ABSTRACT
This study examined the management of conflict in primary
schools. The purposes of this study are to identify the strategies used by head
teachers in managing conflict between teachers, and the strategies used by
teachers in managing conflicts between pupils. The purpose of the study is also
to identify the strategies used by pupils in managing conflict among
themselves. The study identified teachers appraisal of the conflict-management
techniques of their head teachers. Four research questions and four hypotheses
guided the study. The population of the study consisted of all the pupils in
senior primary schools numbering 7892, as well as 1181 teachers and 80 head
teachers in two local government areas in Awka Education Zone. The sample size
consisted of eight hundred and seventy (870) respondents. The instrument was a
questionnaires used to collect data from the respondents. Data collected were
analyzed used statistical weighted means and standard deviation. The student
t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The
findings showed that the head teachers manage conflicts among teachers by use
of persuasion, dialogue and invitation of the third party (arbitration). It
also revealed that the teachers manage conflicts principally among pupils by
using empathy and referral to Guidance Counselors, while pupils manage
conflicts among themselves by use of force (confrontation). The appraisal of
conflict management style of the head teachers by teachers showed that the head
teachers use dialogue, arbitration and separation device as effective ways of
resolving conflicts. Generally, the findings showed that pupils, teachers and
head teachers in Awka Education Zone apply various and different methods in
resolving conflicts in primary schools. For effective management of conflict in
primary schools, it was recommended among others that the curriculum planning
experts should include a course on management of conflicts in the primary
school teacher preparation programmes. This will enable the head teachers,
teachers and pupils to be vast in different techniques of conflict management
so that they will apply the appropriate ones when the need arises. Suggestions
for further studies as well as limitations and implications of the study were
also discussed.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
of the Study
In any society,
irrespective of its level of development, educational institutions are
established primarily to provide recipients of education with the knowledge,
skills, attitudes, work habits and competencies required by the people to
perform their social, economic and political roles efficiently, effectively and
creditably. This has always influenced the formation of each nation’s policy on
education. In Nigeria, for instance, the National Policy on Education (2004)
Section 1.5 stated the National aims and objectives of Nigerian Education thus:
i.
The inculcation of national
consciousness and national unity.
ii.
The inculcation of the right type
of values and attitude for the survival of the individual and the Nigerian
society.
iii.
The training of the mind in the
understanding of the world around and
iv.
The acquisition of appropriate
skills, abilities and competencies both mental and physical as equipment for the
individual to live in and contribute to the development of his society (FGN
2004:1.5).
The attainment of
these lofty aims and objectives depends largely on the productivity of the
people (staff) who man the system and this in turn is influenced by how well
these staff are managed to perform their functions and their locations whether
rural or urban.
The complex
nature of the educational establishment makes it possible for people with
different backgrounds in terms of needs, goals, skills, talents, status,
competencies, knowledge, behaviors, styles, interest, values, prejudices,
aggressiveness, perception, temperament, and so on to be members of school
system (Peretomode 1997). Teachers and pupils which constitute educational
input in the school system come from different backgrounds and have different
need-dispositions. Their need-dispositions are sometimes at variance with the
goals of the school. Under such state of diversity, operation of the school
system cannot be devoid of conflict. This is because individuals or groups are
sometimes bound to disagree on issues with emotional intensity (Olele 2000,
Umoren 1997 & Mescon 1998). Moreover, the natural rural setting belief that
leadership is a masculine position sometimes
stirs up conflict in any school headed by female administrator.
Thus, it is evident in school
system that conflicts are inevitable in a natural and a normal development of
the school administration. Due to its inevitable nature, Greenberg & Baron
(2000), suggested that school administrators must learn to manage conflict
rather than attempt to thwart or eliminate it.
Conflict as a
concept has a plethora of definitions because of different opinions held about
it. Szilagyi (2000), defined conflict as a disagreement between two or more
organizational members concerning the manner to be used to achieve certain
goals. Gray & Starke (2001), saw conflict as a behaviour by a person or group
that is purposefully designed to block the attainment of goals by another
person or group. While Peretomode, (1997), defined conflict as struggle for
control of another person’s behaviour, doing or action. Ezegbe, (1997) opined
that conflict refers to struggles, contradictions, mutual hostility in inter
human relationship. However, conflict is a clear indication that something is
wrong with the organization and that sound principles are not
being applied in managing the activities of the organizations.
Types
of conflicts include;
1. Intrapersonal
conflict. This occurs within the person. Examples of such conflicts are
conflicts that emerge over the use of equipments in the school, choice of topic
for research projects, choice of spouse, moral questions, low self esteem, poor
financial status.
2. Interpersonal
conflicts are conflicts between two or more people. It can result when values,
beliefs and attitude do not fit together, for example, conflict between the
principal of a school and the members of staff over the criteria for promotion
of students at the end of a session.
3. Real
conflict occurs when goals or behaviours are incompatible because of struggle
for power and resources.
4. Artificial
conflict is a type of conflict whereby an individual member in an organization
believes he can gain respect within the group by lowering the credibility of
another individual of the same group. (Burgon, Heston, & Mc Croskey, 1994).
Conflicts
are seen in homes between parents and teenagers, in schools between students
and school authorities, in work places between workers and supervisors, in
communities over territories, resources control, power sharing to mention just
a few. Sources of conflicts include differences in personality tracts,
differences in background, differences in values, poor communication skills,
differences in perceptions, differing view, points, emotions and attitudes.
Ezenwa (1998), indicated that other sources of conflict in school includes; non
involvement of teachers in decision making process, lateness to duty, formation
of cliques by staff, poor discharge of duties and poor academic background of
school administrators.
School
conflict can also arise from the structure such as the size, location of
institution – rural or urban, nature of work and gender composition.
Conflicts
manifest in different forms. It can occur in form of insults, name calling,
blackmailing, defamation of character, false accusation, withdrawal of love and
support or services, withdrawal of salaries, strikes, suspension, sudden
transfer, demotion, termination of appointments, violent demonstration, wars
and killing (Ezegbe, 1997).
Conflicts
have led to wars, dislocation of people and loss of lives and property. Greed,
egoism and desire to have power over others are humanity worst enemies. In some
way, they are at the root of every conflict (Pope John Paul II, 2001). All over
the world, conflict has caused misery and suffering to millions of people.
According to UNDP (2002) during the 16 years of civil war in Mozambique, more
than 40% of the schools and health clinics were destroyed or forced to close
down. The economic loss caused by the war in Mozambique was estimated at $ 15
billion.
Conflict has its
merits and demerits. For an administrator, conflict handled with wisdom can
help him make effective decisions. This is because the dissenting opinions will
expose different aspects of the problem at hand. A judgment made after a
careful consideration of these opinions is likely to be an effective one.
However, whenever people gather for any purpose there is bound to be
disagreement. In the school setting not all disagreements are conflicts but all
conflicts result from disagreements (Mbipom &
Okon 2003). The success of any
school organization therefore depends on the ability of the school
administrator to resolve the conflicts arising from disagreements within the school
system. The administrator’s efforts at achieving the set objectives of the
National Policy on Education will be hindered if he is unable to manage his
teacher and pupils well so as to reduce conflicts when they arise.
According to, (Ezegbe 1997)
conflicts in any organization can be managed effectively using the following
methods;
1.
Dialogue. This is calling the
conflicting parties in a disputes to express their grievances and thus free
their mind of grudges and bitterness.
2.
Arbitration is a process of
bringing in a peacemaker to settle the problem.
3.
Confrontation is the use of force
or debate by the two opposing parties to solve their problems.
4.
Separation device as the name
implies involves separating the two opposing individuals by transfer, to
another section of the organization.
5.
Super ordinate goal is involving
the conflicting parties in the interrelated work thereby forcing them to have a
better relationship as they work together.
6.
Prayer is another way to managing
conflicts. The problems can be taken to God in prayers and He will effect a
lasting solution to any conflict.
7.
Empathy involves putting oneself
into the feeling of others. Ability to sense the distress of another person
decreases the tendency to hurt him and would easily elicit apologies to sooth
ill feelings. Thus nipping the conflict
in the bud.
For teacher-role performance
to be effective, school administrators should be versed in conflict management
strategies and apply any of them to solve individual teachers or group
conflicts based on the situation it best fits. In addition, school
administrator should initiate healthy communication, maintain peace, remain
accountable to the people he serves, demonstrate forgiveness, train staff and
students as mediators, encourage reconciliation and maintain confidentiality.
Conflicts are
inherent and inevitable in any human organization. The existence and prevalence
of such conflicts and their traumatic effects on educational institutions
demand that emerging conflicts should be controlled to maximize productivity
and for the education system to achieve its aims and objectives. This
underscores the needs to find the means of resolving conflicts before they get
out of hand.
There is a
growing concern about conflicts in schools and the society today. The issue of
aggressive behaviours and bullying in primary schools is alarming. There is
need that conflicts be managed constructively in order not to escalate and
consequently interfere with the learning process and playground harmony.
Teacher actions at a classroom and school level have an important influence on
student conflict management. Over the ages, the government, administrators and
religious bodies have been encountering a lot of conflicts.
There is a
general impression that conflict in schools is on the increase (Onwurah, 1995).
Sometimes people blame the government, administrators, head teachers for their
inability to control conflict situations in schools. Many researchers have
written works on the causes and implications of conflicts in schools. For
example, Onwurah (1995) pointed out that schools nowadays are more involved in
conflict than in the past. Little or nothing has been written on how conflict
is resolved or managed in primary schools especially in Awka Education Zone of
Anambra State.
As
a school teacher, it was observed that many a times, the pupils have constant
quarrel with one another. The disagreements which the pupils have at play
grounds often times are not settled, and these are carried into the classroom
during lesson, which in turn disturb the teaching and learning processes in the
classroom. The teacher who might not have known that such problems existed will
be busy teaching only to be distracted by noise in the classroom. This makes
the teacher unhappy and the teaching and learning process in the classroom
negatively impacted.
Effective
management of conflict in the school setting would go along way to improve
teaching and learning. The question is how are conflicts handled in our primary
schools? Thus, the statement of a problem as a question: What are the conflicts
management strategies in use in primary schools in Anambra State?
Purpose
of the Study
The main aim of
this study is to determine how conflicts are managed or handled in primary
schools by head teachers, teachers and pupils. The study is specially designed
to:
2.
Identify the methods used by
teachers in managing conflicts between pupils and pupil.
3.
Identify the methods used by
pupils in managing conflicts among themselves.
4.
Determine how teachers perceive
the conflict management skills of their head teachers.
Significance
of the Study
The findings of
this study may lead the policy and curriculum planning experts to include as
one of the content areas: conflict management in the primary schools’ teacher
preparation curriculum.
The research
findings when published can be used to help pupils know effective means of
handling conflicts and thus promote their social and interpersonal
relationship. The findings of this study may also help to enhance the
effectiveness of the head teachers and teachers as conflict managers. The
research findings may enhance the school administrators and guidance
counselors’ effectiveness in conflict management.
The
findings may add to the wealth of knowledge on how to carry out conflict
management strategies effectively in primary schools.
The
Scope of the Study
The study was
delimited to the study of conflicts management strategies in use in primary
schools in Anambra State. The variables covered by the study are; conflict
management strategies which head teachers used. Conflict management used by
teacher. Conflict management strategies that pupils used. The influence of the
variable, ‘gender’ and ‘school location’ (i.e urban-rural factor) were also
examined.
Research
Questions
The
following research questions guided the study.
1.
What are the methods used by head
teachers in management conflicts between teachers?
2.
What are the methods used by
teachers in managing conflicts among pupils?
3.
What are the strategies used by
pupils in managing conflicts between themselves?
4.
What are the teachers views on the
conflict management techniques of their head teachers?
The
under-listed null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05
level of significance. These are:
1.
There is no significant difference
in the mean rating of head teachers in urban and rural schools concerning
conflict management strategies they use in managing conflicts between teachers.
2.
There is no significant difference
in the mean rating, of teachers in urban and rural school concerning conflict
management strategies they use in managing conflicts among pupils.
3.
There is no significant difference
in the mean ratings of male and female pupils concerning conflict management
strategies they use in managing conflicts amongst themselves.
4.
There is no significant difference
in mean ratings of teachers in urban and rural schools concerning conflict
management techniques of their head teacher.
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