Students’ Crises and Conflict Management Mechanisms in Universities in South-West Nigeria (2000-2010)

Abstract
This study examined students’ crises and conflict management mechanisms in universities in south-west, Nigeria. It adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised the whole staff (academic and non-academic) and students of federal and state universities in south-west, Nigeria. A total of 950 students and 225 staff were selected from five universities using the stratified random sampling technique. Two research instruments were used for data collection. Opinions of stakeholders in the variables examined in the study were also gathered using the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The six research questions generated for the study were answered using descriptive statistics (i.e. mean, percentage and Principal Component Analysis (PCA); while the four hypotheses were tested using the t-test, Chi-square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistics. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed that federal and state universities in south- west Nigeria had experienced, on the average, four incidences of students’ crises in the last ten years and that increase in school fees, poor students’ welfare, ban on students’ unionism and cultism ranked topmost among the causes of students’ crises in the sampled universities. In order of effectiveness, the study showed that dialogue, effective communication between students and university management, religious leaders’ intervention and suspension/rustication of offenders were the most effective means of curbing students’ crises. Based on the findings, the major recommendation made include: democratisation of university governance through accessible and effective communication channels in order to encourage openness and students’ participation in university policy issues.
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies, University of Lagos.
Keywords
Students’ Conflict , Conflict Management Mechanisms , Students’ Support Services , Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Education
Citation
Olowokere, A.T (2014), Students’ Crises and Conflict Management Mechanisms in Universities in South-West Nigeria (2000-2010). A Thesis Submitted to University of Lagos School of Postgraduate Studies Phd Thesis and Dissertation, 155pp.