Effects of Conflict between the Head Teacher and the Teacher on Academic Achievement of Primary School Pupils
ABSTRACT: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of conflict between the head teacher and the teacher on academic achievement of primary school pupils. Three research hypotheses guided the study. The research design adopted for this study is the descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was comprised of all the head teachers, teachers and pupils in all the public primary schools estimated to be three thousand nine hundred and ninety nine (3,999) in the study area. The sample of the study was the representative of four public primary schools in the study area. Through simple random sampling techniques 399 respondents comprising of head teachers, teachers and pupils were selected. The researcher used questionnaire as an instrument for the collection of data.
All the variables were computed and were analyzed through mean scores, standard deviation and linear regression. The findings of the study reveal that conflict between the head teacher and teacher significantly affects academic achievement of pupils in primary schools.
Effects of Conflict between the Head Teacher and the Teacher on Academic Achievement of Primary School Pupils
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Conflict may involve individual or group disagreements, struggles, disputes, quarrels, or even physical fighting and wars (USAID, 2013 E.C). It ranges from work issues of responsibility, power, authority, and ethics to interpersonal matters like misunderstandings, difference of opinion and poor communication between two persons (Salleh & Adulpakdee, 2012). Conflict can also be perceived as the opposition of an individual’s ideas by another part.
Kreps (2020) cited in Makaye and Ndofirepi (2012) views conflict process by which individuals express and negotiate their differences. Furthermore, Kreps (1990) asserts that conflict is an expressed struggle between two or more competing positions held by one or more individuals usually based on incompatible beliefs, ideas or goals. Conflict arises whenever perceived or real interest collide (Hanson, 2021) in the organization.
Organizational behaviour is positively related to organizational output. For this reason, the educational administrator needs to take conflict management issues as very important issues because “conflicts and attempts towards resolution are perhaps the most powerful force existing for bringing about changes in patterns of organizational behaviour” (Hanson, 1991; Gonie, 1998). Indeed one of the commonly expressed concerns of organizational people in developing countries is that of permanence of internal conflicts in their organizations. Each institution has shared the view that it is characterized by internal wrangling. Undeniably, the disagreements are often manifested in open conflicts.
Conflict may take various forms and manifest itself at various levels. Kinard (2021) cited in Gebretensay (2022), CRU Institute (1992–2014) and Gonie (2018) for example, distinguishes between three types or levels of conflict. Firstly, conflict may occur within an individual, hence, an intrapersonal conflict. The situations that give rise to such conflict are many. They range from conflicting needs, frustrating situations, failing to achieve aspired goals. Secondly, conflict may occur between individuals who are brought together in work places or elsewhere. Confrontations between individuals must often occur where they have to compete for limited resources. Such conflict is often termed as interpersonal conflict.
Thirdly, conflict may occur at the level of groups. There are several situations that may turn groups into rivals. These include situations where groups have to compete for limited resources such as money, personnel and equipment, or when communication difficulties occur. Groups may also experience confrontations because they promote different interests and goals.
An organization comes into being when there are people who are to interact with each other and who are prepared to put force and a unified effort in pursuit of a common goal. Rahim (1986) and Gebretensay (2002) write on the nature of conflict in school organizations. Conflict in school organizations has been a common phenomenon for a long period of time. When people interact with one another, it is natural for conflicts to occur. It received different degree of emphasis from social scientists during various periods of history. Thus, the phenomena related to conflict have been deeply studied by philosophers, sociologists, economists, political scientists, anthropologists, and psychologists.
Those scholars agreed that conflicts arise when interests collide usually as a result of divergence in organizational goals, personal ambition, group loyalties, demands on scarce resources and so forth (Rahim, 1986). Gray and Stark (1984) cited in Hendel, Fish, and Galon, (2005) identified six sources of conflict. These are: 1) Limited resources, 2) Interdependent work activities, 3) Differentiation of activities, 4) Communication problems, 5) Differences in perceptions, and 6) The environment of the organization.
According to these writers, conflict can also arise from a number of other sources, such as: 1) Individual differences (some people enjoy conflict while others do not); 2) Unclear authority structures (people do not know how far their authority extends); 3) Differences in attitudes; 4) Task symmetries (one group is more powerful than another and the weaker group tries to change the situation, and 5) Difference in time horizons (some departments have a long-run view and others have a short-run view). Therefore, conflicts originate from multitude of sources found at personal and organizational levels in institutions. Whatever the sources of conflict are for the sake of this research, intrapersonal, interpersonal, intra group and intergroup types of conflict.
Effects of Conflict between the Head Teacher and the Teacher on Academic Achievement of Primary School Pupils
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Conflict as an inevitable event, occurs in the organization in any circumstance. School organizations frequently appear to be centers of tension; on occasion, they are perhaps a manifestation of problems in the community (Ghaffar, 2010). As Fikru (1993) and Gonie (1998) indicated, conflicts are realities in Ethiopian schools. In line with these findings, Fikru (1993) based on MoE reports identified the following major conflict generating factors: Dissatisfaction of some teachers and other workers, unnecessarily dominating (authoritative) principals, dissatisfaction in performance evaluation systems, improper distribution of class load extra and worthiness for advancement.
There is no gainsaying that, School leaders raised many causes for conflicts of teachers and school leaders. Some of them were lack of transparency regarding school resources, ethnic problems, unproductive and monotonous political meetings, negative attitude of teachers towards teaching profession, lack of teachers’ motivation in their job and poor performance of teachers and school leaders. In case of this many leaders especially principals reject their position in many schools of the study area. These gaps inspire the researcher to investigate the effects of conflict between the head teacher and the teacher on academic achievement of primary school pupils.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.4 Research Questions
1.4 Research Hypotheses
1.5 Significance of the Study
The study may be significant for different stakeholders including head teachers, teachers, administrators, planning commission and future researchers.
Findings of this study will help head teachers and other school administrators who include the deputy head teachers and the senior teachers to critically understand influence of the strategies they employ on containing conflicts in public primary schools.
The findings of this study considerably aided in closing the information gap on school management techniques for managing conflicts in public primary schools.
The findings of this study will be of help to policy makers in understanding head teachers’ and other school management’s capability on containing conflicts in public primary schools.
Finally, the study contributed knowledge on existing literature related to conflicts in school contexts.
1.6 Limitations of the Study
- Some of the challenges encountered while conducting the research include lack of sufficient funds and short duration assigned for the study.
- The distance between schools posed a challenge especially due to poor road network and therefore the researcher was forced to use motorbike to reach the targeted schools on the mainland with the rough roads.
- Some heads of the schools did not allow me to conduct questionnaire in their school easily, resultantly wasted my time and prevented me from the targeted numbers of schools for research.
1.7 Delimitation of the Study
For the purpose of effective research work, this study was delimited to the effects of conflict between the head teacher and the teacher on academic achievement of primary school pupils.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Conflict: is a great effort between group of people, organizations, or institutions. Conflict engaged opposing forces, pulling in dissimilar directions.
Academic achievement: is the outcome of education — the degree to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational aims.
Public Primary Schools: Primary schools that are owned and supported by the Government.
