The impact of student leadership on the well-being of students in the Univesity of Rwanda, College of Education (UR-CE), a case of Rukara Campus

Abstract

irst general objective of this work is to analyse the Impact of Student Leadership on the Well being of Students at the University of Rwanda College of Education, Rukara Campus. The following three detailed objectives were used: To assess the effect of transformational leadership on the well-being of students, to analyze the influence of democratic leadership on the well-being of students, and to evaluate the connection between student leadership and the well-being of students in the University of Rwanda College of Education, Rukara Campus. The descriptive research design with quantitative approach was used. The questionnaire was utilised as an instrument for data collection. A population of 100 students was considered as the study's sample size from all student leaders of the Rukara Campus. The census method was used. The collected data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0. Inferential statistics were conducted to investigate the correlation of variables. The results were presented in tables using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviation. Nearly all respondents felt that transformational leadership significantly influences students' well-being, according to the findings of the first objective, which assessed the impact of transformational leadership on student well-being, the total mean was 4.47. The findings of the second objective, which evaluated how democratic leadership affected student well-being, revealed that democratic leadership had a sizable impact on student well-being, the total mean was 4.63. According to the findings of the analysis of the link between student leadership and well-being, the linkage between transformational leadership, democratic leadership, and the well-being of students was .947** and .847**, respectively. It presented a high positive correlation between student leadership and the well-being of students. In the University of Rwanda College of Education (UR-CE) Case of Rukara Campus, the results revealed a statistically significant relationship between the variables with a P-value=.000b , showing a correlation between student leadership and wellbeing. It recommended that the University financially support students’ leaders by increasing funding to the student guild to enable them to perform its responsibilities. The researcher recommends that Priority should be given to final year student leaders when assigning internships to ensure uninterrupted services to fellow students. By allocating them to nearby institutions, they can continue to serve while practicing. University leaders should prioritize the well-being of students who live off-campus by establishing a strong partnership with private service providers. This will ensure that the different aspects of student welfare outside the university are not neglected. The research study conducted at UR-CE Rukara Campus has shown that students who live on-campus have access to better facilities and standards of living compared to those who live off-campus. Therefore. It is recommended that student leaders receive additional training in order to better equip them for their responsibilities. Although student leaders receive some training, some may lack knowledge about what their specific roles and expectations are. Therefore, it is important to extend the training they receive during orientation after their election, and to provide refresher trainings throughout their term in order to increase their confidence and knowledge.