The Roles of Dialogue and Negotiation as Strategies for Educational Conflict Resolution in Mission Secondary Schools in Okigwe Education Zone II, Imo State, Nigeria

Conflict is a reality of life and a human predicament, including the school environment. The good news is that conflict can be managed with good outcomes. This study was conducted to test the roles of dialogue and negotiation as strategies for educational conflict resolution in mission secondary schools in Okigwe Education Zone II of Imo State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey was the design. Four research questions were raised congruent with the purpose of the study. Correspondingly, four null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. A questionnaire titled “Strategies for Educational Conflict Resolution” (SECR) was used as the instrument for data collection. It was made up of 25 items modified in 4-point Likert scale, validated and tested for reliability. The population of the study consisted of twenty-five (25) schools with eight thousand and three hundred students (8,300) and three hundred and ten (310) teachers including principals. From this target population, twelve (12) schools were purposively selected for the study and two hundred and sixty-eight (268) students and teachers (including principals) were also purposively selected as sample size. Data collected were analyzed using mean scores while z-test statistics was employed in testing the hypotheses. The study found out that, there is no significant difference between the mean ratings of the responses of students and staff regarding conflicts in schools and the roles of dialogue and negotiations as strategies to combat them. Based on the findings it was recommended among others that schools should adopt policies that ensure the success of educational objectives in schools and at the same time strengthen conflict awareness and competence in its management.

Facilitated dialogue according to the Office of Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR), University of Michigan, United States of America (2018) is a structured conversation between two or more parties involved in a conflict -the disputants. Primarily, negotiation is a form of international dialogue, but it is not only about intergovernmental affairs, for virtually there are many other areas of human effort such as the interpersonal conflict situations that yearn for negotiation as a diplomatic method. Negotiation rests on the premise that dialogue is a better alternative than violence (Kelapile, 2014). Thus, negotiation can be adapted in the classroom or schoolwide conflict situation.
By its nature, educational conflict is a managerial or administrative task and calls for proper planning by the school administrator. In our case, it calls the attention of the school principal or the rector to plan and formulate policies or programs for handling potential conflicts within the school and outside the school environments that may militate against the achievement of the school objectives. In mission secondary schools, it is the onus of the principal or the rector to see to the establishment and maintenance of a good and cordial student-student, teacherstudent, teacher-teacher, and teacher-parent as well as school-community relationships.

Purpose and Significance of the Study
The purpose of this study includes: a) To establish the reality of conflict and its resolution in Mission Secondary Schools. b) To ascertain the use of dialogue, especially facilitated dialogue as a strategy for conflict resolution in mission schools. c) To check the awareness of teachers and students of using negotiation as a mutual tool for resolving conflicts in the school environment. d) To discover the impacts of addressing or not addressing conflict problems that arise in Mission Secondary Schools The significance of this study, among others, first and foremost is that it will bring to the awareness of educational stakeholders, the reality, and dynamics of conflict in the school environment. Secondly, it will bring to the consciousness of education stakeholders within the Okigwe zone and beyond to proffer solutions to the ugly phenomenon of unmanaged conflicts. Thirdly, this study intimates the educational administrators and policymakers to take into cognizance programs that address conflict prevention and resolution in schools. Furthermore, it highlights the positive impact of addressing conflict problems that arise in schools such as: the improvement of learning and better outcomes; improvement of students' self-esteem, self-confidence, and communication when they are directly involved in managing conflicts successfully; and the experience of deeper understanding, mutual respect and closeness after the resolution of conflicts. Further, still, it emphasizes the consequences of failure to address educational conflicts adequately such as disillusionment or discouraging behaviors among students, teachers and parents/guardians; poor academic performance; and negative impact on school climates such as social relationships of teachers and students. Lastly, this study tends to open the way for further research leading to the development of the agenda for successful prevention and management of conflicts in the school environment.

Research Questions and Hypotheses
In conformity, with the purpose of this study, the research questions for this study are: a) What is the reality of conflict and its resolution in Mission Secondary Schools? b) What is the use of dialogue, especially facilitated dialogue as a strategy for conflict resolution in mission schools? c) Are teachers and students aware of using negotiation as a mutual tool for resolving conflicts in the school environment? d) What are the impacts of addressing or not addressing conflict problems that arise in Mission Secondary Schools? The following null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance were formulated to guide this study: HO1: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of the responses of students and staff regarding the reality and dynamics of conflicts in schools. HO2: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of students and staff about the positive impact of dialogue in addressing conflict problems that arise in schools. HO3: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of students and staff about the positive impact of negotiation in addressing conflict problems that arise in schools. HO4: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of students and staff on the positive impact of addressing adequately educational problems that emanate from the reality of conflict in schools.

Conceptual Framework
The word strategy, as used in this study, is in its literal and ordinary sense. It is a managerial term used to designate a plan of action mapped out to achieve a long-term or lasting objective. In other words, a strategy is a master plan, a plan of action, blueprint, or tactics. It comes from the Greek word, strategos meaning the art of the general -the art of war where the aim is to win and not to lose. A good number of strategies have been adduced for managing education conflict and among them are dialogue and negotiation. Concerning conflict as a concept, Galtung (1958, p.35) defines conflict as "a social system of actors with incompatibility between their goal-states". Similar concepts are contradiction, which when taken in its literary sense, contra dicere, means "to speak against"; compatibility; dichotomy; and dissociation. In the same manner, interdependent relationship is seen as one potential consequence of conflict.
The concept of conflict resolution has other synonyms such as conflict management, conflict transformation, conflict negation, conflict repression, peacebuilding, etc. Although experts would point at subtle and nuanced distinctions between these terms, they are mostly used interchangeably. Scholars of conflict and or peace argue that conflict should not always be depicted as if it is entirely negative. Among these scholars, Faleti (2006) opines that depending on how it is handled, conflict can either be constructive (positive) or destructive (negative).
As a concept, the word "dialogue" is a derivative from two Greek words: διά (dia) meaning through or across and λόγος (logos) meaning study or word, and by extension speech or reason. Thus, we have διάλογος (dialogos) meaning conversation. From the Greek, the Latin rendered it as dialogus, meaning also conversation. The opposite of dialogue is monologue which is a solitary speech. The idea of dialogue, therefore, involves two or more people in speech or conversation which is an exclusively human or rational exercise.
For negotiation, a good aim of it in the words of Lewicki, Barry, and Saunders (2001, 3) is to "resolve a problem or dispute between the parties". Negotiation is a formal process with rules. In this sense, there are two levels of negotiation -personal level and diplomatic/corporate level. It is at the personal level that this study talks of negotiation. Negotiation is not a win-win or lose-lose situation. A good negotiation involves making compromises. In this case, one-party wins some and loses some, and likewise the other party.
The word "mission" in this paper has a religious background; it originates from the Latin verb, in its four principal parts: mitto mittere misi missium, meaning "to send". A person who is sent does the will of the sender; the sent are called missionaries in the sense that they are in the missions (land or territory) and carry out the work of the missions. Missionaries are found among Church hierarchy as well as the rank and file of the Clergy, Religious and the Lay Faithful. Among the work which the missionaries have associated themselves with is the opening and running of schools.
Secondary school is the level of education after the primary or elementary school education. In Nigeria, the National Policy on Education (2013) divides secondary education into two, namely Junior Secondary Education (Classes 1 to 3) and Senior Secondary Education (Classes 4 to 6). The policy puts the former (junior secondary in the basic education and the former (senior secondary) in post-basic education.

Review of Empirical Studies
The topic of conflict resolution in schools using the strategies of dialogue and negotiation abound but not so robust. In the course of this study, we reviewed three of the related works previously carried out by other researchers.
Oboegbulem and Idoko (2013) carried out a related research entitled, "Conflict Resolution Strategies in Non-Government Secondary Schools in Benue State, Nigeria". The study investigated what the researchers termed perceived Conflict Resolution Strategies (CRSs) for the resolution of conflicts in non-government secondary schools in Benue State, Nigeria. Their study was guided by three research questions and three hypotheses. They employed proportionate stratified random sampling technique in drawing 15% of the population with a total of 500 respondents comprising principals, teachers, proprietors, and students. Also, they made use of a CRSs questionnaire as their instrument. A four-point scale was used for the ratings of the respondents. Mean, and Standard Deviation (SD) were used to answer the research questions. T-test statistic was used to test hypotheses 1 and 2, while one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test hypothesis 3 at significance level of 0.05. In this study, the authors discovered two major sources of conflicts in schools: unnecessary interferences with the administration of the school by the proprietors and arbitrary increase of school fees by the school management. Concerning the strategies for resolving conflicts, they revealed the following: agreeing on the procedure taken for the resolution of conflicts, encouraging parties to work together, taking staff and students' comments and suggestions, and involvement of school disciplinary committee and public complaint commission, etc. Based on their findings, they made the following recommendations: establishment of effective disciplinary committee, functional board of governors and cordial school community relations in all schools by the government; the regulations on the functions and meeting of the board of governors of secondary schools should be strictly adhered to and enforced by the government; Proprietors of schools and principals should avoid arbitrary increase of school fees and other levies to avoid unnecessary demonstration by students; etc.
Also, in a related study, Ajai (2017) delved into the "Assessment of conflict management strategies in public secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria". In this study, three research questions were raised to guide them. The researcher adopted a descriptive survey design and purposive sampling to select 140 public secondary school heads out of the 159 public secondary schools in Delta north senatorial district. The questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Consequently, the study arrived at the following as the major causes of conflict in secondary schools: principal's illegal collection of levies, principals delegating duties meant for senior teachers to junior teachers, principals tempering with staff salary, communication without feedback, and irregular payment of staff salary. Ajai's study found that the area most affected by conflict in secondary school administration were financial administration and student personnel. It also revealed that the most effective resolution strategies were the confrontational, compromising, setting up committee, free flow of communication between members of staff, proper school record keeping, and dialogue. As a recommendation the study made the following prescriptions: that Government should initiate compulsory workshops for principals to enhance their knowledge in financial management, conflict resolution strategies for conflict situation and authority boundaries; and that the Government should include conflict management as part of the curriculum of teachers' training education. Further still, Kalagbor and Nnokam (2015) carried out research entitled, "Principals' and Teachers' Use of Conflict Management Strategies on Secondary Students' Conflict Resolution in Rivers State-Nigeria." The study was designed to identify the principals' and teachers' level of utilization of conflict management strategies: integrating, dominating, compromising and avoiding strategies on secondary students' conflict resolution and their related implications in the internal school administration. The authors used four research questions and four hypotheses to address the study. They used questionnaire as their instrument for the generation of data which they administered to a sample of 7 principals and 147 teachers. These, they randomly selected from a target population of 14 principals and 294 teachers in Government Junior Secondary Schools in Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State. To provide answers to the research questions, they constructed tables, frequency counts, percentage and computed the means. Their results revealed that the principals use the integrating and compromising strategies more frequently than the teachers; the teachers' level in the use of avoiding strategies is higher than that of the principals, and teachers tend to overlook to a large extent the use of dominating strategies in the management of students' conflict. Based on these findings, their study concludes that school managers are beginning to understand the legal implications associated with their administrative duties bordering on students' management. They thus recommend that relevant institutional frameworks should be appropriately put in place to enable the principals and teachers further appreciate the emerging ideas and innovations concerning students' conflicts management in school.

Research Design and Procedure
This study uses a descriptive survey. The area is the Okigwe Educational Zone II in Imo State, Nigeria. Okigwe Education zone has six local government areas, namely, Okigwe, Onuimo, Isiala-Mbano, Ehime-Mbano, Ihitte/Uboma, and Obowo. This is further divided educationally into zones I and II. The first three: Okigwe, Isiala-Mbano, and Onuimo are in Zone I, while the last three: Ehime-Mbano, Ihitte-Uboma, and Obowo belong to Zone II. In geo-politics, Okigwe Education Zone II is referred to as Okigwe South Federal Constituency.
Even though education remains the biggest industry of the people of this area, farming and trading are the most enterprising for the general population. Based on the 2006 national census, the zone had a population of about four hundred and ninety thousand (490,000) people. But today, based on estimation, the population of the people of the area is over seven hundred thousand (700,000) people. The choice for Okigwe zone II for this study is due in part to the researchers' identity, interest, and proximity with the area.

Population of the Study
The population of the study comprises principals, teachers, and students. The number of schools is twenty-five (25) with eight thousand and three hundred (8,300) students and three hundred and ten (310) teachers including principals.

Sample and Sampling Technique
From the target population, twelve (12) schools were purposively selected for the study, and two hundred and sixty-eight (268) students and teachers (including principals) were also purposively selected as sample size. Their breakdown is as follows: twelve (12) Principals, one hundred and forty-six (146) Teachers, and one hundred and ten (110) Students. In terms of gender, one hundred and forty (140) were female while one hundred and twenty-eight (128) were males. The twelve (12) schools were distributed as follows: Ehime-Mbano 5, Obowo 4, Ihitte-Uboma 3. Also, nine (9) were Catholic schools, and three (3) were Protestant schools. Both principals, teachers, and students were used in the study because as active members of the school community, they are the subjects as well as objects of conflict situations and their resolutions.

Instrument of Data Collection
The instrument used for data collection in this research work is the Questionnaire. The instrument is titled "Strategies for Conflict Resolution in Schools (SCRS). The instrument comprises two sections: Section 1 seeks information on personal data of the respondents, Section II has thirty-four (25) items put into four (4) clusters: A to D representing the four-study purpose/research questions, and the four null hypotheses. Cluster A ascertains the reality of conflict in mission secondary schools in Okigwe Education Zone, Imo State Nigeria. This cluster has nine (9) items. Cluster B asks questions about dialogue as a strategy for conflict resolution in schools. It has seven (7) items. Cluster C seeks information about negotiation as a strategy for conflict resolution in schools. It has three (3) number of items. Lastly, Cluster D seeks for the consequences of not addressing adequately educational problems that emanate from the reality of conflict in schools. It has a total number of six (6) items. The questionnaire items were structured on a four-point Likert scale rating of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D), and Strongly Disagree (SD). Numerical values were assigned as follows: Strongly Agree (SA) = 4 points, Agree (A) = 3 points, Disagree (D) = 2 points and Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1 point. The scores from all the responses were added up to obtain the total of each respondent.

Validation of Instrument
To ensure the validity of the instrument, the initial draft of the instrument was subjected to face validation. The instrument was delivered by experts, two in Educational Management and planning, and one in measurement and evaluation -both are from Imo State University, Owerri. They were requested to study the instrument and assess the suitability of language as well as the adequacy and relevance of the items in addressing the research questions and the hypotheses bearing in mind the purpose of the study. Corrections were made, which were later used by the researcher to get the final draft that was administered to the respondents.

Reliability of the Instrument
To safeguard the reliability of the instrument, a trial test exercise was carried out with a mission secondary school outside the population of the study. It was with Christus Dominus Secondary Technical School, Ezelu Okwe, Onuimo LGA, Imo State within Okigwe Education Zone 1. Four (4) teachers (2 females and 2 males) and ten (10) students (5 females and 5 males) were used for the preliminary study.
Considering the nature of the instrument and the question designs, the Cronbach Alpha (α) method was used. The instrument has an overall reliability estimate of 0.90 which shows a high indicative that the instrument is highly reliable for the study.

Method of Data Collection
The copies of the questionnaire were administered to principals, teachers and students in these twelve (12) schools sampled. The researcher used the direct delivery and retrieval system such as personal drop off and pick up. This helped the researcher to recover all but two of the instruments from the respondents with near accuracy.

Method of Data Analysis
The researcher used mean score and standard deviation in answering the five research questions of this study. The degree of agreement and disagreement were determined by finding the mean of the nominal values assigned to the options. In rating, the computed mean scores that ranged from 2.5 and above was regarded as being accepted while the item that falls below 2.5 was regarded as having been rejected. The criterion mean of 2.5 was got by summing up the weighted options (4+3+2+1 = 10) and dividing it by the total number of response options (4) as follows: 10/4 = 2.5. The Z-test statistics was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.

Data Analysis and Results
Data analysis and results are presented in line with the research questions and the hypotheses that guided the study. The data collected, and their analysis are shown in tables 1-5, whereas their decisions are presented in tables 6-9 below:

DECISIONS
Following the mean of every item in the table, the mean responses of teachers and the students in the items from the research questions revealed that all the item statements fall within the average mean score of 2.50 apart from the mean score in item 24 which has the lowest mean score of 2.47 and falls below the cut-off average of 2.5. This revealed that the students are not in agreement with the fact that not addressing conflicts properly could influence Education or may have a negative impact on school-climate-marring the social relationships of the teachers and students. Testing of Hypotheses H01: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of the responses of students and staff regarding the reality and dynamics of conflicts in schools. Summary of Z-test analysis of the significant differences between the mean ratings of the teachers and students regarding the reality and dynamics of conflicts in mission secondary schools. The result in the table above reveals that the calculated value of Z(0.31) is lower than the Z-critical value of Z(1.96) at 0.05 level of significance. Which shows that the Z-test was significant. The null hypothesis is then not rejected, and then we conclude that there is no difference between the mean ratings of teachers and students regarding the reality and dynamics of conflicts in mission secondary schools.
H02: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of students and staff about the positive impact of dialogue in addressing conflict problems that arise in schools.
Summary of Z-test analysis of the significant differences between the mean ratings of students and staff about the positive impact of dialogue in addressing conflict problems that arise in schools. The result in the table above reveals that the calculated value of Z(0.88) is lower than the critical value of Z(1.96) at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis is not rejected, and then we conclude that there is no difference between the mean ratings of teachers and students about the positive impact of dialogue in addressing conflict problems that arise in schools.
H03: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of students and staff about the positive impact of negotiation in addressing conflict problems that arise in schools.
Summary of Z-test analysis of the significant differences between the mean ratings of students and staff about the positive impact of negotiation in addressing conflict problems that arise in schools. The result in the table above reveals that the calculated value of Z(0.36) is lower than the critical value of Z(1.96) at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis is not rejected, and then we conclude that there is no difference between the mean ratings of teachers and students about the positive impact of negotiation in addressing conflict problems that arise in schools.
H04: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of students and staff about the positive impact of addressing adequately educational problems that emanate from the reality of conflict in schools.
Summary of Z-test analysis of the significant differences between the mean ratings of students and staff about the positive impact of addressing adequately educational problems that emanate from the reality of conflict in schools. The result in the table above reveals that the calculated value of Z(0.04) is lower than the critical value of Z(1.96) at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis is not rejected, and then we conclude that there is no difference between the mean ratings of teachers and students about the positive impact of addressing adequately educational problems that emanate from the reality of conflict in schools.

Summary of Findings
Based on the research questions and the null hypotheses which guided the the study, many findings were made, such as the following: 1. There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of the responses of students and staff