RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRINCIPAL'S LEVEL OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGER STATE

The study assessed the relationship between principals' level of emotional intelligence and conflict management in secondary schools in Niger State. The study was guided by three objectives with corresponding three research questions and hypotheses. The study was guided by Mixed Model of Emotions by Goleman (1998), Bar-On Theory of Emotional Intelligence (1997) and Conflict Process Theory by Goldman (1966). The research design used for this study was the correlational survey research design. The total population of the study consisted of 2890 teachers. The sample size of the study consisted of 914 respondents. The instrument used for data collection was the 'Relationship between Principal's Level of Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Management (TQRPLEICM). The instrument was duly validated and it yielded 0.64 as logical validity index. The instrument was pilot tested and the coefficient of internal consistency of 0.70 was obtained. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Pearson's product moment correlation was used to test all the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study indicated that there is a significant relationship between principal's level of self-awareness and conflict management in secondary schools in Niger State, there was a significant relationship between principal's level of social-awareness and conflict management in secondary schools in Niger State and there was a significant relationship between principal's level of empathy and conflict management in secondary schools in Niger State. The study made three recommendations based on the findings. One of the recommendations of the study was that the Niger State Ministry of Education should organize regular training for principals through seminars and conferences to boost the level of their self-awareness component of emotional intelligence to help them become effective conflicts managers of their various secondary schools in the state.