VALUE EDUCATION AND PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE AMONG STAFF AND STUDENT PERSONNEL AT SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL, CALABAR EDUCATION ZONE.

Abstract

This study assessed the influence of value education on peaceful coexistence among staff and students in secondary schools within the Calabar Education Zone, Nigeria, during the 2024/2025 academic session, aiming to evaluate value education levels, peaceful coexistence extent, and their relationship. Literature underlines value education’s significance in encouraging ethical conduct and societal peace, however its influence on staff-student relations in multicultural contexts like Calabar remains underexplored. Employing a descriptive and correlational quantitative methodology, the research recruited 3,986 staff and 32,000 students across 87 public and 129 private schools, utilising stratified random selection to identify 382 participants (192 kids, 190 staff). Data were gathered by two 20-item Likert-scale questionnaires (“Attitude Scale towards Values” and “Peaceful Coexistence Scale”), vetted for reliability (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.70) and validity via expert review and component analysis. Mean, standard deviation, and basic linear regression were employed for data analysis. Key results include high value education levels (mean scores 65–71), high peaceful coexistence (mean scores 63–75), and a substantial positive connection (R² = 0.678, p < .001), with value education explaining 67.8% of coexistence variation. Public school pupils and instructors rated somewhat better in value education, whereas private school non-teaching workers reported the greatest coexistence. Concluding that value education greatly increases school harmony, the research suggests organised value education modules, peace groups, and policy integration by the Ministry of Education to build cohesive school settings.