THE ROLE OF DIGITAL TOOLS IN ENHANCING PEACE EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY CONFLICTS MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the role of digital tools in enhancing peace education and community conflict management in South East Nigeria. Specifically the study is designed to; ascertain the effect of facbebook in enhancing communication among individuals from various communities in South East Nigeria, investigate the effect of online newspaper in enlightening individuals on conflict resolution strategies in different communities in South East Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted for the study while purposive random sampling was used to choose Enugu Metropolis as the study area. The population for the study comprised 795,000 residents in Enugu Metropolis; while a sample of 400 respondents were sampled using Taro Yamane sampling techniques. A questionnaire designed by the researchers served as the instrument for data collection. The data gathered from the respondents were analyzed using simple percentage while Chi-square was employed as the statistical tool for testing of the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.  The findings of the study revealed that facebook has significant positive effect in enhancing communication among individuals from different communities in South East Nigeria; online newspaper has significant positive effect in conflict resolutions in different communities in South East Nigeria. Based on the findings; the following recommendations were made; government and all stakeholders should ensure the citizens have access to internet, the government and all stakeholders should also ensure the provision of adequate infrastructure that will encourage digitalization nationwide.