CONFLICT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN KUMASI GIRLS’ SECONDARY SCHOOL

ABSTRACT

Student conflicts in Senior Secondary Schools are disturbing factors that can mar the administration of the schools  Academic work cannot go on smoothly if there are student unrests in the schools.The  study  investigated  conflict  management  practices  in  Kumasi  Girls’ Secondary School.  Three sets of questionnaire were used. A total of 140 respondents, comprising  20  teaching  staff,  non-teaching  staff  and  100  students  were  selected through random sampling. The results revealed that dialogue between students and school authorities was the  most  popular  conflict  management  technique  used  by  the  school  authorities  to solve  misunderstandings  that  arise  between  the  two  parties  in  the  school.  Also students preferred dialogue or collaboration style of managing conflicts to autocratic ways  to  dealing  with  conflicting  situations.  Suggestions  from  students  on  conflict management  include  meetings  between  students  and  their  class  teachers  so  that students  could  channel  their  grievances  through  their  teachers  to  the  school authorities,  provision  of  suggestion  boxes  and  parents  teacher  and  student s  fora. Others  are  that  offending  students  should  be  referred  to  the  school  counselors, students should be advised by P.T.A and the school’s Board of Governors.