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Interaction Mechanism between Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence Experiences and Conflict Management Styles from the Perspective of Educational Phenomenology: An Empirical Qualitative Study

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https://doi.org/10.54963/jqre.i45.2001
Fang, C., & Sarao, G. (2025). Interaction Mechanism between Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence Experiences and Conflict Management Styles from the Perspective of Educational Phenomenology: An Empirical Qualitative Study. Journal of Qualitative Research in Education, (45), 275–289. https://doi.org/10.54963/jqre.i45.2001
Issue 45 (2026)
Copyright (c) 2026 Chao Fang, Gracia Sarao
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Authors

  • Chao Fang

    College of Arts,Sciences and Education,Trinity University of Asia,Quezon City 1102,Philippines
  • Gracia Sarao

    College of Arts,Sciences and Education,Trinity University of Asia,Quezon City 1102,Philippines

Received: 4 December 2025; Revised: 30 December 2025; Accepted: 19 January 2026; Published: 23 January 2026

This study adopts an educational phenomenological perspective. It explores the emotional intelligence experiences of 12 secondary school teachers in conflict management through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The research examines how these experiences interact with management styles. The findings reveal five core dimensions of teacher emotional intelligence experiences. First, bodily awareness forms the embodied foundation of emotional intelligence. Teachers identify emotions through physiological signals such as "tightness in the chest" and "trembling hands." These signals activate regulation mechanisms. Second, the relational self is dynamically constructed during conflicts. Teachers negotiate among multiple identities including "authority figure-caregiver" and "evaluator-supporter." This positioning directly influences the choice of management styles. Third, situational sensitivity serves as the core of practical wisdom. Teachers integrate five-dimensional cues from interpersonal dynamics, events, culture, time, and space. They make "here-and-now" judgments based on these cues. Fourth, emotional regulation ability develops through four stages: suppression, disguise, integration, and naturalization. Reflective practice drives stage transitions and reduces emotional exhaustion. Fifth, the meaning-making framework evolves from "conflict as threat" to "conflict as opportunity." This evolution marks a qualitative transformation in professional maturity. The study reveals that the interaction between emotional intelligence experiences and conflict management styles is not a linear causal relationship. Instead, it forms a cyclical interactive process. This process operates through mediating mechanisms such as identity negotiation, situational judgment, and meaning construction. The research provides theoretical insights grounded in lived experiences for teacher education. It calls for moving beyond the instrumental rationality of skills training. The study emphasizes the central role of reflective practice and professional identity reconstruction in teacher emotional intelligence development.

Keywords:

Conflict Management Style; Educational Phenomenology; Qualitative Research; Reflective Practice; Relational Self; Teacher Emotional Intelligence Experience

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