ABSTRACT
This study was designed to assess management of conflicts by principals of secondary schools in Obollo-Afor Education zone in Enugu state. The study used descriptive survey design with a population of 49 principals from 49 secondary schools in the zone. Four research Questions and two Null hypotheses were used to collect data for the study. The data was analyzed using weighted mean for the four research questions at bench mark level of 2.50 and one way analysis of variance for the two Null hypotheses at levels of 0.5 level of probability. Findings from the data revealed that Assessment of management of conflicts by principals was effectively carried out through these following strategies. Principals used these strategies to manage conflicts that involved host community and school, staff and students, teachers and school, students and school, by involving the community leaders students and teachers in major school policies and administration, by providing conducive environment and adequate teaching and learning facilities, by providing democratic style of leadership, by encouraging free flow of communication, and using conflicts resolution committee reports by the principals, and among others. Based on these findings, it was firmly recommend that principals should ensure the proper clarification of teacher’s roles or schedule of duties and allocation of school resources to the staff.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Secondary school institutions provide avenue for interaction among individuals with different needs, interest, and motives. This interaction may be in form of cooperation or competition with members of the institution. Individuals and various groups in secondary school system are interdependent and establish good inter human relationship so as to enable the school to perform well. In the process of the interaction, coupled with divergence of interest, goals and aspirations, conflicts may ensure which if not well managed will jeopardize the goals of the institution.
Conflicts arise due to discord in action, or lack of concordance in opinions in pursuit of individual goal. Conflict connotes disagreement, distortions, inconsistencies and antagonisms existing in a particular system. Obi (2004) defined conflict as a situation in which people, groups or countries are involved in a serious disagreement or argument. It entails opposing ideas, opinions, feelings or wishes, a situation of difficulty of choice. Adeyemi (2006) perceived conflict as human and social problems which involve mutual hostility, differences, disagreement, opposition resulting to man’s inhumanity to man, use of violence, turning point or crises which may escalate to the level of psychological warfare or physical or open war. Obi (2004) defined conflict as mutual hostility in inter human relationships. The mutual hostility can manifest in the form of insults, name calling, defamation of character, or black mailing, withdrawal of salaries, fridge benefits or incentives, strikes, boycott of classes, violet demonstration, open violence or killing. These suggest that in conflicts, the disputants are usually aggressive to one another in order to achieve preconceived objectives (Akubue in Enyi, 2001).
In most situations, conflict takes time to develop. Conflict is usually the result of a long process of agitations, disharmony, insensitivity to demands and neglects of warning signals that are manifest or latent. Conflict may occur at inter personal, inter-group, inter-organizational and inter-departmental levels. According to Adeyemi (2006), conflict involves apparent incongruence between needs of staff working in a school and the needs and demands of the school system itself. For instance, there may be conflict between the school and the community, the principal and the staff, staff and staff, staff and students, students and the school administration or students and students.
In all human interactions and school behaviour, conflicts are bound to occur. All organizations such as schools and colleges have conflict potentials since they are collection of people with diverse personalities. In other words, conflict is an inbuilt aspect of organizational behaviour. Obi (2004) and Adeyemi (2006) pointed out that a total absence of conflict in any organization would be unbelievable, impossible and undesirable, boring and a strong indication that such conflict is being suppressed. Conflict that occur in secondary school system could be attributed to dearth of effective communication network, management style, disagreement over goals and competition over scarce resources, unconducive working environment and prejudice.
Obollo-Afor, Ibagwa Aka, and Ette are urban centres in Obollo-Afor Education zone, and they are heterogeneous and complex in the sense that people who live there are from different cultural, historical, political, and social background. The school shares in the characteristics because the principals, staff and students who are in the schools are not all from that area, though, the school is located in a community and it is expected to serve the needs and desires of such community.
Generally, in Obollo-Afor Education zone, there are instances of students’ demonstration and rioting in many schools mostly in those urban centres as against those in rural areas (Gugel 2007). Often the demonstrations and riots emanate from poor relationship between school and the host community; poor relationship between the principals and students, between principals and staff and also between staff and students. The resultant effects include breakdown of law and order, students’ poor performance in both internal and external exams, destruction of school properties, disruption of school calendar, insecurity and tension (Amoh, 2007).
According to Adeyemi (2006), conflicts that occur in a secondary school between the host community and the school is due to the principal’s bad leadership style, gross misconduct of the staff or the students, pursuance of goal contrary to the cherished values of the community, non-involvement of the community in decision-making that affects them. Some principals refuse to make school facilities available to the community. They also fail to employ some indigenes as labourers, cooks and security guards in the school.
Sometimes, conflicts occur in this zone between staff and school administration (teacher related conflicts) when the principal tries to enforce discipline that will necessitate the attainment of school objectives (Gugel 2007).The adoption of autocratic management style by the principal to the detriment of democratic management style expected by the teachers breed conflict between the two, for instance, Barrister Eze, the principal of CSS Obollo Afor, has been staying in that school because of his democratic style of leadership. Some teachers resist authority, for instance, they frown at the simplest instruction of signing the time-book, discuss in the staffroom during lesson periods. Teachers sometimes clash with one another because of poor definition of duty roles, lack of dedication to their duties and non involvement in decision-making process. Some principals hoard information relating to staff professional growth such as circulars of seminars, conferences, and workshops (Mgbodile, 2004).
Students go on rampage as a result of dearth of necessary school facilities. Many of the students study in dilapidated buildings and unconducive environment. The students often are not involved in decision making that affect them. For instance, in C.S.S Ette, students embanked on demonstration with the school authority because of increment in the payment of WASSE registration free of 2011 without involving students. Sometimes punished unnecessarily by principals and staff for offences not committed. Refusal of some principals to effectively
discharge their duties in the school breed conflicts. All these are causes of students’ related conflicts (Mgbodile 2004).
Staff-student related conflict may be as a result of lack of interest in the welfare of students, and apportioning punishment to offensive student that are not commensurate with the offences committed. To this effect, Adeyemi (2006), Onwurah (2004), Decenzo cited in Ezegbe (2001), Edikpa cited in Adeyemi (2006) noted that the causes of conflicts in our secondary schools today include prejudice based on personal background among staff, unconducive teaching and learning environment, personality differences, communication gap, poor definition of roles of staff, divergence in goals, scarce resource, staff’s consistent absence from school in pursuit of personal interest and dearth of effective participation in decision making process. These suggest that conflicts are inevitable within schools.
Despite the fact that conflict is inevitable in every human organization, including secondary schools, if allowed to persist, it may reduce teachers’ effectiveness, and disrupt the academic programme. Mgbodile (2004) submitted that unrestrained conflicts as currently experienced in many organizations are becoming so dysfunctional that they tend to be destroying the organizations themselves. Obiajulu and Obi (2004) affirmed that conflict within a school system leads to disruptions, distortions and therefore impedes the attainment of educational objectives. Thus, in Nigerian society and educational sector in particular, conflicts have become a major obstacle to personnel productivity and realization of national objectives and in particular educational aims and objectives. Conflicts result in instability and chaos, communication breakdown, and negative stereotyping.
Though, Conflicts are inherent and inevitable in any human organization, educational system inclusive, the existence and prevalence of such conflicts and their traumatic effects cannot be ignored. It should be controlled and resolved because when this mutual hostility is not resolved, the effect is disharmony and dearth of peace. According to Oputa (2003:13), “peace is order, peace is brotherhood and peace is life itself”. That is to say that when conflicts are allowed to linger, no matter at what level, the organization, such as the school, will not be able to achieve its aims and objectives or develop as expected even with the highest quality of staff and infrastructures. Hence, unrestricted and unresolved conflicts are dysfunctional to any organization and this requires proper management.
