Developing Conflict Management Skills in Higher Education IT Students: Impacts and Challenges

Abstract

Higher education institutions are crucial in fostering soft skills, such as conflict management. Internationally, mediation services within higher education are emerging as an innovative approach to identify, manage, and resolve conflicts. These services also play a significant role in enhancing students' personal and interpersonal skills, which are crucial for their holistic development. Given the significance of developing soft skills within Portuguese higher education, this article aims to analyse the impact of the workshop "Estratégias de mediação para a gestão positiva de conflitos" (Mediation Strategies for Positive Conflict Management) on students' perceive conflicts and their positioning towards the integration of mediation services in higher education. The workshop was conducted with 45 Information Technology (IT) students from a university in Portugal. Data collected through a mixed-methods approach were analysed using both simple descriptive and content analysis. The results indicate that the workshop enhanced students' understanding of the significance of positive conflict management, that students tend to adopt collaborative behaviours when confronted with conflict situations, and that students expressed a favourable disposition towards the integration of mediation services in higher education, recognising their potential to assist in resolving, managing, preventing, and transforming conflicts. This work is relevant to reflections on the future of education, as today's globalised society requires that we rethink and readapt educational spaces to meet current social, labour, and global demands.