S11b Preparing Students for the Workplace: A Proposal for Integrated and Interdisciplinary Workplace Conflict Course

Presenters

Dr. Vitus Ozoke, Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution (CADR)

Abstract

Generally, the next phase of life – after graduation – for most students is the workplace. But how many of our students are prepared for the conflicts that occur in the workplace? Yes, courses on workplace conflict and their resolution exist – I teach one myself. But these courses are designed and taught generically. They are designed and taught as one size fits all. Yet we know that conflicts that our nursing graduates experience in hospital and healthcare settings have certain unique characteristics that separate them from conflicts that our education graduates encounter in the school system, or those that our business graduates deal with in business and corporate organizations. Therefore, teaching general theories and principles of workplace conflict to all majors, as laudable as it, is clearly not the best we can do for our students. If we can design and teach workplace conflict courses that are tailored to field-specific workplace conflicts, we will graduate students who are better prepared for conflict in their unique work environments. We can do that through a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and integrated course design, in partnership with the Department of Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution (CADR). The details of this proposed partnership, including modalities for course content mix, co-teaching, and credit hour allocation, will be presented at the conference.

Session Recording