Abstract
M.Ed.
Institutions of higher education in South Africa experience campus unrests. Conflict situations
prevail in universities, technikons and colleges of education as management and students
disagree on certain issues. Students express their anger and frustrations through actions of
violence and vandalism, destroying property on campus. They sometimes hold management
hostage and stage sit-ins in management offices. Racial clashes occur between white and
black students, especially at former white universities and technikons.
The government, industry and private sector invest in institutions of higher education with the
hope of producing skilled and well-qualified workers who can contribute to the development
of the country. The conflict situations that prevail at these institutions counteract this.
In daily newspapers causes of these conflicts and necessary steps to stop them are stated.
Students and management negotiate settlements. Of concern is the realization that the
resolved conflict situations are short-lived, as they reappear under the guise of different
demands. Conclusions are then drawn to the effect that the cited causes of conflict are
superficial, and that possible underlying cause exist which need to be addressed. Against this
background the problem to be researched in this study are the possible causes of conflict in
South African institutions of higher education. Through literature study this research aims to
come up with solutions of helping management to identify the underlying causes of those
conflict situations by giving them a broader knowledge base on the characteristics of young
adults who form the student population; the manner in which institutions of higher education
function; and how management can be influenced by factors such as racism, ethnicity,
institutional climate and culture in their encounter with students. In the light of this the
research aims to help management to come up with strategies to contain conflict at
institutions of higher education within acceptable standards.