International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management

United Kingdom ISSN 2348 0386 Vol. X, Issue 5, May 2022

http://ijecm.co.uk/

STUDENT LEADERSHIP ROLES AND ITS IMPACT

ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Lilian Wanjiru Njaramba

School of Management and Economics
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China
liliannjaramba@yahoo.com

Winnie Nyokabi Njaramba

School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China
wnnjaramba@gmail.com

Williams Ayivi
School of Management and Economics
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China
williamsayivi@gmail.com

Edith Nyathira Gitagia

National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), Meru, Kenya
nyathirag@yahoo.com

Priscilla Owusu-Ansah
School of Public Affairs and Administration
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China
opriscilla605@yahoo.com

Kingsley Friday Umotong

School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China
kingsley_umotong@yahoo.com

Licensed under Creative Common Page 40

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

Abstract
Increasingly, student leadership has been a topic among scholars and more so has become a
credible factor in improving student academic performance. By the day, we have seen the
evolution of student leadership roles with more and more roles emerging in learning institutions.
The above observation encouraged a more definitive focus on the impacts of student leadership
roles on their academic performance and particularly three key areas; the demands of student
leadership roles, intensified pressure on academic achievement and ethical leadership. The first
two factors key in stress as a factor that most likely deters performance and ethical leadership is
put to test by these two factors. This research work will employ the method of a survey to collect
data from university student leaders, the survey was designed to measure how student
leadership is affecting their performance also paying keen attention on how this cumulative
pressure affects their ethics as leaders. Data analysis was conducted on statistical package for
social sciences (SPSS) and the results proved significant to the study with a p value of <0.001.
Keywords: leadership role demands, academic pressure, academic performance, ethical
leadership

INTRODUCTION
The authoritative structure in instructive teaching arranges student leadership. In line
with this arrangement, the students’ board is found in most instructive education institutions. In
most cases, the board is chosen by the students themselves after the school organization
assigns candidates for different positions. The association of school organizations within the
choice of school leaders stems from the concern around the caliber of students put in
administration positions (Ahiatrogah & Koomson, 2013). Heightened weight for scholarly
accomplishment has spurred instruction analysts as well as specialists to center on classroom
and school components influencing student performance. Stress is a key factor that plays a
major role in a student leaders’ life. Stress in the form of intensified pressure to perform by
learning institutions and also how demanding leadership roles can be to these very students.
Stress among students is multifactorial, arising from both academic and non-academic
influences, including socio-cultural, economic, and psychological qualities. For some students,
stress levels can escalate to significant proportions to present with anxiety symptoms
particularly during tests and examination times. Nonetheless, previous studies indicated a
moderate incidence range of 10 to 35 percent of college students suffering mentally impairing
rates of examination anxiety (Bedewy & Gabriel, 2015). Leadership is constituted within the
intuitive of an organization’s performing artists – that's the pioneers and adherents and inserted

Licensed under Creative Common Page 41

 ©Author(s)

in setting. Setting here alludes to the “nature of intelligent and 4 interdependencies among
specialists, progressive divisions, organizations, and environments”.
Leadership includes leveraging these relations to achieve organizational objectives.
Within the school setting, leadership might be arranged within the day-to-day dealings of the
performing artists. Understanding school leadership exercise subsequently requires
reproduction of the exercises through perception and interviews of the school pioneers and
chairmen – who sanction it – and staff – who are involved in it. The common agreement in
school leadership considers is that thriving schools have great pioneers/leaders.
This research work will key in on several factors that may influence a student leaders’
academic performance while maintaining their role as a leader. Academic performance is
paramount in an educational institution and relatively the criteria in which leaders are chosen.
This paper will in totality provide an analysis of how these two main components which are,
leadership and academic performance rely on each other and affect the average student. Early
leadership experience can be very valuable. It is also without a doubt that various variables
influence a student’s choice of leadership and how that choice affects their academic
performance. Every key point, factor or variable in this research work closely works hand in
hand to outlay the major areas of the general research work. This study focuses on how student
leadership roles impact their academic performance.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Leadership
Leadership is the capacity to impact people toward the accomplishment of a vision or a
set of objectives. Leadership may play a key part in making instructive reforms and, possibly, in
improving student scholarly accomplishment. In any case, this straightforward claim conceals a
complex reality, as there are numerous leadership models and a wide extent of school pioneer
characteristics which will bear an effect on their adequacy. Students who take up leadership and
still keep in mind that keeping up great scholarly execution whereas carrying out their
obligations embody good leadership qualities. It cannot be underestimated how important
leadership preparation is for today's students. Undergraduate and graduates must face the
volatile global economy of today's work-environments in their potential jobs. Students will need
these leadership qualities to succeed: the ability to identify and synthesize different sources of
knowledge, handle oneself, and inspire others. Thus, leadership education, integration of
theory, training, and experience models are required (Marcketti & Kadolph, 2010).
The term leadership could be a kind of control where one individual can impact or alter
the values, convictions, conduct, and states of mind of another individual. In leadership more so

Licensed under Creative Common Page 42

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

ethical leadership which is described as a display of normatively acceptable behavior through

personal acts and interpersonal relationships and promoting such behavior to followers through
two-way communication, enhancement, and decision-making" (Kar, 2005). An individual with
solid administration capacity will be a good representative to their workers since the said
individual who can successfully accomplish results can earn his worker’s beliefs, deference and
subsequently changes their values, convictions, conduct, and demeanors, as mimicry is the
sincerest form of flannel (Grint, 2007). This articulation is additionally bolstered by Northouse
(2009), who states that leaders who have solid authority have the quality to impact others to
realize the objectives and targets of the organization (Hao & Yazdanifard, 2015).
When students arrive on campus, they can find many opportunities for involvement and
growth in leadership. In a review of the W.K-funded leadership programs Kellogg Institute,
program participants have seen changes in areas such as civic / social / political understanding,
service / volunteering and civic / social / political effectiveness, among others. (Schuh & Laverty,
1983) discovered that in many skills such as planning, organizing, budgeting, and
communication, college graduates who were student leaders reported significant improvements.
Overall, leadership has become a major topic on many college campuses and so any quality
evaluation of how colleges and universities perform in this area has the Potential to be of
significant benefit (Shertzer & Schuh, 2011),

Academic Performance
Instructive administrations are frequently not obvious and are troublesome to a degree
since they result within the frame of change of information, life aptitudes and conduct alterations
of learners (Tsinidou et al., 2010). So, there's no commonly concurred upon definition of quality
that's connected to the teaching field. The definition of quality of teaching changes from culture
to culture. The environment and the individual characteristics of learners play a vital part in their
scholarly victory. The school workforce, individuals of the families and communities offer
assistance to students for the quality of their scholastic work. This social help incorporates a
pivotal part in the achievement of the execution objectives of students at school. Other than the
social structure, parents’ association in their child’s learning increases the rate of scholarly
success of their child. The relationship between gender and the scholarly accomplishment of
students has been examined for decades. A study between the accomplishments of boys and
young ladies has been found, with young ladies appearing superior performers than boys in
certain occurrences. Gender, ethnicity, and father’s occupation are noteworthy factors to
student success. Theory of Educational Productivity by Walberg (1981)(Fraser et al., 1987)
decided three factors of nine components based on emotional, cognitive and behavioral abilities

Licensed under Creative Common Page 43

 ©Author(s)

for optimization of learning that influence the quality of scholarly execution: Fitness (capacity,
improvement, and inspiration); instruction (sum and quality); environment (domestic, classroom,
peers and tv). There may be a extend of variables that influence the quality of performance of
students. An arrangement of factors is to be considered when distinguishing the influencing
factors towards the quality of scholastic success (Farooq et al., 2011).

Purpose of Student Leadership

It isn't sufficient for a student to choose that they need to be a leader. The making of a
good student isn't something that's acquired. Understudies/students need to work compulsively
on their administration skills. Courses preparing such aptitudes ought to be graded. A student
ought to ace the elemental angles, such as; communication skills, decision-making skills,
organizing skills, action planning, strategic thinking and Risk management. One of the
objectives of a student leader is team building. Of course, there are classes and classmates.
They all boost a student’s capacity to work as a portion of a team. However, student leadership
gives individuals much more than that.
Being a portion of a team is very vital. You have a part to fulfill. It is proven that
student leaders among students afterward end up leaders at a working environment more
regularly than those who have no earlier leadership experience. This is because it is less
demanding for them to partake obligation for other individuals as they have prior experience
in leading teams etc. Team building and scholar leadership at universities show students
how to create credible associations. scholars get to know credible individuals, professors,
heads of school clubs and organizations. It is difficult for student leaders to be appreciated
by their peers. But if they do, they get to be important role models to their fellow students
than even grown-ups. Student leadership brings forth some benefits and even illumes a
bright future for those with experience.

Importance of Academic Performance

Academic performance is critical since it is unequivocally connected to the positive
results we esteem. People who are scholastically effective and with honorary l evels of
education are more likely to be utilized, have steady occupations, have more job openings
than those with fewer qualifications and win higher compensations, are more likely to have
medical cover, are less reliant on social help, are less likely to partake in criminal activity,
are more dynamic as citizens, charitable volunteers and are more beneficial and more
joyful.

Licensed under Creative Common Page 44

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

METHODOLOGY
Research Design
A descriptive research study was used since the method gathers data at a particular
point in time with an intention of describing the nature of existing conditions. This study used a
survey approach with 166 university student leaders. Besides, this approach will use the
quantitative data collection process in the form of a survey. Most of the questions highly incline
on the quantitative method of data collection since quantitative questions can result in data that
is easy to convert into objective, numbers-based analysis. The descriptive study design was
ideal since it is concerned with making accurate assessment of the inference, distribution and
relationship of the phenomenon. A statistical tool was later employed to analyze the data
collected.

Research hypotheses
Student leadership role and academic performance are a vital part of a student leader.
Student leadership is an integral part of student success. Ongoing social changes and their
educational provision are reflected in the positions, recruitment and growth of school
leaders(Jabal, 2006). The hypotheses tested in this paper were;
H1 leadership role demands are positively related to pressure on academic performance.
Student leadership roles can be demanding and more so influence a student leaders’ academic
performance. It is hypothesized that there is indeed a positive relationship between the
demands of these roles and pressure on one’s academic performance. The more demanding a
role is the more the academic pressure to perform.
H2 Leadership role demands is negatively related to ethical leadership
Student leadership roles can be very demanding leading to a student ethics being affected. The
stress or pressure that results from the demands of these roles could lead to unethical
leadership on the leader’s part.
H3 Academic pressure mediates the negative relationship between leadership role demands
and ethical leadership
This hypothesis seeks to investigate whether the pressure to academically perform can mediate
the negative relationship resulting from the demands of leadership and ethical leadership.
H4 Leadership role demands negatively relates to academic performance.
This hypothesis would test whether leadership role demands negatively relate to academic
performance.
H5 Pressure on academic performance mediates the negative relationship between leadership
role demands and academic performance.

Licensed under Creative Common Page 45

 ©Author(s)

The fifth hypothesis was conducted to investigate whether pressure on academic

performance brings about a negative relationship between leadership role demands and
academic performance.

The Target Population

The total population of interest in this study was all university students who are leaders.
According to the survey a number of 166 (n=166) university student leaders partook in the
survey conducted online. The target population included all leaders who were in the university
level of their education.

Table 1 Classification/Level
Classification/level Frequency Percentage
Undergraduate students 108 65.06%
Graduate students 24 14.46%
PhD students 32 19.28%
Others 2 1.20%
Total 166 100%

Sampling
The stratified random sampling technique was be used. A stratified sample ensures that
individuals from each category are represented in the sample, making it a desirable choice. An
online survey in form of a questionnaire was adopted in gathering the information from
respondents. The design is proffered since it would be easy to reach as many university student
leaders as possible via online platforms. Also, the design gave all the respondents equal
chances of responding to the questionnaires irrespective of their location. A total of 166 (n=166)
university student leaders were included in the study.

Data collection Instruments and procedure

The research study collected both primary data and secondary data. Primary data was
obtained by use of a questionnaire which was shared via online platforms to university students
and specifically student leaders. The questionnaire was set with clarity and even a Chinese
version of the questionnaire developed to ensure that all respondents could partake in the
survey. The instructions on the survey also ensured that all respondents understood the
questions asked and answered with clarity. Students were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert-type
scale (from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree) or on a scale range of (Rarely,
Occasionally, Never, Frequently, very frequently). The survey was shared online and took

Licensed under Creative Common Page 46

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

roughly over a month to get more than 150 respondents. The questionnaire contains four
sections; section 1 was soliciting bio data from respondents and section 2, 3 and 4 was seeking
information regarding the effect of the researcher’s variables on student leaders’ academic
performance. Questionnaires were chosen because of their simplicity of administration and high
reliability as advocated by Babbie (1993). The items on the questionnaire were developed on
the basis of the objectives of the study. Secondary data was obtained from books, journals and
the internet. The multiple uses of data sources will promote the reliability and validity of this
study.

Pilot study
The researcher conducted a pilot study on ten student leaders in a different province and
university before formally issuing the survey questionnaire to quickly analyze some key factors
that would prove significant during data collection. The researcher needed to know the probable
amount of time a respondent would take with the questionnaire in order to be certain whether
the length of time taken to answer the survey was reasonable. The researcher also wanted to
check the possibility of ambiguity and complexity of the questions asked. This would prove
beneficial in seeing whether the respondents understood the questions with ease and clarity.
The pilot study was also conducted to test the validity of the questions asked and whether they
provided the relevant data required for the study. This was conducted to ensure that all possible
errors where rectified before carrying out the actual research.

Validity and Reliability of the instrument

Validity refers to the degree to which data and logic support the interpretation of test
results concerning research. The instrument's validity is the degree to which it tests what it is
supposed to be measuring. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (1999), validity is the accuracy
and concrete inferences that are focused on the findings of the study. This is to what degree the
results obtained from data analysis accurately reflect the study variables. The research
instrument has been checked in terms of material and face validity. The methodology correlated
with content tests the degree to which the items of questions represent the particular areas
covered. In comparison, reliability is a research instrument's ability to accurately calculate value
characteristics over time. It's the degree to which a research instrument after repeated trails
yields consistent results or data. The questionnaire was pretest in testing the validity of the
scale. This was aimed at ensuring the scales measures what they were intended to measure.
Reliability was obtained through a Cronbach’s reliability test. All scales with a Cronbach's α of
0.7 and above.

Licensed under Creative Common Page 47

 ©Author(s)

Data Analysis Method

The questionnaire was edited for completeness and consistency before processing.
Editing helped in detecting errors and omissions and corrects them to ensure that minimum data
quality standards were achieved. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS v
26.0) was used to analyze the results of this research work. Data was coded to enable
responses to be grouped into categories. Coding involved assigning numbers so that the
responses could be grouped into number of classes or categories. The data collected was
subjected to descriptive statistics which included frequencies, percentages and means. The
data was presented using pie charts, tables and graphs.

Variables and Measurements

Table 2 Variables and Measurements

Variables Measurements Authors

Pressure on Academic Perceptions of Academic Dalia Bedewy and Adel
Performance Stress (PAS) Gabriel(Bedewy & Gabriel,
2015)
Demand of Leadership Roles Challenges Faced by Lucy Muthoni Murage*,
Student Leaders Johannes Njoka, Michael
Gachahi(Murage et al., 2019)
Ethical Leadership Ethical Leadership Gary Yukl, Rubina Mahsud,
Questionnaire (ELQ) Shahidul Hassan and
Gregory E. Prussia(Yukl et
al., 2013)

RESULTS
Response
The number of questionnaires issued and answered was (n=166).

Table 3 Response rate

Response Rate Frequency percentage
Questionnaires issued and
166 100%
returned
Questionnaires not
Nil 0%
returned
Total 166 100%

Out of the 166 targeted all questionnaires were answered and submitted to aid in the
research work hence the 100% response rate.

Licensed under Creative Common Page 48

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

Demographics
The profile analysis of the respondents was part of an attempt to comprehend the
participants. Demographic variables contain data readily accessible to the respondent and are
likely to be correct, provided the respondent is willing to disclose accurate information.
These variables include features such as gender, educational level, ethnicity and grade
point average (GPA). They are used to investigate how attitudes, opinions, behaviors, events
differ and to verify that the data collected are representative of the total population.

Gender distribution
It was important to establish the gender of the respondents. Gender as a variable was
operationalized as male, female and other. Its frequency and percentage were tabulated as
shown on the table below.

Table 4 Responses by Gender

Gender Frequency Percentage
Male 89 53.61%
Female 77 46.39%
Others 0 0
Total 166 100%

From the findings, it was established that 53.61% of respondents were male. The
remaining 46.39% were female. This indicates that a majority of the respondents are male.

Ethnicity of respondents
This information was meant to establish the ethnicity of the respondents/university
student leaders. The respective frequencies and percentages are tabulated in table below.

Table 5 Ethnicity of respondents

Ethnicity Frequency Percentage
Black/African 115 69.28%
Asian/Asian American 16 9.64%
White/Caucasian 4 2.41%
Middle eastern 2 1.20%
Indian/Alaska 1 0.60%
Native 4 2.41%
Latino/Hispanic 0 0
Multicultural 2 1.20%
Race not included above 22 13.25%
Total 166 100%

Licensed under Creative Common Page 49

 ©Author(s)

From the findings it was established that, 69.28% of the respondents were Black/African,
9.64% of the respondents Asians/Asian American, 2.41% of the respondents White/Caucasian,
1.20% Middle Eastern, 0.60% Indian/Alaska, 2.41% Natives, 1.20% Multicultural and
conclusively 13.25% who’s race was not included in the survey. From the findings it is evident
that a majority of the respondents were Black/African. It is also evident that there were no
Latino/Hispanic respondents that partook in the survey.

Level of Education
The researchers sought to establish on the level of education of the respondent, it was
operationalized as; undergraduate, graduate, PhD and other. The specific information is
presented on the table below.

Table 6 Level of Education

Classification/level Frequency Percentage
Undergraduate students 108 65.06%
Graduate students 24 14.46%
PhD students 32 19.28%
Others 2 1.20%
Total 166 100%

From the findings, it was established that majority 65.06% of the respondents were
undergraduate students, 14.46% graduate students, 19.28% PhD students and 1.20% were in
the category of any other qualification this included those educated but had no certificates,
probably dropped out of school but had been student leaders before dropping out.

Grade Point Average of respondents

This information was required to show the GPA of the respondents. The GPA was
grouped in different ranges as showcased on the table below.

Table 7 GPA
Grade Point Average Frequency Percentage
3.50-4.00 79 47.59%
3.00-3.49 56 33.73%
2.50-2.99 19 11.45%
1.99 or less 3 1.20%
No college GPA 9 5.42%
Total 166 100%

Licensed under Creative Common Page 50

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

From the findings, it was established that majority 47.59% of the respondents ranged
between 3.50-4.00 GPA, 33.73% between 3.00-3.49, 11.45% between 2.50-2.99, the lower
percentage being 1.20% from those with a GPA of 1.99 or less and 5.42% having no college
GPA yet. Those with no college GPA could be freshmen that have just started their first
semester or student interns in universities with leadership roles such as project manager etc.

Figure 1 Grade Point Average

Conflict between academic pursuits and leadership roles

It was important for the study to establish the apparent conflict between academic
pursuits and leadership roles. Student leaders bear the burden of having to juggle between their
academic work and their leadership roles and in both are expected to perform well. The
questionnaires issued relayed results showing that most student leaders agreed that, very
frequently there is conflict between academic pursuits and leadership roles. This was presented
through frequencies and percentages as tabulated.

Table 8 Responses on conflict between academic pursuits and leadership roles

Response Frequency Percentage
Rarely 16 9.64%
Occasionally 22 13.25%
Never 12 7.23%
Frequently 42 25.30%
Very frequently 74 44.58%
Total 166 100%

Licensed under Creative Common Page 51

 ©Author(s)

Response on conflict between academic pursuits and

leadership roles

9.64%
13.25%
44.58%
7.23%

25.30%

Rarely Occassionally Never Frequently Very frequently

Figure 2 Responses on conflict between academic pursuits and leadership roles

From the findings, out of the total number of 166 respondents (n=166), it was
established that a majority of respondents feel that very frequently there is conflict between
academic pursuits and leadership roles indicated by 44.78%. The other responses follow in a
descending order in respect to the extremities, frequently 25.30%, never 7.23%, occasionally
13.25% and rarely 9.64%. It is evident that most of the respondents i.e., student leaders, feel
that there is a conflict between their roles as leaders and their academic pursuits.

Measurement Model
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics) was employed to test
the validity of the scales used in the survey questionnaire. Through this software the collected
data from the survey was able to be analyzed through linear regression and results proved
significant in regard to what was tested.

Reliability and Validity Test

Reliability is an important aspect of the standard of analysis and tests the degree to
which the instrument of study is accurate. It further explains how a variable or group of variables
reliably tests what they are supposed to measure. The Cronbach Alpha values are the metrics
used to comprehend the co-efficient of reliability. As shown in the table below, for all models the

Licensed under Creative Common Page 52

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

Cronbach value is greater than 0.70 so it was concluded that the research measurements are
accurate and internally consistent.

Table 9 Cronbach’s reliability test

Scale No. of items Cronbach's α
PAS 18 0.775
DLR 10 0.886
ELQ 13 0.930

Correlation Statistics
Correlation analysis was run to determine the relationship between the variables as
described by the table below.

Table 10 Correlation statistics

MEAN SD 1 2 3 4 5
1.GD 0.46 0.50
2.GPA 3.43 0.38 -0.110
3.EDL 1.55 0.82 -.221** .285**
4.PAS 3.24 0.57 0.103 -0.023 -0.084
5.DLR 2.98 0.91 0.091 -0.075 -0.139 0.456**
6.ELQ 3.88 0.92 -0.104 0.158* .206** .107 -.201**
Note: Beta = (GD= gender, GPA= grade point average, EDL= educational level, PAS=
academic pressure, DLR= leadership role demands, EQL= ethical leadership).

From the table above it is clear that there is a significant positive correlation between
pressure on academic performance and leadership role demands (r = 0.456, P <0.001) and a
significant correlation with ethical leadership at (r = -0.201, p <0.001).

Hypotheses Test
H1 leadership role demands are positively related to pressure on academic performance.
After running the collected dataset through SPSS linear regression whereby gender,
educational level and leadership role demands where used as independent variables and
pressure on academic performance as the dependent variable. The above hypothesis proved
significant with a beta value of 0.278, SE value of 0.045 and a p value of 0.000 the results
ascertained that indeed leadership role demands positively relate to pressure on academic
performance.

Licensed under Creative Common Page 53

 ©Author(s)

Table 11 H1 test results

Model Variables B SE t p-value
1 (Constant) 3.262 .112 29.005 .000
Gender .087 .091 .960 .338
Educational level -.046 .055 -.841 .402
2 (Constant) 2.397 .174 13.751 .000
Gender .062 .082 .760 .449
Educational level -.008 .050 -.160 .873
Leadership role demand .275 .045 6.103 .000
Dependent variable: Pressure on academic performance

Table 12 H1 path
Path β SE p-value

Leadership role demand →Academic pressure 0.275 0.045 0.000

H2 Leadership role demands is negatively related to ethical leadership.

With gender and educational level controlled, leadership role demands and pressure on
academic performance were used during the analysis against ethical leadership (dependent
variable). After regression analysis the above hypothesis proved significant with a beta value of
-0.311, SE value of 0.085 and a p value of 0.000. The more tension a student leader is subject
to the more unethical he or she is expected to act.

Table 13 H2 test results

Model Variables B SE t p-value
1 (Constant) 4.229 .304 13.922 .000

Gender -.113 .143 -.790 .431

Educational level .187 .088 2.130 .035

Leadership role demand -.200 .079 -2.539 .012

2 (Constant) 3.257 .437 7.454 .000

Gender -.139 .140 -.989 .324

Educational level .190 .086 2.222 .028

Leadership role demand -.311 .085 -3.656 .000

Pressure academic
.405 .134 3.025 .003
demands
Dependent variable: Ethical leadership

Licensed under Creative Common Page 54

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

Table 14 H2 path
Path β SE p-value
Leadership role demand →Ethical leadership -0.311 0.085 0.000

H3 Academic pressure mediates the negative relationship between leadership role demands
and ethical leadership.
It was also hypothesized that academic pressure mediates the negative relationship
between leadership role demands and ethical leadership. Variables such as gender and
educational level were used to test this hypothesis. The results collected after the analysis
proved the hypothesis significant. It can therefore be concluded that academic pressure brings
about a negative relationship between leadership role demands and ethical leadership. The
indirect effect of leadership role demand on ethical leadership gave a coefficient value of
0.1116, SE value of 0.0550, using 5000 bootstrap and a 95%CI (confidential interval) of
[0.0191,0.2312].

Table 15 H3 test results

Path COEFF SE CI 95%
Leadership role demand→ Ethical leadership
-0.3111 0.0851 [-0.4791, -0.1431]
(Direct effect of X on Y)
Leadership role demand→ Academic pressure 0.2753 0.0451 [0.1862, 0.3644]
Academic pressure→ Ethical leadership 0.4053 0.1340 [0.1407 ,0.6699]
Leadership role demand→ Academic pressure→
Ethical leadership 0.1116 0.0550 [0.0191,0.2312]
(Indirect effect of X on Y)

H4: Leadership role demands negatively relates to academic performance.

Using controlling variables such as gender and educational level it was again
hypothesized that leadership role demands negatively relates to academic performance the
results from this analysis proved the test insignificant with a beta value of -0.020, SE value of
0.037 and a p value of 0.590

Table 16 H4 test results

Model Variables B SE t p-value

1 (Constant) 3.239 .077 42.171 .000

Gender -.032 .061 -.523 .601

Educational level .132 .038 3.440 .001

Licensed under Creative Common Page 55

 ©Author(s)

2 (Constant) 3.283 .129 25.423 .000

Table 16…

Gender -.031 .062 -.502 .617

Educational level .130 .039 3.350 .001

Leadership role demand -.014 .033 -.419 .676

3 (Constant) 3.229 .194 16.683 .000

Gender -.032 .062 -.518 .605

Educational level .131 .039 3.352 .001

Leadership role demand -.020 .037 -.539 .590
Pressure on academic
.022 .059 .371 .711
demand
Dependent variable: Academic performance (GPA)

Table 17 H4 path
Path β SE p-value

Leadership role demand →Academic performance -0.020 0.037 0.590

H5: Pressure on academic performance mediates the negative relationship between leadership
role demands and academic performance.
A mediation test was also conducted to find out whether pressure on academic
performance mediates the negative relationship between leadership role demands and
academic performance the results from this test proved the hypothesis insignificant. Therefore,
pressure on academic performance does not bring about a negative relationship between
leadership role demands and academic performance. The indirect effect of leadership role
demand on academic performance gave a coefficient value of 0.0061, SE value of 0.0223,
using 5000 bootstrap and a 95% CI (confidential interval) of [-0.0348, 0.0545].

Table 18 H5 test results

Path COEFF SE CI 95%

Leadership role demand→ Academic performance -0.0199 0.0369 [-0.0927, -0.0529]

(Direct effect of X on Y)
Leadership role demand→ Academic pressure 0.2769 0.0453 [0.1875, 0.3664]

Academic pressure→ Academic performance 0.0219 0.0591 [-0.0949, 0.1388]

Leadership role demand→ Academic pressure→ 0.0061 0.0223 [-0.0348, 0.0545]

Academic performance
(Indirect effect of X on Y)

Licensed under Creative Common Page 56

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

CONCLUSIONS
This section discusses the research findings on the thesis conducted. A total of 166
(n=166) questionnaires were issued to student leaders and submitted. From the findings, it was
established that 53.61% of respondents were male. The remaining 46.39% were female. This
indicates that a majority of the respondents are male student leaders. It was also established
that the top participants based on ethnicity were Africans at 69.28% followed by Asians at
9.64% other ethnicities followed with a lower percentage. Based on GPA (grade point average)
it was established that, 47.59% of the respondents had a GPA between 3.50-4.00, 33.73% of
the respondents had a GPA between 3.00-3.49, 11.45% had a GPA between 2.50-2.99, 1.20%
had a GPA of 1.99 or less and 5.42% claimed to have no college GPA. From the findings it is
evident that a majority of the respondents had good credible GPA. Such good GPA bracket is
crucial to the school institution and also proves that a majority of the student leaders are top
performing students in their various universities. This also shows that these institutions of higher
learning breed good leaders that result in the success of the institution academically.
In levels of Education, it was established that 65.06% of the respondents were in their
undergraduate level, 14.46% graduate level, 19.28% in their PhD level and the remaining 1.20%
any other educational level. From the findings it is evident that a majority of the respondents are
in their early levels of education and therefore presumed to be young adults. This could mean
that most of the student leaders are in their productive years and therefore able to juggle
schoolwork and their roles in leadership effectively. This is a good level of education especially
for the learning institutions as they have young energetic minds able to run their leadership
duties and perform well in their academics with ease.
From the correlation statistics it is observed that there is a strong positive correlation with
emphasis on academic success and demands for leadership positions (r = 0.456, P < 0.001)
and a substantial positive correlation with ethical leadership at (r = -0.201, p < 0.001). Through
statistical analysis of the data collected in the survey questionnaire run through SPSS linear
regression it is established that H1(first hypothesis) proves significant with a p value of 0.000
and that there is a positive relationship between leadership role demands and pressure on
academic performance. There is without a doubt a relationship between the two factors.
Leadership roles can be demanding which could result to a student leader feeling stressed and
on the other hand the same student is required to academically perform leading to them feeling
the pressure to academically perform. Both factors result in a student leader feeling stressed
and anxious. After regression analysis the second hypothesis (H2) proved significant with a beta
value of -0.311, SE value of 0.085 and a p value of 0.000. The more tension a student leader is
subject to the more unethical he or she is expected to act.

Licensed under Creative Common Page 57

 ©Author(s)

Academic pressure was also hypothesized as mediating the negative relationship

between leadership role demands and ethical leadership. The findings gathered after the
analysis proved the hypothesis significant. So, it can be inferred that academic pressure
generates a negative relationship between leadership role demands and ethical leadership .
The indirect effect of x on y gave a coefficient value of 0.1116, SE value of 0.0550, using
5000 bootstrap and a confidential interval of 95 percent (CI) of [0.0191,0.2312]. Using
control variables such as gender and educational level, it was again hypot hesized that
leadership role demands contribute negatively to academic success, the results of this study
showed that the test was negligible with a beta value of 0.020, SE value of 0.037 and a p
value of 0.590 A fifth hypothesis was also conducted stating that pressure on academic
performance mediates the negative relationship between leadership role demands and
academic performance and the results exhibited that pressure on academic performance
does not result in a negative connection between the demands of leadership roles and
academic performance. The indirect effect of x on y resulted in a coefficient value of 0.0061,
SE value of 0.0223, using 5000 bootstrap and a confidential interval of [-0.0348, 0.0545] of
95% CI.
The research has provided some insight into the impact of student leadership roles on
academic performance. The finding indicates that a majority of the respondents were of the
opinion that leadership does impact academic performance. 44.58% of the respondents were of
the opinion that there is indeed a conflict between academic pursuits and leadership role
demands and 83.4% felt they lacked the proper support of their views from their university.
85.6% of the respondents agreed that student leaders frequently ignore university policies and
statutes an unethical behavior that could be as a result of pressure/stress to academically
perform and also from their demanding roles
The result indicates that student leaders’ productivity problems are within the
environment. The cumulative pressure to perform and also the demands of their respective
roles suggest a subsequent drop in morale and overall performance both in their roles and
academia. It is also concluded based on the results that an increase in their leadership role
demands could result to unethical behaviors or practices by a student leader. The major
challenges are pressure and stress and what it could result to.
The major solutions to these challenges would involve: creating or offering training
programs for the student leaders, receiving rewards from time to time for work well done and
also taking into consideration student leaders’ views. These are among the few things that can
help change the stressful environment encumbering a student leader.

Licensed under Creative Common Page 58

 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom

RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the above discussions of the major findings of the study, the following are the
recommendations. Learning institutions should pay keen attention to student leadership and
offer training to student leaders. Training could help a student leader understand what it means
to be in leadership and be able to better manage the pressures that come with it and at the
same time perform academically. Student leadership should be seen as investment by learning
institutions for these students aid in the success of the institutions. Student leaders should also
often be rewarded and encouraged in their work. Learning institutions should also engage and
listen to student leaders’ views. This are among the few recommendations that would help ease
the pressure and stress felt by student leader.
Due to lack of enough literature on the subject of student leadership roles and its impact
on academic performance, it is suggested that more studies be undertaken in regards to student
leaders and academic performance in all other levels of education especially, primary and
secondary education.

LIMITATIONS
The data collection instrument (questionnaire) used is relatively long and without
patience the respondents may give up answering all the questions. Some necessary rewards
were considered for the respondents in order for them to engage in the survey and this would in
turn guarantee the validity of the survey.
Based on the study undertaken, there was lack of enough literature on the subject of
student leadership roles and its impact on academic performance resulting to lack of previous
research studies on the topic.

REFERENCES
Ahiatrogah, P. Dela, & Koomson, A. K. (2013). Impact of Perceived Student Leadership Role on the Academic
Performance of Distant Education Students in Ghana. The Online Journal of Distance Education and E-Learning,
1(3), 26–34.
Bedewy, D., & Gabriel, A. (2015). Examining perceptions of academic stress and its sources among university
students: The Perception of Academic Stress Scale. Health Psychology Open, 2(2).
https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102915596714
Farooq, M. S., Chaudhry, a H., Shafiq, M., & Berhanu, G. (2011). Factors Affecting Students’ Quality of Academic
Performance: A Case of Secondary School Level. Journal of Quality and Technology Management, VII(II), 1–14.
Fraser, B. J., Walberg, H. J., Welch, W. W., & Hattie, J. A. (1987). Syntheses of educational productivity research.
International Journal of Educational Research, 11(2), 147–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-0355(87)90035-8
Grint, K. (2007). Learning to lead: Can aristotle help us find the road to wisdom? Leadership, 3(2), 231–246.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715007076215
Hao, M. J., & Yazdanifard, R. (2015). How Effective Leadership can Facilitate Change. Global Journal of
Management and Business Research: A Administration and Management, 15(9), 0–6.

Licensed under Creative Common Page 59

 ©Author(s)

Jabal, E. (2006). Learning from Hong Kong alumni: Lessons for school leadership. International Journal of
Leadership in Education, 9(1), 21–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603120500483672
Kar, S. (2005). Ethical Leadership: Best Practice for Success. Journal of Business and Management, 112–116.
Marcketti, S. B., & Kadolph, S. J. (2010). Empowering student leadership beliefs: An exploratory study. International
Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 22(2), 131–139.
http://eric.ed.gov/?q=student+leadership&ft=on&id=EJ930142
Murage, L. M., Njoka, J., & Gachahi, M. (2019). Challenges Faced by Student Leaders in Managing Student Affairs in
Public Universities in Kenya. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 7(1), 1.
https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.7n.1p.1
Schuh, J. H., & Laverty, M. (1983). The perceived long-term influence of holding a significant student leadership
position. Journal of College Student Personnel, 24(1), 28–32. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1983-26713-001
Shertzer, J. E., & Schuh, J. H. (2011). College Student Perceptions of Leadership: Empowering and Constraining
Beliefs. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 42(1). https://doi.org/10.2202/1949-6605.1417
Tsinidou, M., Gerogiannis, V., & Fitsilis, P. (2010). Evaluation of the factors that determine quality in higher education:
An empirical study. Quality Assurance in Education, 18(3), 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1108/09684881011058669
Yukl, G., Mahsud, R., Hassan, S., & Prussia, G. E. (2013). An improved measure of ethical leadership. Journal of
Leadership and Organizational Studies, 20(1), 38–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051811429352

Licensed under Creative Common Page 60