PERCEIVED INFLUENCE OF PRINCIPALS’ CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, TEACHERS’ COMMITMENT TO WORK AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN UPPER BASIC SCHOOLS IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated perceived influence of principals’ conflict management strategies, teachers’ commitment to work and students’ academic performance in Upper Basic Schools in North Central Nigeria. This study was anchored on three theories; The theory of Conflict Management by (Max Weber in 1906), Side-bet theory on Commitment to Work by (Becker Holland in 1960), and the theory of Academic Performance by (Don Elger in 2007). The study adopted correlational survey and Ex post factor research design.  Eleven research objectives, eleven research questions and ten hypotheses were developed respectively for the study. The population of the study comprised of 1,837 principals and 22,464 teachers in 1,837 Upper Basic Schools in the North- Central Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was   used in selecting the number of principals, schools and teachers for the study. The instruments used for data gathering were Perceived Influence of Principals’ Conflict Management Strategies Questionnaire” (PIPCMSQ), Teachers’ Commitment to Work Questionnaire’ (TCTWQ) and Students’ Academic Performance Results from 2014/2015-2023/2024 academic sessions. The instruments were validated and the PIPCMSQ and TCTWQ were tested for reliability which yielded    reliability indices of 0.72 and 0.77 respectively. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while simple linear regressions was used to test hypotheses 1 – 9 and multiple regressions was used to test hypothesis 10. Findings from the study revealed that principals practice avoidance, collaborative, negotiating, compromising and competing management strategies to a high extent in Upper Basic Schools in North Central Nigeria. Findings from the study showed that there was a significant relationship between principals’ conflict management strategies, teachers’ commitment to work and students’ academic performance. The study showed there was a significant inter-relationship among perceived influence of principals’ conflict management strategies, teachers’ commitment to work and students’ academic performance in Upper Basic Schools in North Central Nigeria. The study recommended that principals in Upper Basic Schools of North Central should sustain those conflict management strategies in resolving conflict so that teachers can be committed towards enhancing students’ academic performance in schools