CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS (HEIs). A CASE STUDY OF ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY IN UGANDA

Abstract

Higher education institutions have continuously attracted both students and staff from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Due to diverse cultures, experiences and education backgrounds, conflicts have also continued to occur. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how conflict is managed at the Islamic University in Uganda. Thirteen semi-structured interview questions were designed in accordance to research questions for data collection. Four respondents were contacted and responded positively by answering the interview questions. The objectives of the study were; to suggest possible means of managing conflicts at HEIs level, to determine the causes of conflicts in higher education institutions of learning in Uganda, to describe the processes used in the management of conflict in HEIs, to describe the positive and negative contributions of conflicts on the performance of HEIs. The study contributed to the area of conflict management by sighting both the secular and Islamic approaches used in managing conflicts at the university. The relevance of conflicts towards building both institutional and interpersonal relationships among staff and students were also mentioned. It is thus recommended that more studies can be carried out on larger samples using other research designs to accept generalizability of the study findings on the management of conflict at the Islamic University in Uganda.