Teachers' perception of conflict management behaviours of heads of junior high schools in the Kwahu North District of Ghana

Abstract

Competitions, misunderstandings and mistrust are likely to occur when people meet as a group which could ultimately result in conflict. Since in the school which is a miniature society, people meet as a group, conflict is likely to occur. In this regard, the researcher sought to examine the extent to which headmasters' management behaviours in conflict management contribute to or reduce conflict in Junior High Schools in Kwahu North District. The population for the study comprises teachers in the 42 Junior High Schools in the district, numbering 151. The sample size is 100, comprising 86 males and 14 females. The instruments used were questionnaire and interview guide. The questionnaire was pre-tested at St. Michael Junior High School. The revised questionnaire was used for the target population and the responses were analysed using frequencies and percentages. The study identified the following as some of the possible causes of conflict in the schools: (i) lack of flow of communication, (ii) competition among teachers (iii) dependence on one party by the heads. Lateral conflict was identified to be more common than subordinate conflict. There was low level of conflict occurrence in the schools. Some preventive techniques used by heads were staff meeting and team work. Compromise and arbitration were adopted by heads in conflict resolution. On the basis of the findings, the following recommendations are made: that heads should increase the rate at which they organise staff meetings in order to uproot conflicts before they occur. The use of compromise and arbitration should be maintained in order to lower the level of conflict occurrence in the schools in the district.