Conflict management in school organisation in Nigeria

Abstract

Conflict is inevitable in any given organisation where there are human beings, which constitute the human resources of such organisation. However, organisation is a union of people with similar experiences that find themselves in one way or the other working together as a team for a purpose of achieving common goal which the organization is established for. Inevitably, disagreements and differences in opinions can occur from time to time. Conflict is a word which encompasses two segments, positive and negative. When conflict is not well managed or handled, it will result to crisis. Therefore, this paper examined conflict management in school organisation in Nigeria. It identified the causes/sources and types of conflicts in an organization, be it schools, industries or government offices. There are many management techniques for ameliorating the phenomena called conflict in school organisation. Management being one such technique is an art of putting an event or phenomenon under considerable control through the use of various methods, strategies and techniques at the disposal of the managers that manage the school organisation. Thus, this study enumerates management strategies that can be adopted in reducing conflict in school organisation. The study will also contribute meaningfully to the existing body of knowledge on conflict management in school organisation and open the understanding of school managers and administrators to techniques of managing conflicts in their schools. The study is a theoretical one. And it recommends that the school managers/administrators should always endeavour to identify some factors responsible for conflict situation among their staff both the teaching and non-teaching, even among the students/pupils of the school.

Keywords: Conflict management, School organization, Nigeria