Academic attainment and peer conflict resolution

Abstract

The field of peer relations in school and, within it, conflict resolution has not been sufficiently researched so far, and previous research have rarely considered the relatedness of peer relations and academic attainment. The aim of our research was to examine the styles of resolving conflicts among students and their connection with academic attainment. The sample comprised 123 second-grade, 214 third-grade and 98 fourth-grade students of Secondary Technical School in Kikinda. We used the adapted ROCI-II questionnaire (Rahim, 1983a) for measuring the students' styles of resolving conflict. Academic attainment indicators were grades in general academic success and discipline of the students. The obtained results show that young people use all kinds of styles to resolve mutual conflicts, integrative one being prominent, domination and avoidance are fairly frequent, while yielding is the last on the list. Significant positive correlations were found for integrative conflict resolution style between general academic success and discipline grades. The conclusion extrapolates that academic attainment to a greater o lesser degree enhances the student's self-confidence, thus indirectly contributing peer relation conflict resolving. Suggestions as to how school, and especially teachers, can contribute not only to constructive conflict resolutions but to general quality of interpersonal relations in school and, consequently, enhancement of the educational process.

Međusobni odnosi učenika u školi, a kao deo toga i rešavanje konflikata, jesu polje koje još uvek nije dovoljno istraženo, a obavljena istraživanja su retko bila usmerena na povezanost tih odnosa s uspehom u školi. Cilj istraživanja bio je da utvrdimo stilove rešavanja međusobnih konflikata učenika kao i njihovu povezanost s uspehom u školi. Uzorak ispitanika činilo je 123 učenika drugog, 214 trećeg i 98 četvrtog razreda srednje tehničke škole iz Kikinde. Primenjen je adaptiran ROCI-II (Rahim, 1983a) upitnik za merenje stilova rešavanja konflikata učenika. Pokazatelji uspeha u školi bili su ocena opšteg uspeha i ocena iz vladanja učenika. Dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da mladi koriste sve stilove u međusobnom rešavanju konflikata, od kojih najviše integrativni stil, podjednako često dominaciju i izbegavanje, dok je popuštanje najmanje zastupljen stil. Značajne pozitivne korelacije utvrđene su između integrativnog stila rešavanja konflikata i opšteg uspeha, kao i vladanja. U zaključku je obrazloženo da uspeh u školi doprinosi većem ili manjem samopouzdanju učenika, a time indirektno i rešavanju međusobnih konflikata učenika. Istaknuto je na koji način škola, a posebno nastavnici, mogu doprineti ne samo konstruktivnom rešavanju konflikata učenika, već i ukupnom kvalitetu interpersonalnih odnosa u školi, a samim tim i unapređenju procesa obrazovanja.