The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors contributing to conflict among the teachers of secondary schools of Mthatha Education district. The liter-ature review reflects theories concerning the factors contributing to conflict among teachers, ranging from the leadership styles use in the schools, the causes of poor in-terpersonal relations among teachers and the causes of teachers’ resistance in schools. To attain the aims and objectives of the study the researcher used the case study de-sign as well as the qualitative research method, both in collecting and analysing the da-ta. Ten (10) teachers and five (5) principals from five different secondary schools formed the sample size of the investigation. Convenience sampling method was used to select this sample size. An open-ended interview schedule and tape record-ing were used for the face-to-face in-depth interviews. Themes drawn from the re-sponses of the participants and discussed included: unhealthy competition, poor com-munication, poor interpersonal relations, poor leadership styles used in schools, exces-sive teacher workload and the existence of cliques and informal groups resulted into conflict among the secondary school teachers. Democratic and participatory styles were suggested as the best working styles of leadership used in the secondary schools. The effects of conflict on the culture of teaching and learning were: weak team spirit among teachers, less communication, stressed among the teachers, high absenteeism, less col-laboration, less teacher motivation and prolonged decision making processes in the schools. The predominant causes of teacher resistance were also highlighted as: the use of autocratic style by school managers, poor communications, ill and unprofessional treatment of staff by managers, constant curriculum changes and unclear policies in the schools. The recommendations on the factors contributing to conflict among sec-ondary schools in the Mthatha Education District were made.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wsu/vital:30049 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Lukman, Yusuf |
| Publisher | Walter Sisulu University, Faculty of Education |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters/Doctoral, M Ed |
| Format | xi, 130 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Walter Sisulu University |
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