A Comparative Analysis of the Adoption of Conflict Resolution Model for Conflict Management in Colleges of Education and Universities in South-East Nigeria

Abstract

Aims: This study compared the adoption of conflict resolution model for conflict management in colleges of education and universities in South-east Nigeria. Study Design:  The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Place and Duration of Study: Academic staffs of Nwafor Orizu College of Education and Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, between November 2022 and February 2023. Methodology: Simple random sampling technique of balloting with replacement was used to select 1,046 academic staffs from the accessible population of 5,225 academic staffs of Nwafor Orizu College of Education and Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. The standardized instruments adopted for data collection was conflict management style assessment by Reginald Akins. The psychometric properties of the instrument were validity and a reliability coefficient of 0.74; also the instrument was administered using the direct delivery approach. Data collected was analysed using arithmetic mean and standard deviation. A table of real limit of numbers was used to interpret the respondents’ response. Rarely - 1.00 - 1.49, Sometimes - 1.50 – 2.00, Often - 2.50 – 3.00, Always - 3.50 – 4.00. Analysis for this study was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: The findings revealed that academic staffs in colleges of education always adopt competing mode of conflict resolution for conflict management. While, academic staffs in universities often adopt competing mode of conflict resolution for conflict management. Furthermore, academic staffs in colleges of education often adopt avoiding mode of conflict resolution for conflict management, while academic staffs in universities always adopt avoiding mode of conflict resolution for conflict management among others. Conclusion: Conflict is inevitable in all organisations and the tertiary institutions being a formal organisation have intricate network of members with divergent needs that trigger conflicts. The findings of this study revealed that academic staffs in colleges of education and universities adopt conflict resolution model for conflict management.