Micaela Soledad Gisbert is a teacher and educational coordinator with more than 10 years of experience across different educational levels. Based in Córdoba, Argentina, she brings a balanced perspective that connects pedagogy, leadership, and communication in today’s schools.
On April 9th: she participated in the Teacher Well-being Program Session: “Conflicts in the classroom: How to manage coexistence without punishments?”
What are the most common causes of conflict among students today?
Conflicts in the classroom can’t be understood only as individual behavior—they reflect broader social, emotional, and cultural processes. Today, one of the main challenges is emotional regulation: many students don’t have the tools to manage frustration, impulsivity, or disagreement.
This is combined with a lack of communication skills to express needs or disagreements without turning to aggression, as well as a weakening of clear and consistent rules for coexistence. Additionally, conflicts that begin in digital environments often carry over into the classroom, making things more complex.
From this perspective, conflict is not an anomaly, but a natural part of living together. The key is not to eliminate it, but to address it in a pedagogical way.
How can teachers prevent conflicts in the classroom?
Prevention isn’t just about avoiding conflict—it’s about creating the conditions to handle it constructively when it arises. This starts with establishing clear, agreed-upon rules that are consistently maintained over time.
But an even more central aspect is the teacher-student relationship. It’s not optional—it’s essential for both learning and coexistence. Without a relationship, there is no learning. When there is trust and consistency, teachers can intervene more effectively and with greater legitimacy.
It’s also important to intentionally work on emotional education and promote assertive communication. Teaching students to express “what’s going on with me” without harming others is just as important as any academic content today.
How did you learn to manage conflict in your profession?
Managing conflict is something you learn through experience, training, and reflection. Early in my career, like many teachers, I relied more on traditional approaches focused on punishment.
Over time, I realized that punishment doesn’t create lasting learning—it only leads to temporary obedience. This led me to adopt a more educational approach, where conflict becomes an opportunity to develop social and emotional skills and help students become better people and citizens.
It’s important to address conflict in the moment, rather than delaying it. Active listening, eye contact, and nonverbal communication are essential tools for managing conflict effectively.
The power of words is key—it helps avoid having to resort to punishment. Words, like life itself, are powerful tools.
Today, I see teaching interventions as intentional, timely, and educational—aimed not just at resolving a situation, but at creating learning. The relationship between teacher, student, and knowledge—shaped by that connection—is essential to understanding what happens in the classroom.
What challenges arise when managing conflict without punishment?
Working without punishment requires a shift in mindset. It’s not about “letting things slide,” but about intervening in a different way. This brings challenges: maintaining authority without being punitive, meeting expectations from institutions or families that still favor traditional discipline, and avoiding the perception that no punishment means no limits.
This approach also requires time and consistency. Reflection, repair, and rebuilding relationships don’t happen instantly—but they lead to deeper learning.
Ultimately, the challenge is moving from a punishment-based approach to one focused on responsibility and meaning.
What advice would you give to new teachers?
I would tell new teachers not to see conflict as something to avoid, but as a natural part of classroom life. Teaching also means guiding students through these processes.
It’s important to stay consistent between what you say and what you do, set clear rules, intervene early before conflicts escalate, and prioritize communication: listening, validating, and guiding.
Most importantly, understand that relationships don’t eliminate boundaries—they make them possible. When there is a strong relationship, boundaries educate; without it, everything becomes unclear and unsustainable.
Working this way allows conflict to become an opportunity to develop more responsible, independent individuals who can coexist with others.
On May 7th we will hold the session “Working in diversity: if they are all different, how do I teach?”
Register here.
