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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN USED IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE.

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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 us

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

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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

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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

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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).

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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).

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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

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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.

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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.

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Statement of the Problem

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.

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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:

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1. Identify the methods used by head teachers in managing

conflicts between teacher and teacher.

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.

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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?

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Hypotheses

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.