Trainer Handbook

STEP 2: CONFLICT AS OPPORTUNITY

STEP 2: Turning Conflict into an Opportunity

Note to the trainer: Emphasise the five basic strategies used in interpersonal conflict (the Five Animal Metaphors). Support participants in becoming guides who direct children towards the Fox and Owl strategies rather than acting as “referees”. Present conflict not as “destruction” but as a “learning opportunity”.

Method: Role-play.

Materials: Five animal illustrations (Turtle, Teddy Bear, Shark, Fox and Owl).

Implementation steps:

1. Explaining the Five Animal Strategies: The trainer explains the strategies using metaphors:

“Colleagues, during conflict there are five different ways of finding a solution that children - and adults - may follow. We can teach them very easily using animal symbols:

Turtle (Withdrawal):Remains silent to avoid tension and refrains from defending personal rights.

Teddy Bear (Giving In):Completely ignores personal needs so that other people will not be hurt.

Shark (Forcing):Focuses only on personal goals and tries to win by applying pressure.

Fox (Compromise):Is willing to make mutual concessions and meet at a shared middle point (‘I will play for a while, then you can play’).

Owl (Collaboration): Reaches the root of the problem and finds a constructive way that fully meets the needs of both parties.”

2. Role-play practice: Participants form pairs. Using a crisis that frequently occurs in the institution (for example, a dispute over whose turn it is to use a computer), they take turns acting out the “Shark” style (pressuring) and then the “Fox/Owl” styles (compromising/collaborative), so that they experience the difference.