Bottlenecks faced in administering and managing student leadership development programmes at a selected University of Technology (UOT) in South Africa

Abstract

The primary objective of this inquiry was to educate student leaders about crucial administrative processes and challenges associated with political clubs at UoT’s. We aimed to advocate for specific changes within the Department of Student Governance and Development (DSGD) to facilitate the development of policies and eliminate obstacles hindering political clubs’ initiatives in fostering student leadership programmes. To guide our investigation, we adopted the social change model for leadership, which helped shape our study literature and interview questions. The investigator chose this framework because it nurtures potential leaders who share similar values with specific organisations and society, thus enhancing student learning. The research focused on assessing how streamlining administrative procedures could enhance the efficiency of political clubs and their leadership programmes. The investigator successfully demonstrated that a better understanding of administrative procedures could help UOT’S adhere to administrative standards, thereby upholding the credibility of student-associated programmes. To achieve this, the investigator employed a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to gain insights into the bottlenecks associated with administering student development programmes. In this investigation the philosophy of pragmatism was embraced, allowing for the flexibility to select methods, techniques, and procedures that best suited the research goals in exploring the correlation between leadership programmes and bottlenecks. The study had two distinct populations: student leaders responsible for managing and administering student development programmes, and employees from the DSGD. The study primarily focused on assessing student leaders responsible for programme administration from 2018 to 2020. The aim was to understand the challenges these elected student leaders faced during this three-year period. For data analysis, we utilised the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 to analyse the surveys. This software employs both inferential and descriptive statistics to present study findings. In the case of interviews, we employed content analysis to analyse the collected data. Thematic analysis enabled us to extract meaning from participants’ views, knowledge, opinions, experiences, and values, considering both written and spoken data. The findings were presented by means of both numerical and nonnumerical formats to highlight the differences in findings between students and university participants. To establish trustworthiness, the research employed triangulation to validate the findings; this involved cross-referencing information from various sources, including participants, academic articles, and various data structures, among others. Additionally, the study utilised detailed notes from diverse authors’ research to draw comparisons in terms of research context and methodologies. To maintain the study’s reliability, an audit trail was maintained, encompassing comprehensive documentation of the data collection, analysis, and interpretation procedures. The study's findings recommended that student leaders advocate for substantial institutional changes aligned with the goal of reducing administrative obstacles. To facilitate this, the model endorsed ongoing assessment and feedback to enhance collaboration in simplifying procedures and policies. Student leaders were encouraged to evaluate results and adjust their programs based on the evaluation's conclusions, which would facilitate effective reporting on implemented programs.