Each year, expectations and staff workloads increase in the school setting. Making schools successful takes more than one individual staff member working towards goals for themselves.

This exploratory qualitative case study examined through the use of observations and semi- structured interviews the experiences of staff members who work in teams from one local elementary school in Illinois.

Conflict is an inevitable and integral part of the work environment. School teamwork, if mismanaged, can be a source of destruction, loss of productivity and lack of motivation for the team. The occurrence of conflict is a part of the relationships that occur and develop among administrators and staff. This research will investigate the factors that contribute to work team conflict in elementary schools.

With the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the responsibilities of elementary staff members greatly increased. Changes in education are occurring every year with new laws, testing standards, and curriculum. Elementary school staff members are continuously learning and adding these changes to their everyday work lives.

Qualitative case study research served as the main methodology for this study. During in-depth interviews, participants described the factors that contributed to conflict with- in their work team and how the conflict was managed, along with what was the perceived impact of the conflict in the work team.