A Qualitative Inquiry on the Factors Related to Students’ Disengagement in Leadership Roles

Abstract

Leadership is an important skill that students should develop. Campus organizations are some of the avenues for students to hone their leadership skills. However, some students are disengaging in leadership roles in campus organizations. Thus, this study sought to describe the factors behind students’ disengagement in leadership roles in campus organizations using a qualitative-descriptive research approach. The duly-validated written interview questionnaire was administered among six (6) student leaders who were selected through purposeful sampling. Three (3) significant themes such as personal-related, interpersonal-related, and structural-related factors were revealed. From these data, five (5) meaningful categories emerged. As personal-related factors, students disengage in leadership roles in campus organizations as it is a (1) hindrance to their academics and it (2) compromises their health. Furthermore, interpersonal-related factors include having (3) divided time and (4) being in the public eye. Finally, the (5) authority factor is the structural-related factor. Thus, improving the working conditions of student leaders may eliminate the negative experiences that will force them to stop serving their fellow students.