom climate, according to recent reports pre-service teachers in Spain feel dissatisfied This article was submitted to with the theoretical nature of training in this area and also consider the practical training they Educational Psychology, have received to be deficient (López et al., 2017; Özen and Yildirim, 2020). According to the a section of the journal TALIS report (OECD, 2020), less than half (40%) of Spanish teachers reported feeling prepared Frontiers in Psychology to manage a class. This study also reveals that Spanish teachers spend the longest time trying Received: 19 November 2021 to maintain order in class. Likewise, a recent study on satisfaction with the training received Accepted: 21 February 2022 by students of the Official Master’s degree in Teaching in Secondary Schools, at four major Published: 16 March 2022 Spanish universities, revealed that the competence that pre-service teachers perceive as lacking Citation: the most is precisely that related to knowledge of classroom interaction and communication Alvarez IM, González-Parera M strategies and skills to promote coexistence, address disruptive behaviors and manage conflict in and Manero B (2022) The Role the classroom. At the end of the master’s degree, only 34% of respondents provided the highest of Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management. Case Studies Geared rating, although this is an improvement compared to the 19.8% that had done so at the beginning Towards Improving Teacher Training. (Sarcedo-Gorgoso et al., 2020). Front. Psychol. 13:818431. Conflict management competence is frequently assessed through self-report questionnaires that doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.818431 inquire about preferred coping patterns without taking into account the communicative situations Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 1 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management in which conflict takes place or the emotional and attitudinal We share the ecological approach to classroom climate variables underlying the decisions made by teachers to deal with proposed by Doyle (2006), understood as a communicative it (Galtung, 2000; Jones, 2000). Thus, in terms of both the training context with characteristic purposes, dimensions, features and and assessment of this competence, it seems necessary to design processes, whose particularity has consequences for the behavior realistic learning scenarios in which teachers can experiment of occupants of that setting. From an ecological perspective, and reflect on their ability to manage the classroom climate in “management is a complex enterprise because order is jointly authentic communicative situations. accomplished by teachers and students and because a large number of immediate circumstances affect the nature of Research Objectives orderliness, the need for intervention, and the consequences of The purpose of this study is twofold: firstly, based on the particular teacher and student actions” (Doyle, 2006, p.100). literature, to identify the affective and attitudinal factors linked From this standpoint, there are several important dimensions to the origins and management of classroom conflicts; secondly, of classrooms climate that are already in place when teachers from a qualitative-phenomenological approach, through case and students arrive at the classroom door. These include analysis, to integrate theory and practice to illustrate the Multidimensionality—a large quantity of events and tasks in contribution of this approach to a better understanding of classrooms takes place; many people, with different preferences the factors involved in the dynamics of classroom conflict in and abilities must use a restricted supply of resources to secondary school. accomplish a broad range of social and personal objectives; We believe that this analysis will provide conceptual and Simultaneity—many things happen at once in classrooms. While methodological bases for the design of teacher training actions helping an individual student during seatwork, for instance, a in a scenario that promotes, on the one hand, awareness of teacher must monitor the rest of the class, acknowledge other behaviors in the face of conflict events and, on the other hand, the requests for assistance, handle interruptions, and keep track of possibility of practicing more effective alternatives for classroom time; Immediacy—there is a rapid pace of classroom events; climate management. Based on the results that will be presented, Unpredictability—classroom events often take unexpected turns, at the end of the article ideas will be suggested to elaborate events are jointly produced and thus it is often difficult to an experiential and experimental training proposal, through anticipate how an activity will go on a particular day with a Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR). particular group of students; Publicness—classrooms are public places and events, especially those involving the teacher, are often witnessed by a large portion of the students; History— classes meet for 5 days a week for several months and THEORETICAL BACKGROUND thus accumulate a common set of experiences, routines, and norms, which provide a foundation for conducting activities In this section we will begin by clarifying the definition of conflict for the rest of the term or year. All these factors combine in the educational setting. We will focus on various emotional to create demands and pressures on participants as activities and attitudinal factors that determine classroom conflict and its are played out in these environments. These demands and management. We will then proceed with a review of the literature pressures are placed especially on teachers who carry professional that will help identify possible patterns of behavior that are adult responsibility for planning and monitoring classroom usually displayed when dealing with conflicts. activities. Ecologically, these pressures and demands are the origins of the task of classroom management. In most instances, Conflict as a Communicative Experience therefore, teachers have little leisure time to reflect before acting A widely held conception describes conflict as “an expressed (Doyle, 2006). struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive In addition, management demands are systematically related incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from the to the types of activities used in the classroom (Garrett, 2008; other party in achieving their goals” (Hocker and Wilmot, 2014, Wilkinson et al., 2020). Student work involvement or engagement p.13). Giving greater weight to affective-motivational variables, is higher in teacher-led, externally paced activities than in conflict has also been described as a subjective experience: "To self-paced activities. Involvement is also especially low during recognize that we are in conflict is to acknowledge that we have activities in which there are prolonged presentations. Thus, been triggered emotionally” (Jones, 2000, p. 91). according to Doyle (2006), “the key to a teacher’s success Aligned with the latter perspective, in this article we in management appears to be his or her (a) understanding understand conflict as a particular type of communication, of the likely configuration of events in a classroom, and (b) defined by Luhmann (1982) as an expressed contradiction that skill in monitoring and guiding activities in light of this blocks communicative processes. By blocking communication, information” (p.116). Therefore, the effectiveness of classroom classroom conflicts infringe upon interpersonal relationships conflict management cannot be defined solely by stereotypical and can give rise to disruptive events (misbehaviors or critical behavior patterns as traditional teacher education often suggests. incidents) that hinder the development of teaching (e.g., Bingham Successful classroom management also involves aspects of the et al., 2009; Tripp, 2012). In the present study, these events affective-attitudinal dimension that allow recognizing when and are considered conflict situations, initiated by students that can how to act to face conflict events in immediate circumstances dramatically affect the classroom climate. (Evertson and Poole, 2008). Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 2 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management Attitude is an important concept to understand human consciously perceived by teachers and observed by their students. behavior. More relevant to the present concerns is what this These signals trigger in both certain modes of action (Sutton, controversy regarding the attitude-behavior relation implies for a 2004; Keller and Becker, 2020). definition of attitude. Allport (1935), in his influential chapter for Following Lazarus (1991), the emotional activation—tendency the Handbook of Social Psychology, defines attitude as “a mental toward action—that we experience when facing conflicts could and neural state of readiness, organized through experience, be caused by an incongruence with expectations or by exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s the occurrence of an unforeseen event. This activation, in response to all objects and situations with which it is related” (p. turn, instigates a personal interpretation (appraisals) of the 810). Beginning with these early tracings of the attitude concept, communicative situation, which determines the qualities of the a large number of definitions have been offered. emotions that are projected, and these will affect the strategy Like many psychological variables, attitude is considered implemented to manage the conflict. For example, a student’s a hypothetical or latent variable, rather than an immediately defiant behavior can be appraised, with different resultant teacher observable variable (Fazio, 2007). From this view, Green emotional responses, as a threat to a teacher’s authority or (1954) argued that “the concept of attitude does not refer as a sign of a student being over-challenged by the work to any one specific act or response of an individual, but task. Variations in appraisals occur because situations can be is an abstraction from a large number of related acts or interpreted in different ways as a result of personal characteristics, responses” (p. 335). Zanna and Rempel’s (1988) formulation social history and cultural expectations (Schutz et al., 2007). added that “the attitude may be based on appraisals of Academic emotions refer to a set of emotions that are the attributes that characterize the object, as in expectancy- experienced by students and teacher in learning or teaching value frameworks” (p. 608). According to this view, any such situations (Pekrun, 2006). They are short-lived and intense automatic activation of the attitude is viewed as playing a active states that arise in response to a particular stimulus. critical role in the process by which an attitude may exert Academic emotional valence refers to whether the stimulus influence on information processing, judgment, and behavior. is pleasant or unpleasant, while academic emotional arousal Indeed, from its outset, this theoretical conceptualization of describes the academic emotional intensity that a stimulus can attitudes has been embodied within a model attempting to cause. Based on this classification, emotions can be divided into specify the process(es) by which attitudes “guide” behavior four groups: positive arousal emotions (e.g., enjoyment, pride), (Fazio, 2007). This definition may help understand how attitudes positive emotions (e.g., enthusiasm, interest), passive arousal can explain the strategies that teachers use to regulate the emotions (e.g., anger, anxiety), and negative emotions (e.g., emotional experiences that are activated during the management frustration, depression) (Pekrun, 2006). of classroom conflict. These attitudinal aspects seem linked to Emotional experiences were found to emerge during teacher actions that teachers take to create an environment that supports judgments regarding perceived success (Schutz et al., 2007). and facilitates both academic and social-emotional Learning Thus, teachers may experience happiness when an instructional (Emmer and Stough, 2001). objective is met or students follow directions, and pride comes Emotion regulation refers to “the processes by which when students excel or eclipse their peers or give a response or individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have fulfill some tasks that teachers did not expect them to complete. them, and how they experience and express these emotions” They report frustration when students cannot grasp a concept; (Gross, 1998, p. 275). The regulation of emotion is defined anger with misbehavior, disappointment with lack of effort, and predominantly in terms of the conscious or volitional self- anxiety when competence is challenged (Sutton et al., 2009; regulation of emotion. In other words, emotion regulation Cubukcu, 2013). These emotions often arise from management means the capability to manage the emotional experiences and and disciplinary classroom interactions, and teachers report that expressions (Gross, 2002). As stated Evertson and Poole (2008), they try to regulate these emotions frequently because they in relational interactions trust is a key component of an effective believe it helps them achieve their goals (Sutton, 2004). classroom. “Despite the best laid plans, student misbehavior will Guilt is an unpleasant feeling due to the nature of caring occur. Reactions to this misbehavior require careful planning to and feeling responsible for students, and it is commonly felt by ensure a teacher’s responses are productive” (p.136). teachers who perceive they could not do what they were supposed to do and led to disappointment in others (van Veen and Lasky, 2005). Frustration and anger arise from several sources related to The Role of Emotions in the Origin and thwarted goals, including students’ misbehavior and violation of Management of Classroom Conflict rules (Cubukcu, 2013). Teachers also become angry when they As Ekman (1985) and Damásio (1999) have convincingly believe that students’ poor academic work is due to controllable demonstrated, the behavioral element of emotion is projected factors, such as laziness or inattention. in the forms of expression of subjective emotional experience Many teachers report that their anger and frustration lead (facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures and body postures) that to changes in their classroom behaviors and coping strategies. we communicate intentionally or unintentionally. Considering Intrusive thoughts make it difficult for them to concentrate this primary condition, when conflicting events occur during on what they are doing before the emotion episode, and that interactions with students, some physiological changes and verbal students are the immediate target of the anger and frustration and non-verbal emotional expressions will occur that will be (Sutton, 2007). Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 3 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management Positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, gratitude, negative emotions is to be welcomed because of the emotional admiration, interest, satisfaction, optimism, and others lead to contagion processes (Keller and Becker, 2020, p.13). These proactive attitudes that foster conciliation and collaboration results are also consistent with several studies that have found (Montes et al., 2014). It has also been observed that, in critical that engaging in emotional perspective-taking allows teachers situations, the activation of positive emotional states allows to react appropriately to disruptive behavior (Evertson and consideration and elaboration of plans for future action Weinstein, 2006; Barr, 2011). Similarly, teachers who expressed (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005), while the use of predominantly close relationships with disruptive students also described reactive strategies has been associated with teachers’ stress and emotional perspective-taking, empathy, and emotion regulation emotional exhaustion (Clunies-Ross et al., 2008; Tsouloupas (McGrath and Van Bergen, 2019). These characteristics are et al., 2010; Pedditzi et al., 2021). likely to be particularly helpful when forming relationships with Negative emotions, such as fear, anger, sadness, and guilt, disruptive students by guiding effective classroom management are associated with reactive/adaptive behaviors that are activated (Garner, 2010) and supporting a positive classroom climate in response to immediate events (Frijda, 1986; Sutton, 2007). (Jennings and Greenberg, 2009). Conflicts that emerge in teacher-student interactions are a source of these types of emotions. For example, Oplatka and Iglan (2020) found that primary and secondary school teachers Conflict Management Strategies From reported experiencing some form of fear in interactions with the Emotional Perspective their students during lessons. Two coping strategies emerged in In order to assess the strategies that teachers use to manage the interviewees’ accounts, ranging from passive strategies that classroom conflict, one of the most widespread models avoid directly confronting the source of the fear (e.g., emotional in educational research is the “Rahim” Model of Conflict disengagement) to more active strategies that target the source of Management (Rahim, 1983). This model describes conflict and the fear (e.g., peer involvement, humor, etc.). negotiation processes by referring to two basic dimensions: Positive and negative emotions are important activators of the concern for self (i.e., the degree to which they aim to address their attitudes that guide behavior, since a positive mood can facilitate own concern in conflict management processes) and concern for creative, holistic and more flexible problem solving, whereas others (i.e., the degree to which individuals try to address the negative emotions can promote a more rigid and analytical concern of the other party involved in a conflict). way of thinking (Rockladge and Fazio, 2018). Deactivation On the basis of different combinations of these two emotions, such as boredom, disappointment, sadness or despair dimensions, five strategies for managing interpersonal conflict are detrimental to any deep treatment of information related in the teacher-student relationship have been distinguished: to the teaching task, whilst relaxation and relief can reduce the (1) Integration (e.g., reasoning with the student inside or attention (Pekrun and Schutz, 2007). As Emmer and Stough outside the classroom; involving the student in individual and (2001) emphasize, from an ecological perspective on teaching, group settings to discuss the behavior that causes the potential classroom management can be defined as any of the actions conflict event); (2) Compromise (e.g., reasoning and discussing that teachers perform to maintain student attention, and through issues and problems with the student and/or with the whole this, to create an environment that fosters both academic and class to explore new possible solutions and ways of dealing social-emotional development. with the individual and relational difficulties that arose); (3) Several studies (von Gilsa and Zapf, 2013; Taxer and Gross, Obliging (for example, deliberately ignoring interruptions or 2018; Chang, 2020) showed that surface acting (e.g., hiding minor infractions); (4) Avoidance (e.g., delaying discussion and anger and fear) is significantly linked to emotional exhaustion, confrontation about individual and relational difficulties that depersonalization, and inefficacy. Conversely, the teacher’s arose; sending student to see the principal); and, finally, imposing emotional authenticity fosters adaptive emotional reactions in and authoritarian strategies, such as (5) Domination (e.g., issuing students that is higher levels of enjoyment and lower levels of a verbal reprimand; asking the student to leave class; imposing anger and anxiety (Keller and Becker, 2020). sanctions) (Morris-Rothschild and Brassard, 2006; Montes et al., In relation to anger, Chang and Taxer (2020) found that 2014; Doǧan, 2016; Claessens et al., 2017). this attitude leads teachers to employ punitive strategies, However, according to Galtung (2000), identifying behavior especially when students’ misbehavior is seen as intentional and is not enough for effective conflict management. Conflict controllable. Although they may be effective in the short term, transformation requires attention to three interrelated elements, teachers’ coercive behaviors have been linked to the existence of which the author called the “triadic model.” In this model, escalating disruption-coercion-disruption loops (Martínez et al., Galtung places the following three elements in a pyramid shape: 2020). (A) underlying attitudes of all the parties involved in the conflict In contrast, as corroborated by Chang and Taxer (2020) toward the conflict issue; (B) overt behavior in relation to the in their study on emotion regulation strategies in response to conflict and interaction with the opponent; and (C) the conflict classroom misbehavior, teachers who typically reappraise have itself, which Galtung calls ’contradiction.’ the least negative affective experiences in the context of student In short, identifying the role of emotions seems essential to misbehavior and are less likely to suppress their in-the-moment better understand the nature of conflict. Emotional processing negative emotions. The prevalent premise of ‘Don’t show them!’ in all its complexity—including the components of emotional (Sutton, 2004, p. 379) when it comes to teachers regulating their expression through verbal behaviors, the transparency of Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 4 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management emotional states that are projected in non-verbal language (facial reflective description of the development of the lesson they expressions, tone of voice and body posture) and the appraisal observed in the form of a narrative essay (step 3). of emotional experiences driven by emotional arousal—provide The essay is structured into four sections. The first section clues to the choices teachers make when managing classroom consists of a description of the context in which the observed conflict. The key is to recognize the inevitability of emotions in activity takes place, making reference to the characteristics the face of conflict and to view them as a tool for managing that may influence everyday life, teaching and learning and conflict, rather than as an obstacle or something to avoid. The a brief presentation of the pupils in the classroom, focusing question is how this approach can be used to help teachers to on their learning processes, and of the teacher, focusing on better manage classroom conflict. his/her teaching processes, as well as a description of the educational spaces (e.g., classroom organization). The second section describes the organization of the observed activity (topic, METHOD general competences and objectives, methodology, resources, organization of the space, etc.). The third section details the In order to meet the empirical objective of this research, observations during the development of the activity. Finally, the we considered it appropriate to adopt a qualitative- preservice teacher is required to write a reflection on the observed phenomenological approach based on the study of contrasting students’ prospects of future development in the adolescent stage. cases. According to Miles and Hueberman (1994) by looking at Given the interpretative nature of this section, its content has not a range of similar and contrasting cases, we can understand a been included in the analysis presented in this paper. single-case finding, grounding it by specifying how and where Supplementary Appendix 1 shows the observation and, if possible, why it behaves as it does. guidelines, in the form of guiding questions, which are given to pre-service teachers to help them record the required evidence Context of the Study and Case Selection during the first internship period. They must actively engage in We selected two cases elaborated by pre-service teachers, based the tasks set by their school mentors. They also need to collect on the systematic and reflective recording of reported classroom evidence of the work done at their host school/educational interactions in secondary schools. Case elaboration and analysis establishment both to include in their portfolios and to have is a practical task required in the first internship period, sufficient data for the educational proposal that pre-service linked to the module Psychopedagogical and Social Training teachers will need to design and implement in their next of the Master’s degree in Teaching in Secondary School at the internship period (steps 4, 5, and 6, shown in Figure 1). Pre- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona [UAB], (2021). service teachers’ performance at the host school and the quality of Students do their internships in educational establishments their essay will be also taken into account to assess this first block. under the supervision of a school mentor and a university The narrative essay with the recorded observations is assessed by practicum tutor, who will guide them in this first contact with the student’s academic tutor at the university. This assessment the professional world in the field of education. Figure 1 shows takes into account the quality of the evidence presented, as well the design of the process followed at UAB, including the learning as the student’s argumentation of his/her interpretation. School activity on which this study is based. mentors will assess the preservice teachers’ behavior in this first During their first internships pre-service teachers should internship period. To pass the course students are also expected become familiar with the classroom dynamics and curriculum to display a professional attitude and professional skills such requirements of a particular class. They should pay special as respect, cooperation, punctuality and active listening and attention to the classroom dynamics of one of the observed participation. In any case, students are expected to respect the groups, to the role of the teacher and to the teaching resources deontological ethics of the teaching profession. available. Previously, before the first internship period, students The first and second authors of this paper have been teaching (pre-service teachers) are expected to participate actively in this module for several years. For this study, we selected two the guided activities (workshops, practicum seminars) and essays that narrate classes observed in state schools located in the supervised activities (group and individual tutorials) offered in metropolitan area of Barcelona, which has high percentages of this master’s degree with the objective to help them prepare for immigrant and working-class population. The class groups were their internship. made up of boys and girls of this social profile, between 15 and Specifically, the work assigned to pre-service teachers in the 16 years of age, in the 4th year of the 2nd education cycle— first stage (Block 1) consisted of carrying out a participant the last level of Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain. In observation in a classroom (step 1, shown in Figure 1) during the both cases, the lessons developed a contemporary history topic first internship period (step 2). The observations were carried out and were taught by teachers (all female) who were experienced simultaneously by two or three students who were at the same in the subject matter. The difference between the two cases educational establishment. Educational establishments must be was the methodology used to teach the content and to manage part of the school network promoted by the Department of the disruptive events that occurred during the class (please, see Education of the Catalan Government. Priority will be given to Supplementary Material with translation of the observation schools and institutions with a skills-based curriculum aligned records: Case A and Case B). with the kind of teaching proposals promoted in this master’s The schools, students and teachers who supported the degree. The pre-service teachers were asked to produce a pre-service teachers during their placements where these Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 5 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management FIGURE 1 | Practicum process in the Master’s degree in Teaching in Secondary School at the UAB. observations were made were informed of the prospect of having (a) patterns for arranging participants, (b) resources used or evidence of their work published for academic purposes and sources of information, (c) roles and responsibilities for carrying anonymously, thereby gaining their explicit consent. out immediate actions, and (d) rules of appropriateness (i.e., the types of behaviors that are allowed and disapproved). According to Doyle (2006), a change in one or more of these dimensions Procedures and Data Analysis Processes represents a potential change in the nature of the situation in In this study we adopted the ecological approach to classroom which students and teacher work. Two segments were delineated climate, through which classroom activity during a lesson is in Case A and six in Case B (see Figures 2, 3). conceived as a behavior setting composed of interactive segments. In simple terms, following Doyle (2006), the easiest way to understand the concept of segments is to think of them as a Summative Content Analysis set of classroom "chronicles" or narrative records. “A classroom In the first stage, we conducted a summative analysis of both chronicle is a reasonably complete description of the behavior cases. Summative analysis offers the opportunity to embrace stream [...] that contains information about scene coordinates the research subject while involving teams of co-researchers. (i.e., the participants, physical arrangements, props, and time) Whereas the principal researcher has overall accountability for and a running account of action sequences within scenes (p. the study, the co-researcher takes on a commitment to be fully 100).” involved in all analysis sessions. By doing so, co-researchers Accordingly, we began our analysis by delimiting the segments must be aware of the importance of the collaborative aspect of the classes reported in the two case studies. The segmentation of the method and of developing a negotiated understanding was established based on changes in the following dimensions: of a text (Rapport, 2010). Thus, to ensure internal agreement, Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 6 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management FIGURE 2 | Causal network: Case A ‘The tale of the digital book.’ decisions regarding collapsing and combining categories were Undertaking Summative Analysis conferred with the second author (an associate professor in The summative analysis began with a written summary produced educational psychology). Coding discrepancies were discussed by the researchers and which was written in response to the and agreements about coding and modifications to the coding raw material provided by the narrative account (essay) of the scheme were reached to mediate ambiguity in the coding two lessons observed by the pre-service teachers during their scheme going forward. placements. The aim of this first stage of the analysis was to In a second stage, seeking in-depth understanding and agree on a condensed, but rigorous, text that would allow the explanation, we identified in each of the delimited segments the researchers to begin to consider what might be the essential dimensions of the triadic model proposed by Galtung (2000): content of each case, highlighting the affective motivational (A) underlying affects and attitudes toward the conflict issue; aspects present in the narrative accounts. The agreed texts are (B) teacher behavior toward the conflict and his/her interaction shown in Boxes 1, 2. with the student(s) giving rise to the conflict situation; and (C) In this first analysis, we can clearly see two opposing cases the conflict itself, which consists of the “contradiction” perceived in terms of how the lessons were conducted and conflicts by the teacher. At this stage, following the cross-case analysis managed. The teacher in “Case A” monopolized the class. She procedure outlined by Miles and Hueberman (1994), we used adopted the teacher-centered classroom paradigm, in which an analysis strategy geared toward transcendent themes and management is a form of oversight and students are allowed categories. Specifically, we implemented a summative content limited responsibilities. The classroom interaction followed the analysis (Rapport, 2010), which is based on definitions derived specific pattern of teacher initiates a question, student responds from the literature review. Table 1 summarizes the delimited and teacher evaluates the response (Trigwell et al., 1999). In categories and their corresponding indicators. The cases are then a reactive manner, the teacher occasionally stopped at the presented, followed by the corresponding analysis. most critical incidents, calling for order from a position of power that left no room for negotiation. In contrast, the teacher in “Case B” made strategic use of different discursive FINDINGS resources, both to present the content and to manage disruptive behaviors during the lesson. She adopted the learner-centered Following the analytical strategy described above, in this section paradigm (Reigeluth et al., 2017), facilitating collaborative we will now present the most salient findings from the analysis and self-regulated learning, and providing authentic learning of the case studies. We will start from the summary produced in experiences, such as how to understand historical events through the first stage of the analysis and then present a more detailed enquiry into the life of a person relevant to the community. analysis, derived from the categorization of the content in the She used varied instructional methods; transitions were taught second stage of the study. and managed well. When she gave students control of the Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 7 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management TABLE 1 | Topics, categories, and indicators that guided the summative case analysis. Topics Categories Indicators Emotional experience Teacher emotions Positive emotions (e.g., happiness, enthusiasm, interest. . .. . .) Positive arousal emotions (e.g., during the conflict enjoyment, pride) Negative emotions (e.g., disappointment, frustration, guilt) Negative arousal emotions (e.g., anger, anxiety) Deactivation emotions (e.g., boredom, sadness, despair) Attitudes Open, flexible, empathetic (i.e., leaner-centered classrooms). Closed, rigid attitudes centered on self-interest (i.e., academically focused classrooms) Behavior in the face of Active orientation Domination Use of position of power, verbal domination, perseverance; making confrontational statements conflict (Coping strategy) (e.g., overt rejection; involves the administration, aggressive questions, humiliates, . . .) Collaboration Open communication to explore the disagreement, identify underlying concerns and look for alternatives to satisfy each party’s interests (e.g., clarifies the situations by listening to a student, asking additional questions. . .). Compromise Reasoning and discussing issues and problems with the student and/or the whole class in order to explore new possible solutions and ways to deal with the perceived relational difficulties (e.g., tell a student that you will talk to him after class . . .). Passive Orientation Avoidance Denying the existence of conflict, avoiding it or avoiding certain issues; making non-committal and/or irrelevant statements, etc. (e.g., make a joke, take no comment, do not speak on the subject . . .). Obliging Acting kindly or altruistically, meeting the other person’s demands despite preferring not to do it (e.g., apologies, make a compromise, propose compensation...) Source: own construction based on the literature review (Rahim, 1983; Ellis and McClintock, 1993; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005; Morris-Rothschild and Brassard, 2006; Pekrun, 2006; Clunies-Ross et al., 2008; Evertson and Poole, 2008; Sutton et al., 2009; Costas et al., 2010; Cubukcu, 2013; Montes et al., 2014; Doǧan, 2016; Ciuladiene and Kairiene, 2017; Claessens et al., 2017; Chang and Taxer, 2020). BOX 1 | Key aspects of summative analysis of Case A “The tale of the digital book.” Two segments were delimited in this class, and the main difference between them was only the class organizational pattern. The first segment, which took up three thirds of class time, consisted of an expository monolog by the teacher, who supported her explanations by reading excerpts from the digital book, which she had projected on the classroom board. Multiple disruptive events occurred throughout the lesson, forcing the teacher to stop her talk to try to regain attention, unsuccessfully. Fifteen minutes before the end of the class, the teacher promoted student participation in the construction of knowledge. She is the one who initiated the interactions, following the question-answer instructional scheme. The most critical incidents occurred during this second segment of the lesson. Seen globally, the conflict events escalated as the lesson progressed, from more or less explicit student’s lack of interest during the first segment to open confrontation in the teacher’s interactions with the students. In dealing with conflicts, she implemented predominantly reactive and punitive strategies. She yelled angrily at students who “misbehaved” and deliberately embarrassed students who were disrupting the class. In terms of emotions, frustration and anger prevailed throughout the class. BOX 2 | Key aspects of summative analysis of Case B “The tale of the local parish priest.” In this lesson, six segments were delimited. During the first two segments, the teacher introduced the topic, managing to capture the students’ attention. She presented the lesson content linking it to the life story of a parish priest who worked in a parish very close to the school. Up to this point, no potential conflict events were identified. From the third segment onwards, the teacher transferred the responsibility for learning to the students. Students worked in pairs while the teacher walked around the classroom to offer individual and timely help. By focusing her attention on the needs of some student pairs, the teacher missed other potential conflict situations, for example: a fight between two students in segment three; the group being called to evacuate the class, in segment four, due to a false fire alarm, activated by some students in the class; two students’ lack of interest in the task, as they were caught using the Internet for unrelated purposes; and some students’ apathy when asked to contribute to the collaborative construction of knowledge. These events affected the classroom climate, causing disruptions and disturbances. When the teacher noticed this, she stopped the class and was proactive; she proposed preventive and conciliatory measures that appealed to collaboration; competent communication with all students was observed, reprimands/corrective statements were issued in a non-threatening manner. This teacher maintained close relationships with her students from start to finish; she was energetic, enthusiastic and empathetic. learning activity (cooperative work, in pairs), she exercised her on the triadic model proposed by Galtung (2000). In this analysis, authority in a democratic climate, being sensitive to the students’ we explored the role that the affective-attitudinal component needs and interests. may be playing in the decisions taken by both teachers to manage the conflict events that occurred during class (Please see Supplementarty Appendix 2 for an example of this first Going Into Details: Summative Content codification in an interactive segment in both cases). We were Analysis interested, on the one hand, in identifying the contents related to In order to gain a deeper understanding of the management of each of the categories that make up the model, and on the other conflicts that affect classroom climate, in the second stage of our hand, in identifying a possible causal relationship between them study a more detailed analysis of both cases was carried out, based (causal network). Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 8 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management Case A “The Tale of the Digital Book” model, in this case the teacher opted for resolution actions. Figure 2 shows the causal network suggested by the detailed Instead of engaging in dialog to transform the communicative analysis of Case A. Specifically, a spiral format represents the situation, she only managed critical conflicts, with specific, interactions between the teacher and the students in the two reactive and punitive actions. Poor class management led to an segments (S) identified in the analysis of this lesson. As previously abrupt closure, with no time to point out the continuation of noted, following the ecological classroom approach, the segments the didactic unit, in front of a class that was eagerly awaiting the were delimited based on changes in the four dimensions moment to escape from the classroom. suggested by Doyle (2006): (a) patterns for arranging participants (e.g., expository format focusing on teacher presentation to Case B “The Tale of the Local Parish the whole class vs. supervision of group work); (b) resources Priest” used or sources of information (e.g., books vs. computers); (c) The results of the analysis of Case B are presented below. Figure 3 roles and responsibilities for carrying out immediate actions shows the causal network suggested by the in-depth analysis, (e.g., individual vs. collaborative work); and (d) ‘rules of focusing on the lesson development, which in this case ran appropriateness,’ i.e., the types of behaviors that are allowed through six segments (S). and disapproved (e.g., speaking vs. keeping quiet). The letters a As in the previous case, following a detailed analysis of and b in S1 and S2 indicate slight variations in the format of the dynamics of the communicative situations throughout the interactions, caused by disruptions. lesson in Case B, we will now summarize the agreed content We will now present the agreed content regarding all aspects regarding conflict management, following the triadic model of the communicative situation in which conflicts arose in Case proposed by Galtung (2000). A, according to the dimensions of the triadic model proposed by Galtung (2000). We will focus specifically on the teacher’s Contradictions emotional experience (attitudes and affects) and her behavior in In this class, potentially conflict situations, associated with terms of conflict management (contradictions). distraction and disinterested behavior, arose from segment three Contradictions onwards, when the class organization changed (students began In all the segments delimited, conflict situations of disinterest, to work in pairs). disruption, distraction and rebellion arose due to contradictions between the teacher’s expectations with regard to monitoring the Affect and Attitudes class and participation. Unlike Case A, in this case the teacher made time to deal with all the conflicts that occurred, even those that were latent in the last Attitudes and Affects two segments. In all situations she acted proactively, displaying an In most conflict situations, the teacher acted reactively, attitude that was open to dialog and willingness to collaborate. In apparently driven by frustration, tension, anger and irritation general, she was able to show empathy and regulate her emotions caused by the contradictions experienced. Frustration arose, for at all times, even when the most disruptive incident involving the example, when she observed that very few students were actually whole class occurred: the false fire alarm (incident alluded to in listening to her. When a student played with a ball (Segment 1b), the fourth segment). At this point, she explicitly showed her anger she responded with a glare, a reactive gesture full of anger. She and openly condemned what happened, in a reactive manner, also showed frustration when another student retorted "What are asserting her authority. Having negotiated with the students, she you going on about!" (Segment 2a). At the end of the class, she resumed her lesson and was able to reinstate the cooperation acted with indifference in front of a class that was getting agitated climate needed to achieve the educational aims. by her continuous reprimands. At this point, the teacher had lost control of a class that ended up collapsing due to multiple and Behavior in the Face of Conflict successive conflicts that prevented her from moving forward. In conflict situations, this teacher mainly adopted non- confrontational strategies, such as seeking compromise and being Behavior in the Face of Conflict obliging/accommodating. For example, in segment three—when To deal with conflicts in this class, the teacher mostly adopted the false fire alarm went off after students’ complicity—and in a domineering style, accompanied by a rigid attitude, centered segment six, when faced with students’ apathy when asked to on personal interest and protected by the teaching role exercised contribute to the collaborative work requested of the whole in an autocratic manner. Occasionally, she managed to regain group. In both situations, the teacher used persuasive strategies, control in a coercive manner, imposing sanctions on the student discussed the issue with the students to explore new possible who responded evasively and contemptuously to her invitation solutions and ways of dealing with individual and/or relational to enter the historical scenario that she tried to transfer from difficulties that could lead to further conflict. In the fifth segment, the digital book to the figurative experience (segment 2a). From she offered personalized help to the students, explored with this position, the strategies used to deal with the inevitable them alternatives to solve difficulties that might be limiting class disruption led to blocking conflicts, which remained latent their effective participation. These strategies made it possible and eventually escalated, causing the class to collapse just as it to successfully overcome conflicts, even in the most critical was supposed to end. According to Galtung’s (2000) theoretical situation, when the false fire alarm went off. At the end of the Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 9 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management FIGURE 3 | Causal network: Case B “The story of the local parish priest.” lesson, the teacher left the way open for the next lesson with a training, such as the contradiction (the conflict itself) and the motivational message: “Kids, the Civil War next time!”. behaviors displayed by the opponents. What is largely ignored are the motives and attitudes underlying the reaction to the conflict. As suggested by Fazio (2007), in order to understand the DISCUSSION role that attitudes play in determining behavior, it is important to look at the process, motivations and affective experiences This paper set out to meet two main objectives. First, to apply the involved. “In particular, negative attitudes promote avoidance theoretical foundations linking emotion and conflict processes to behavior. In contrast, a positive attitude encourages approach the educational context. Additionally, by contrasting case studies, behavior, which creates the possibility of information gain and we wanted to illustrate the contribution of this approach to a a more nuanced understanding of the object” (Rockladge and better understanding of all the elements present in the dynamics Fazio, 2018, p. 517). of classroom conflict and its management. Secondly, and in relation to the above, regarding we would like to highlight the role of emotions in the origin and management Three Essential Ideas for Understanding of conflict. As Jones (2000) notes, we know that we have Classroom Conflict From an Emotional entered a conflict because we get the feeling that something Perspective is not going well. This perception is linked to the imminent We will now discuss the premises backed up by our study, based involuntary emotional expressions that are activated when we on the empirical findings presented in the previous section. face in tense situations such as an interpersonal conflict. In Firstly, conflict can be understood as a communicated classroom interactions, these verbal and non-verbal expressions contradiction that can block communicative processes are not only consciously perceived by teachers, but they are (Luhmann, 1982), depending on the emotional experience also observed by their students (Keller and Becker, 2020) and it promotes (Jones, 2000). This idea is furthered by Galtung they result in ways of action that are more or less geared (2000), whose theory has shown that for conflict transformation toward resolution, depending on the nuances of emotional it is not enough to focus on behavioral elements, such as coping activation that takes place in the interactions surrounding patterns. Galtung insists on the need to identify the non-visible conflict management (Lazarus, 1984; Chang and Taxer, 2020). elements in a conflict situation, such as the attitudes of all parties Our results are in in line with previous reports that showed toward the conflict issue, as well as to discover the origin of the these emotional experiences often arise from management and contradictions that cause it. As pointed out in the introduction, disciplinary classroom interactions, and teachers report that they usually only one or two parts of the triad are addressed in teacher try to regulate these emotions frequently because they believe Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 10 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management it helps them achieve their goals (Sutton, 2004; van Veen and and compromise with new ways of acting to overcome conflict, Lasky, 2005; Schutz et al., 2007; Sutton et al., 2009; Cubukcu, in the short and long term. 2013). Thus, positive affective states lead to proactive responses (Montes et al., 2014), while negative affective states are Classroom Conflict Dynamics Through linked to reactive responses ranging from dominance to the Prism of Galtung’s Triadic Model avoidance (Oplatka and Iglan, 2020), as observed in the Our second objective, of a practical nature, was to apply the analysis of Case A. This notion fits in with the ecological theory to the analysis of two different cases of classroom approach to classroom climate. From this perspective, according conflict management in a lower secondary school. The results to Doyle (2006), successful classroom management also of this analysis allowed us to identify the role that the affective- involves aspects of the affective-attitudinal dimension, which attitudinal component may be playing in the decisions taken by is manifested in the way the teacher organizes and monitors the teachers in both cases to manage the conflict events that the different events that make up the lesson. In this sense, occurred in class. the decisions teachers make determine when and how they Beginning with the interpretable aspects, such as the act to deal with conflict events, with the immediacy that contradictions that cause conflicts, in our study we found that classroom climate management demands. In our study, the conflicts were mostly non-violent, disruptive events that the differences between the pedagogical approaches used affected the classroom climate and occurred occasionally when by the two teachers help to understand the greater or teachers’ expectations regarding class monitoring and student lesser difficulty they had in managing the classroom. The participation failed (Evans et al., 2019). amount of time teachers spend organizing and directing In relation to the affective-attitudinal component, as Galtung students, interacting with individual students, and dealing (2000) argues, the appraisal of emotional experiences driven by with inappropriate and disruptive behavior is linked to emotional arousal allows us to understand the decisions the the type of activity and the physical arrangements of the teachers made to manage classroom conflicts. Thus, in Case setting (Doyle, 2006). Studies suggest that the greater the A, we found causal relationships between attitudes of anger amount of student choice and mobility and the greater and frustration and coping strategies based on domination the complexity of the social scene, the greater the need (repeated verbal reprimands or the imposition of sanctions) or for overt monitoring and managing actions by teachers avoidance (delaying the discussion or intentionally ignoring the (Garrett, 2008; Wilkinson et al., 2020). Positive teacher- confrontation). This link is consistent with findings from similar student relationships are seen as the very core of effective studies mentioned in the literature review (Pérez-Fuentes, 2011; classroom management, as confirmed in our analysis of Case Chang and Taxer, 2020). B. In contrast, as found in Case A, the external reward and We also found that the use of predominantly reactive or punishment strategies are not seen as optimal for promoting surface acting strategies (e.g., hiding anger and fear), such as academic and social emotional growth and self-regulated those observed in the teacher in Case A, can lead to teacher stress behavior (Evertson and Weinstein, 2006; Evertson and Poole, and emotional exhaustion (Clunies-Ross et al., 2008; Tsouloupas 2008). et al., 2010; von Gilsa and Zapf, 2013; Chang, 2020; Pedditzi et al., Finally, the third premise that our study ratifies complements 2021). the two previous ones and leads us to understand conflict On the contrary, emotional perspective-taking, empathy, and management strategies from an emotional perspective. In this emotion regulation would have allowed the teacher in Case A regard, we find the reinterpretation of the Dual Concern Model to establish a constructive dialog with the students involved (Rahim, 1983) convincing. This approach states that people in the conflict communicative situations, leading to a more choose different ways, different strategies, to manage conflicts effective classroom climate management, as demonstrated by based on two primary motivations or interests: concern for self several studies cited previously (Jennings and Greenberg, 2009; and concern for others. In classroom climate management, this Garner, 2010; McGrath and Van Bergen, 2019). notion is linked to the pedagogical approach that the teacher uses These notions were confirmed in the study of Case B. The to develop the lesson, which may be centered around the teacher’s teacher’s attitudes to conflict events denoted enthusiasm and authority to impose what and how to learn (Trigwell et al., 1999) empathy, which led to the use of collaborative strategies such or on the students’ interest and abilities to construct knowledge, as engagement (reasoning and discussing issues and problems guided by the teacher (Reigeluth et al., 2017). Teachers regarded with the student and/or the whole class to explore possible new the use of an effective teaching method as a prerequisite to solutions and ways of dealing with the individual and relational cope with inappropriate behaviors while managing their classes difficulties that arose) and integration (involving students in (Martínez et al., 2020; Özen and Yildirim, 2020). The first reasoning about the causes of the potential conflict event), even approach, a teacher-centered classroom, as evidenced in Case A including being indulging, a compliant coping style with the “The tale of a digital book,” leads to reactive strategies geared other party, such as deliberately ignoring disruptions or minor toward resolution and characterized by domination or avoidance; infractions. Similar links were found by Montes et al. (2014) the second approach, student-centered learning, as observed in in a study based on self-referrals. Moreover, as also noted Case B “The tale of the local parish priest,” results in proactive by Lyubomirsky et al. (2005), these strategies prevented the strategies based on dialog, such as the integration of viewpoints escalation of conflicts and enabled the teacher in Case B to timely Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 11 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management transform the attitudes and behavior of students involved in the students and teachers in order to investigate the experiences conflict events that emerged during class. and motivations underlying the emotional experiences provoked In summary, in line with arguments by Galtung (2000) and by classroom conflicts. These options would minimize the high Jones and Bodtker (2001), in this study we have corroborated level of inference created by the analysis of reported narratives that a full appreciation of the elements presents in the by 3rd parties, as well as make an ethical commitment to the conflict communicative situations that emerge during class participants, whose voices remain absent in this work. facilitates their understanding. Understanding regulation in Other data sources, such as descriptions of conflict cases terms of conscious or volitive self-regulation (Gross, 1998, 2002), reported by in-service teachers, could provide more authentic becoming aware of emotional experiences will help teachers content. Expert teachers with academic standing (“good to regulate their emotions during conflict management. In teachers”), teacher trainers and educational counselors could also particular, identifying affective and attitudinal states and the provide information on the characteristics of the most common nature of the strategies that are implemented to manage conflict conflict situations in lower secondary schools, possible causes could contribute to the re-evaluation necessary to change one’s and ideas about more and less appropriate coping strategies. own emotional experience—a process without which complex and effective conflict resolution is not possible—and this would consequently lead to better classroom climate management by A Future (and Futuristic) Proposal for teachers (Evertson and Poole, 2008). Teacher Training Taking into account the practical and ethical limitations of simulating classroom conflict, we intend to explore, CONCLUSION as an immediate line of research after this study, how immersive Virtual Reality (VR) training could improve This study allowed us to draw at least the following conclusions. teachers’ communicative competence through challenging Firstly, we believe that exploring the affective attitudinal and personalized virtual scenarios, while providing accurate aspects underlying classroom conflicts presents opportunities for information about which emotions are involved (positively teachers to learn how to manage them productively, but this or negatively) in classroom conflict management in a is not enough. Successful classroom management also involves safe environment. cognitive dimensions such as understanding and interpretation, Before discussing the reasons why we consider the use of skills that are necessary to recognize when and how to act to deal VR in this scenario, we should recall the concept of the magic with conflict events in the classroom (Sutton, 2004; Chang and circle, introduced by Johan Huizinga in his book Homo Ludens Taxer, 2020). (Huizinga, 2002), which is a key concept in game studies. The Secondly, and linked to the above, based on the ecological magic circle is an imaginary place in which what happens inside approach to classroom climate (Doyle, 2006), our study provides the circle has no consequences outside the circle. Within the evidence that confirm the teachers’ actions in highly taxing circle, the rules of the game apply. It is a safe place where one situations involve making immediate decisions. In this regard, can fail without fear of affecting “real life.” teachers require training to recognize the affective cues that Virtual Reality is a perfect example of the magic circle, a trigger various reactive and ineffective automatic response place where you can “get it wrong” and repeat it as many times patterns, and to become proactive in implementing strategies to as you want. VR places the user inside a 3D artificial world reduce the impact of these triggers, thereby increasing their sense in which he/she can interact with the environment as if it was of efficacy (Evertson and Poole, 2008; Zee and Koomen, 2016). real, allowing the creation of realistic scenarios (Ke et al., 2020). Finally, given that emotions are considered inseparable from These realistic scenarios could place the teacher in an authentic the educational context in which they emerge, paying attention to classroom situation in which it would be essential to interact with explanations of significant emotional experiences after they have a group of students (represented in avatars) and make multiple occurred can help teachers identify and characterize emotionally decisions immediately to achieve a classroom climate favorable to relevant “courses of action” developed in the classroom for the achievement of educational goals (Doyle, 2006). This would classroom climate management (Marsick and Sauquet, 2000; be an ideal scenario to implement the much-needed practical Evans et al., 2019). training, in which teachers can experiment and reflect on their The present study has some limitations and, accordingly, ability to manage the classroom climate. we suggest additional directions for future research. The data The three distinguishing features of VR are “Interaction- analyzed in this paper come from the reported observations Immersion-Imagination.” These characteristics are believed to of interactions in two secondary school classrooms performed facilitate experience specific and contextualized learning while by preservice teachers in their first contact with an educational increasing student motivation and commitment (Ke et al., institution. Although guided, consensual and supervised, the 2020). Nonetheless, probably the biggest advantage of VR is written narratives may be incomplete and may even contain that it allows users to embody learning experiences in such interpretive biases. Future studies may expand the sample a way that it produces intense and real emotional sensations of cases, including a wider variety of disciplines and socio- (Stavroulia et al., 2019). This feature helps teachers feel they educational contexts. In addition, it would be interesting to are learning within a real environment, from an ecological complement the observational records with interviews with learning perspective that enhances and fosters the transfer of Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 12 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431 Alvarez et al. Emotions in Classroom Conflict Management knowledge, professional skills, and real-life management models. to be presented in context. Detailed observations of classroom Only in a realistic environment can the users face the fear interactions, such as those described in this study, will allow the that newly qualified teachers experience when facing students creation of the algorithms responsible for modeling the behavior (Oplatka and Iglan, 2020). of the avatars that will form part of the virtual world. In this Based on the results obtained in this study, we find three very regard, it is important to carry out a broader study of recurrent powerful reasons to favor VR for the training of future teachers. critical incidents in secondary school classrooms, which can be First, the communication blocks that occurs during a conflict can provided by the pre-service teachers themselves and by expert be realistically recreated in the virtual environment so that future teachers. Otherwise, a virtual classroom would be created where teachers can learn to unblock them. Second, in order to recognize students would not present realistic behaviors, the virtual world conflict, there must be a feeling that something is not right (Jones, would not be credible to the user and disengagement would 2000), which can only come about through direct experience. occur. Moreover, VR simulated cases for performance analysis The possibility of recreating realistic environments can make it in a playful learning context do not compromise assessment possible for the user to get such a feeling. Third, through effective and reputation. This can be very enriching for teachers, who feedback to the user, virtual reality allows the training of the often lament the theoretical nature of their training and most effective communication strategies depending on the type ineffective practical approaches, where they have no opportunity of conflict generated. For example, a situation could be simulated for self-reflection or obtaining constructive feedback on their in which, after having driven the teacher to anger, he or she is own performances. taught to practice strategies other than domination or avoidance. Regarding this last point, it is worth highlighting the capacity of current technologies for emotion detection, as studies in other DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT fields, such as medicine, have shown (Kazemitabar et al., 2021). As noted in the introduction, the behavioral element of emotion The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be is projected in facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures and made available by the authors, without undue reservation. body postures. If we add to these the content of the message or even the user’s biometric measurements (such as heart rate, skin conductance or pupil size), machine learning techniques can AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS allow us to detect the emotions felt by the user in real time. For example, we could tell if the future teacher is angry and adapt the All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual simulation to this situation accordingly. contribution to the work, and approved it for publication. The use of virtual simulations is increasingly seen as an opportunity to provide pre-service teachers with unique opportunities to experience examples of classroom life in a FUNDING controlled and structured manner (McGarr, 2021). However, we believe that, in addition to VR, the Virtual Learning Environment This project has been funded by the Ministry of Science, (VLE) must incorporate technologies capable of detecting users’ Innovation and Universities of Spain (Didascalias, RTI2018- emotions. In the VLE, rather than mechanically executing 096401-A-I00). an actual sequence of instructional events, learning involves dynamic and complex interpersonal interaction skills. Thus, the experiences provided by VR learning can foster reflective and SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL critical learning about effective classroom climate management. 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Relations between teachers’ the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in approaches to teaching and students’ approaches to learning. High. Educ. 37, this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or 57–70. doi: 10.1023/A:1003548313194 endorsed by the publisher. Tripp, D. (2012). Critical Incidents In Teaching. Developing Professional Judgement. Classic Edition. London: Routledge. Copyright © 2022 Alvarez, González-Parera and Manero. This is an open-access Tsouloupas, C. N., Carson, R. L., Matthews, R., Grawitch, M. J., and Barber, article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License L. K. (2010). Exploring the association between teachers’ perceived student (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided misbehaviour and emotional exhaustion: the importance of teacher efficacy the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original beliefs and emotion regulation. Educ. Psychol. 30, 173–189. doi: 10.1080/ publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No 01443410903494460 use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 15 March 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 818431