This article argues that assessing Classroom Management Competence (CMC) solely through questionnaires overlooks what matters most: how teachers actually respond in real time to communicative and socio-emotional incidents.
To address this limitation, the study proposes an “authentic” assessment using immersive virtual reality through Didascalia Virtual Classroom, where preservice secondary teachers confront realistic conflicts in a safe yet demanding environment.
With a sample of 39 participants from two Spanish universities and three disruptive scenarios (teacher–student relationship issues, peer conflict, and tensions during group work), the research captures observable behaviors (voice, discourse, positioning) and interprets them using the Thomas and Kilmann conflict management framework (collaboration, compromise, accommodation, avoidance, domination), combining thematic content analysis with descriptive statistics.
The results reveal a concerning pattern for digital teacher education: reactive and assertive control-oriented strategies predominate: domination (~29%) and compromise (~25%), alongside a similarly high rate of avoidance (~25%), while collaboration appears only marginally (~12%). Moreover, behavior varies by scenario: in the first (inappropriate comment toward the teacher), compromise and avoidance alternate; in the second (conflict between two students), domination and compromise increase; and in the third (breakdown during group work), domination intensifies.
A cluster analysis identifies two profiles: one assertive but weakly cooperative subgroup (more domination/compromise) and another characterized by low assertiveness with moderate cooperation (more avoidance/accommodation and somewhat more collaboration). Overall, the simulation reveals not only which strategies are preferred, but also when they are activated and how they shift as social dynamics become more complex.
For researchers in digital education, the main contribution is methodological and evaluative: VR functions as an “ecological laboratory” to operationalize CMC through behavioral evidence, reduce self-report bias, and observe strategic flexibility (or its absence) in response to different conflict triggers. The study suggests that training should move beyond assertiveness alone (often expressed in punitive ways) and focus on proactive competencies: situational awareness, emotional regulation, communicative empathy, and the ability to transition toward cooperative strategies without losing structure. It also outlines a clear agenda: expand sample size and diversity, test external validity in real classrooms, and integrate learning analytics and expert/participant feedback to move from “classifying styles” to “personalizing pathways” for CMC development based on multimodal performance traces from immersive simulations.
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How to Cite: Alvarez, I. M., Morodo, A., Romero-Hernández, A., & Manero, B. (2025). Virtual reality to assess classroom management competence: a study on conflict management . RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 28(1), 347–370. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.28.1.41472
