Data on K-12 public school teachers were gathered in the spring of 2009. Surveys were sent to a representative sample of teachers with available e-mails to the ten geographic regions of the United States to determine perceptions that teachers had related to conflicting roles in their personal life and professional life.

The major purposes of this study were guided by six research questions: (1) Are there any gender differences in teachers' perception of how their professional roles affect their personal roles?, (2) Are there any gender differences in teachers' perception of how their personal roles affect their professional roles?, (3) Are coping strategies different between male and female teachers?, (4) Do differences among coping strategies exist between teachers who have dependents and teachers who do not?, (5) Do teachers who have been in the profession for five years or longer have different coping strategies than those with less than five years experience?, and (6) Do teachers who are nationally board certified exhibit different coping strategies than those who are not nationally board certified?

The six research questions assisted in the investigation of whether gender, having dependents, years of experience, or possession of national board certification play a role in teachers' perceptions and how they cope with conflict. The study results demonstrated that teachers perceived their professional roles to interfere with their personal roles; however, they did not perceive their personal roles to interfere with their professional roles. Results showed that women utilized a variety of coping mechanisms compared to men. A post hoc analysis was conducted to determine if teachers with and without dependents have different perceptions of how the demands of work interfere with their personal roles or vice versa. The results demonstrated that teachers with dependents perceived their personal role to be in conflict with their professional roles. Also a positive relationship between years of experience and use of coping mechanisms was demonstrated. There was also a significant difference between teachers who are nationally board certified and those who are not nationally board certified. The findings imply that teachers who are more experienced and have a national board certification are able to deal with conflict in a positive manner when compared to teachers who are less experienced and do not have national board certification.