custom: Management of Interpersonal Conflict in Teacher Education Colleges in Amhara State, Ethiopia

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sources and management strategies of interpersonal conflict arising between college managers and teachers. It attempted to identify frequently observed conflicts and their sources, conflict management strategies, and whether teachers and managers have differences in their views for the sources and management strategies of conflict. To achieve this purpose survey method was employed and both quantitative via (questioner) and qualitative via (interview) in its approach. The study involved 214 survey participants and a key informant selected through simple random and purposively sampling techniques respectively. Mean and independent-samples t-test were employed to analyze the quantitative data using SPSS 23, in which the qualitative data were embedded. Results revealed that interpersonal conflict was frequently existed in teachers’ education colleges, mostly (m=3.3) resulting from lack of resolving conflict as early as possible. As well as majority of teachers were handle conflict by keeping the self away (m=3.14) it. The findings also imply that college managers employ compromising and integrating as strategies of conflict management. However, in most cases the two groups diverge regarding the sources and management strategies of conflict. Hence, it can be concluded that there is a blame game between teachers and deans in the colleges. This study focused only on teachers colleges therefore, it encountered generalizability problem. Since the problem requires a contextual analysis in its nature, future researchers should apply an exploratory sequential design preceded by in-depth interviews and FGDs. The author believes that this research finding is useful to college deans and teachers to handle interpersonal conflict properly and identify to the major resolution strategies.