Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
place for honing leadership skills and personal growth in a political arena during the
most critical years of their lives. These said tertiary institutions, according to Giraud
Klopf (1960), should have these kind of organizations (student governments), with their
In this study, the student leaders from the student government and clubs in
and evaluation. In connection to one of Klopfs (1960) idea, he also pointed out the
to function properly. As taken from G. Klopfs (1960) study, careful planning needs to
take place during the preparation stage of student government. The coordination
between the student government officials to one another, to the (school) administration,
organizational action. Also, the how and what should the student government report
active citizens. He later found out in reality that this is not what the students perceive
student government officers from the different school divisions complained about the
outcome of another school divisions Job Fair activity. During a follow-up meeting held
to discuss the evaluation of the outcome of the activity, the other school divisions
student government officers stated that the job fairs implementation heavily favored the
The ideal process of the conduct of school activities in a certain private and
sectarian university in Davao City is in three forms, first is that of the Division Student
However, in reality, there were instances that usual processes in the conduct of
school activities in this said university in Davao City are not followed. According to the
complained about the implementation of the attendance card to the students of their
Division during their schools Fiesta activities. Although this tradition was started just the
previous year, the current set of student leaders from the Divisions Student Executive
Council were not consulted regarding the implementation of this matter. In another article
from the schools publication (Anonymous, 2009), there was a heated argument between
the Office of Student Affairs Director (OSA) against a certain School Division and the
Student Council. This was regarding a volleyball game during the 2009 Intramurals,
where the certain School Divisions team was sanctioned by the OSA Director with no
time-outs during their game. This decision, according to the Student Council President,
was not what the OSA Director and the Student Government Body agreed upon.
Council President (2013), the usual conduct of school activities is traditionally done and
3
categorized into two processes: that of the Student Council-initiated activities and the
And like the cases in that certain sectarian University in Davao City in reality,
there were certain parts in the conduct of school activities in this public University where
the ideal process is not followed. According to one of this public Universitys
Communication Arts major, a forum organized by one of their College Student Council
about Human Rights Violation was delayed by the School Administration. The forum,
which was planned to be held on a certain date, was denied of its venue and time slot by
the upper brasses. According to the Communication Arts major (2013), At first, the
forum was already approved. But at the actual time of the event, the School
Administration put the activity into hold without an explanation. But I suspect that they
didnt want it to happen in the first place. They eventually rescheduled it on a later date,
yet still did not explain to the certain College Student Council on why they did not consult
Recognizing that there were instances that the ideal processes of formulation,
implementation, and evaluation of school activities were not actually followed, the gap of
the study lies in the information to be obtained from the Student Leaders experiences in
the conduct of school activities in universities in the local arena (Davao City).The
researchers, both as part of the student populace and participants to these activities,
described and analyzed the experiences of the Student Leaders from Ateneo de Davao
Theoretical Framework
(1971) the open-systems theory assumes that all organizations are comprised of
multiple subsystems, each of which receives inputs from other subsystems and turns
them into outputs for use by other subsystems. The subsystems are not necessarily
activity.
In this theory, organizations are interacting with each other, and that there is a
regular input and output of ideas in the system, all of which determines the feedback of
the course of action taken. At the processing stage the organization creates a new
the input. The output is then exported (with value added) to the environment. The cycle
assumption of the study that there is an interaction between the Student Leaders,
committees they have created and Student administration in the conduct of school
activities, and that there is a regular input and output of ideas in the institution (school).
The feedback from the output (school activities) of the Student Leaders to the students
will depend on whether the Student Leaders are following the ideal process in the
universities.
5
University of Mindanao?
B. What are the experiences of Student Leaders from selected universities in Davao
C. What are the suggestions by the Student Leaders in the conduct of School
School Administration
Government Body, which collaborates with them the conduct of school activities.
Regardless of the results of this study, the School Administration will now be more
knowledgeable of the concerns and suggestions of the Student Leaders in their Student
Government Body.
Student Leaders
The study helped the Student Leaders, not only of the current set of officers at
the time that this study was conducted, but to the succeeding officers in years to come. It
was supported with the fact that the results of the study can be absorbed and taken into
action by their respective School Administrations for the betterment of their relationship
Academe
Another party that benefited with the results of this study is the Academe, the
students and teachers not only of the three Universities, but also of any other University
that may find this relatable or relevant to their situations. All other Colleges and
Universities that may fall to the similar archetype category of the University in the study
may find similar or different results from this studys conclusions, and can consequently
More importantly, the study added more knowledge to people in the Political
Science Program, regarding the important details on both the ideal and real situations in
The scope of the study was about political participation of Student leaders from
their experiences the three stages of conduct of school activities in the universities in
Davao City. These three stages were the formulation, implementation and evaluation.
The study was conducted in three different tertiary schools in Davao City. These schools
The study was limited only to student leaders, which are the officers of the
importantly, the study is only limited to the formulation, implementation and evaluation
Experiences refer to the organizational experiences of the Student Leaders from their
respective Universities while being part of the Student Government in THE conduct of
feedbacks encountered by the Student Leaders, and their roles in the formulation,
Conduct of School Activities refers to processes done by the Student Leaders in the
and year level, current position in their respective Student Government Body, as well as
the nature of involvement in the conduct of school activities, and the duration of
experience of Student Leaders in the Student Government Body in the three universities.
Student Leaders refers to the officers of the SAMAHAN Central Board (SCB) in Ateneo
de Davao University (AdDU), officers of the University Student Council (USC) of the
University of the Philippines-Mindanao (UP-Min), and the officers of the College Council
different clubs of the three Universities that served in the academic year 2013-2014.
School Activities refer to both academic and non-academic activities formulated by the
clubs and student government of the three universities. They refer to extracurricular or
Contests, and all other school activities provided by the respective schools either by
Chapter 2
The purpose of this chapter is to present a review of past researches and studies that
focuses not only on experiences of student leaders, but also on student participation.
More specifically, this chapter contains reviews of applicable literature in the following
areas: student leaders' experiences in the conduct of school activities and that of the
student government.
I. Student Governments
governments serve the students and the institution of higher education as a whole
giving them a structure through which they express their voices and opinions. But
before, students were not allowed to participate in the school affairs especially when it
comes to making decisions for the university (Klopf, 1960). Klopf (1960) states that
because the students were oppressed by the scholars they were forced to create guilds
that later developed into student governments. This shows that student governments
were created and established for the security and welfare of the students. The rapid
development of student governments were observed in Italy since it was suitable for the
political situation at the time. There is also a long history of student involvement in
making decisions for colleges and universities, dating to the earliest beginnings of higher
education and the formation of student nations in Bologna (Love and Miller, 2003). The
as they engage more in student participation, students may encounter some difficulties
Morison summarizes all the reasons that can be given for the inclusion of students in the
Students have a right to such participation because they are citizens of the university in
Students can contribute to better decisions by adding another perspective into the
decision process.
The participation would give them a chance to learn about policy making process and
For students, university is a place of learning and personal growth during the most
This shows how student involvement and participation important and useful.
Student leaders aim to protect and secure the welfare of the students while they are in
ensure that decisions made by the administration would not violate the rights of the
students.
Even though students know what the aims of their student government are, there are still
some facts that they need to know on how a student government really works. There are
practices (Holdsworth, 1996). Active sharing implies that participation must meet
genuine needs, have an impact on matters in and outside classroom, and be challenging
the concept can educate the other administrators or faculty members and also the
students. There must at least be a basic belief in everybody concerned that student not
only has a right but also real contribution to make in the development of policy and
programs. If the administrators do not have a deep respect for the students and their
contribution, students may choose to express their opinions in other forms than the
since this will not result in educating experiences for them. According to Klopf (1960),
students need help in attaining the values that are necessary to work more efficiently in
their groups. They need some professional assistance, which should be the
responsibility of the faculty and the administration. Student government can function
properly only in collaboration with the administration and under the administrations
pedagogical supervision (Portnykh, 2001). This supervision must also provide help to
apply the functions of student government through ways like recommending relevant
It is also important for students and student leaders to deeply understand the
different types of student governments in order for the students to effectively supervise
the student social activities. There are three forms of student governing groups found in
literature, although in real practice this number can be a lot higher since every institution
12
adopts their own most suitable form according to the situation on its campus. The first is
called Community Government by Klopf (1960), which is the closest of all forms, to the
practical idea of democracy. This type gives the greatest number of direct share in the
campus: administration, faculty, students and sometimes clerical and maintenance staff.
In this type of governance, there are committees of all aspects of university life; such as
committee, etc. Klopf (1960) believes that students should be represented in all of these
committees. Next is the Student Council, which is the representative of the student body
as a whole. Each member of this council is elected by all the students, and responsible
to all of them. This system is good according to Klopf (1960), as student representatives
can have a broader and more objective point of view in their work. However, it might also
mean that each representative is removed from the individual student because he is
the representatives of all student organizations or groups on the campus. Usually these
groups are student clubs or societies. This system is a result of a natural election and
representation system, that of student clubs; however, this means not each and every
student is represented on the organizational council. Another student group that comes
together to form the organizational council is academic groups. This means all first year
students make up a group, and so on. In addition, the council may be based on
geographical areas where students live. What Klopf (1960) suggests as the best type of
represented both as classes, living groups, clubs, and by representatives elected by the
The next related literature is the dissertation of Michael Lenard Sanseviro entitled
Making at a Two-Year Public College (2007). In his article Sanseviro (2007) tackled
about his experiences on decision-making with student leader and he stated that I
believe that while various policies and procedures exist to incorporate student input,
administrative efforts may also exist to circumvent policy and procedure that diminish or
even silence the students' voices. This shows that even though there are efforts to
strengthen the voices of the student leaders in decision-making, there are still some
processes that would violate the rights of the student leaders. The purpose of Sanseviro
of civil discourse that results in informed action for the benefit of the community in which
Philippines
problems. One good example was the issue about the cancellation of senatorial
candidates forum on health, population and development a day before it was supposed
2013). This senatorial candidates forum was cancelled because of the decision of the
14
university's administration. One of the organizers, the Student Council Alliance of the
Philippines (SCAP) said that the Secretary General of the university's office decided to
stop the event because they fear that the Reproductive Health Law will be discussed in
the said forum (Casauay, 2013). The problem escalated due to the reactions of the
members of the Student Council Alliance where in SCAP's chairperson for NCR, Heart
Dio, cried foul over the "blatant disregard of "students' academic freedom". The Student
Council Alliance believed that the said forum was about "young people's health in its
entirety, and not on reproductive health alone, and there was no reason for the
university's administration to cancel the forum. Even the vice president of the UST's
Central Student Council said that We feel that this is a loss for the Thomasians, being
2013). This showed that even the university student government didnt have the chance
to decide whether to continue the forum or to cancel it. Even there were lots of efforts to
improve the participation of student leaders in the decision-making there were still
Another example was the issue in Ateneo de Manila. The issue was about the
complaint of students and students leaders in the different divisions in ADMU because
of the alleged bias for the School of Management (SOM) during the annual APO Job
Fair. A dialogue between the administrators and concerned students was conducted in
order to solve the issue (Francisco, 2012). The issue began when the president of
Ateneo Debate Society, posted in the Facebook group of Sanngu Bantay Halalan that
there was a lack of options for non-management students, noting that most of the fair
participants were multinational corporations. The main pressing problem here was that
the administration created an activity that was not fair to all students. The decision-
15
making were not participated by all students and including the different department
leaders that was why they were complaining on why the annual APO Job Fair focused
on giving opportunities to the students of School of Management. The problem did not
only lie in the participation of the student leaders but as well as the implementation.
obtained a personal account from a former Ateneo First Year Orientation Program
(AFYOP) Facilitator (2013), that the selection of AFYOP Facilitators before, being part of
the AFYOP activity, was at the discretion of both the SAMAHAN Central Board and the
Office of Student Affairs Director. The AFYOP, being a calendared activity and program
to orient First Year students, was under the SCBs list of the annually-shared decision-
making with the OSA Director. However, during the duration of the previous OSA
Directors tenure, the SCB was most often left out of the selection process of the
facilitators for the program. This showed that there were existing problems in instances
where student leaders were not involve in the conduct of school activities. In another
Atenews article (Aquino, 2009), there was a heated argument between the Office of
Student Affairs Director (OSA) against the Engineering and Architecture Division and the
SAMAHAN Central Board (SCB). This was regarding the BM versus EA Volleyball game
during the 2009 Intramurals, where the EA team was sanctioned by the OSA Director
with no time-outs during their game. This decision, according to the SCB President at
that time was not what the OSA Director and the SCB agreed upon and these show that
In an article from Himati (UP-Min Official Publication) by Doreen Alolod (2011), she
stated the UP-Min. University Student Council was not consulted by the College
Business Manager in the planning for the design of the Student Center. According to
16
Alolod (2011), the commercialization of the food and services stalls in the Kalimudan
Student Center by the Office of Student Affairs was not supported by the UP-Min.
complained about the additional expenses that they would pay for these private services,
because these stalls would now implement higher prices for their commodities to pay up
for their rent to the Schools facilities. And also according to a personal interview from a
by the UP College of Humanities and Social Sciences Student Council about the Human
Rights Violation under the Aquino Administration was delayed by the School
Administration. The forum, which was planned to be held on the 28 th of November, 2012,
at the Lorenzo Hall, was denied of its venue and time slot by the upper brasses.
According to Molinos (2013), At first, the forum was already approved. But at the actual
time of the event, the School Administration put the activity into hold without an
explanation. They eventually rescheduled it on a later date, yet still did not explain to
the UP College of Humanities and Social Sciences Student Council on why they didnt
Supporting the real situations that differed from the ideal situations in both the
Ateneo de Davao University and the University of the Philippines-Mindanao, there were
also instances in the University of Mindanao wherein some parts of the decision-making
process of formulating school activities were not followed as usual. In an article by EVO
(School Publication), the College of Architecture administrators did not consult the CSG
preparation for the upcoming accreditation by the Philippine Association of Colleges and
Architecture CSG Representative, they were neither even aware nor informed of the
transfer, as all their laboratories are in the Bolton Campus. In another article EVO
the implementation of the RTB-Embassy flyover. In this issue, the RTB-Embassy flyover
plan was initiated by the outgoing CCSG President President Franklin Alipan, and
response from the School Administration regarding this matter. If not only through the
efforts of the Incoming CCSG President, Allan Magsipoc, who followed-up the proposal
to the City Council, that Mayor Rodrigo Duterte agreed with the proposal for its part of
III. Synthesis
These related literatures and issues were chosen by the researchers since it
supports the idea of studying the different experiences of Student Leaders and their
participation in the conduct of school activities. In the first part of the review and related
literature, the researchers showed the history of student governments wherein the
researchers established that a student government was created in order for the students
to engage in decision-making processes, but it was not easy from the start. As time
passed by, student participation developed and increased because students became
more aware of their rights and their capability to lead. They have understood their roles
and responsibilities as they were chosen to be part of the student government. In order
researchers showed the different reasons why students should be included in decision-
making (Morison, 1970). The main point of these reason stated by Morison is that
students have the right to have a say on what policies and activities that the university
18
would do for them and also it is a good training for students to be engage in decision-
making in their universities in order for them to be ready to lead in their community or in
their country. The study conducted in Georgia University by Michael L. Sanseviro on the
Making at a Two-Year Public College is also very important to include in this review and
related literature because this enables the researchers and the readers to know the
different kinds and forms of student participation outside the Philippines. This shows that
the awareness on how students participate on the decision-making process is valued not
only in the Philippines but even around the world. Lastly the inclusion of the pressing
issues in ADMU and UST for the national level, and the past issues in the local level
specifically in ADDU, UP-MIN and UM shows how active the Student Leaders are in
proving their rights and maintaining their part in the conduct of activities in their
understand what are their appropriate roles in the decision-making body of the
Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
This Chapter described how the study will be conducted, based on the principles
of a Research Study.
Research Design
qualitative research design was intended to examine and describe real-life situations
through the experiences of the Student Leaders regarding the conduct of school
This study was conducted on three universities in Davao City. These schools
University of Mindanao.
Unit of Analysis
The respondents of this study were the individual Student Leaders from each of
- From a recognized club of their specific university or from the student government.
Sampling Procedure
have chosen Student Leaders as respondent for the assumption that Student Leaders
Table 1
Variables Measures
Socio-Demographic-Political Profile:
Implementation - Committees
- Participation
- Dissemination of Information
Evaluation
- Lack of evaluation process
Formulation
Implementation
Evaluation
21
The first step that the researchers took was to ask permission to the OSA to
conduct the data collection in their vicinity through a letter. The researchers also
acquired the number of recognized club in each university. Next step was to hand the
letter of consent and approval to the possible respondent and with it was the socio-
the responses of all officers of the SAMAHAN Central Board (ADDU), University Student
Council (UP-Min), College Council of Student Governments (UM) and selected officers
of the different clubs organizations of the three Universities through the Socio-
Profile, the researchers identified the respondents who served at least 1 year as a
Student Leader through a quota of 15 respondents for each university, as well as the
position held as an officer. This means that there were a total of 15 respondents (Student
Government Body officers or club/organization officers alike) for the Focus Group
Discussions, in which it was separated into 2 Focus Group Discussions per school, with
the exception of the University of Mindanao. Since there were only 8 available
respondents that qualified for having served at least 1 year as a Student Leader in the
University of Mindanao, therefore there was only one Focus Group Discussion that was
initiated. That brings a total of 5 Focus Group Discussions overall for the 38
respondents. Originally, the 2 Focus Group Discussions per school was supposed to be
divided in between male and female respondents. However, due to the unequal number
of male and female participants in each school, particularly in UP-Min, wherein 12 out of
15 respondents were female, the said original plan was not followed. It is supported with
the fact that only 8 respondents qualified for the University of Mindanao, and thus it will
22
only suffice for one Focus Group Discussion. Only the respondents of AdDU had an
almost equal number of male and female respondents, with 8 male and 7 female
respondents respectively. For uniformity, the researchers decided to conduct the Focus
organization respondents, again with the exception of the University of Mindanao Focus
Group Discussion. Next, for the In-Depth Interview, 3 respondents from each school
were chosen based on the most substantial outputs that they gave during the FGDs.
Data Analysis
Ethical Consideration
The researchers considered certain factors in determining that the rights and reserved
respect for the privacy of the respondents are met. Availability and informed consent was
a factor in choosing student leader correspondents. The names of the respondents did
not count as a variable for the study, and as such was omitted along with the anonymity
requests of some of the respondents. The answers of the respondents, either in written,
recorded or any other form, were be preserved, or cited accordingly, depending on the
guardians of the respondents that are not of legal age was also followed.
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Chapter 4
This chapter presents the experiences of student leaders from Ateneo de Davao
conduct of school activities in their respective schools. The chapter will include the
I. Socio-Demographic-Political Profile
A. Socio-Demographic Profile
Age. Half of the researcher's respondents from the three schools are 19 years of
age. University of the Philippines-Mindanao has the most number of student leaders who
are 19 years old. The only and the oldest student leader, who is 29 years old is from
University of Mindanao.
Sex.More than half of the respondents from the three selected schools in Davao
City are Females. There were 21 female respondents among the 38 respondents from
the three schools. University of the Philippines-Mindanao has the most number of female
Religion.More than half of the respondents from the three selected schools in
Davao City are Roman Catholic. There were 29 Roman Catholic respondents among 38
respondents from the three schools. Ateneo de Davao University had the most number
Table 2
Socio-Demographic Profile
B. Socio-Political Profile
leaders, if they are part of a Student Government or a Club or Organization, their Current
Position as a Student Leader and the number of Years they have been a Student Leader
in College.
25
More than half of the respondents are part of a Club or Organization, having 21
out of the total 38 respondents. Ateneo de Davao University has the most number of
respondents who belonged to a Club or Organization. The researchers believe that there
were more respondents coming from a Club or Organization because Student leaders
from Clubs or Organization have more experiences regarding to the conduct of activities.
Nevertheless, the difference between the number of respondents from a Club and from
the Student government is only minimal. The researcher believed that Student leaders
from Clubs or Organizations responded better to the research because they experienced
more problems than the Student Government. Even though Student Government
directly relationship with the students and know what the problems are when it comes to
University of the Philippines-Mindanao had the most number of presidents among the
selected schools. Although some positions like chancellor and chairperson was also
categorized as president because it is also the highest ranking position in the hierarchy
of the officers. The researchers also merged the category for representative and
College or Cluster of courses student government head and the nature of their
responsibility is almost the same. The researchers first plan was only to have
respondents that are presidents but during the actual data collection not all presidents
responded to the researchers and some presidents were not able to pass the criteria of
having at least 1 year experience as a student leader. There was a problem encountered
in the data collection in the University of Mindanao because only 8 student leaders
passed to the criteria of having at least 1 year experience of being a student leader. The
problem was because not all student leaders actually responded to the data collection.
The researchers believe that this is because students in University of Mindanao have
limited opportunities in terms of being a part in the student government. This will be
student leader, either as an officer from the student government or the clubs and
organizations of their respective universities. Most of these said student leaders having
only at least a year of experience are coming from the University of the Philippines-
Mindanao. This is coupled with the fact that the student government and organizations of
the said university elects their officers internally, either by organization or by College
(cluster of courses).
27
Table 3
Socio-Political Profile
Student Government 7 8 2 17
Club/Organization 8 7 6 21
Current Position as an
Officer:
President 9 10 6 25
Vice-President 2 0 2 4
Secretary 2 1 0 3
Treasurer 0 1 0 1
Auditor 0 1 0 1
Representative 2 2 0 4
Number of Years as a
Student Leader:
1 year 5 8 1 14
2 years 3 4 4 11
3 years 6 3 2 11
4 years 1 0 1 2
In this part of the said chapter, these themes shall be identified by first stating the
experiences of student leaders for each school. The researchers clustered these said
respondents:
In Ateneo de Davao University, clubs and organizations are under the Campus
Clubs & Organizations (CCO), upon which all of their activities must be submitted to the
Office of Student Affairs (OSA), and be approved. For most parts, the student leader
respondents from these said clubs and organizations testified that they all undergo the
same type of complying process for all clubs and organizations. For the Student
Government, their activities come from either their own initiative or that from external
institutions.
evaluations in terms of making activities from their OSA. The same goes with that of the
UP-Min student government, upon which their activities are either student government-
The same can also be said with that of the University of Mindanao (UM), wherein
each College Student Government or club is subject to the requirements set by their
Office of Student Affairs, and with the supervision of their Vice President for Operations.
In most parts, the student government and the clubs from the said Universities
The said statement was delivered by one of the club student leaders of the said
school. He affirmed the statement that is generally coming from all the club student
leaders in Ateneo de Davao that shared the same response in terms of their budget
The same can be said for the student government of AdDU, upon which the
respondents coming from the said body had a uniform statement in terms of the
budgeting system of AdDU, albeit minor differences from that of most of the clubs
budget system.
For the organizations coming from the UP-Min, there are similarities to that of the
greatly from that of the responses from AdDU and UP-Mindanao. The statement of the
few interviewed student government leaders from UM confirmed the said difference.
In comparing the budget aspect of clubs from UM, it is still important to note that
it rather differs from the budget system of AdDU and UP-Mindanao, as stated by most of
The main thing for our club is that we have monthly dues.
At the start of the semester, it is quite hard to implement it
because our oath-taking is rater late, and that we can start
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Most club officer respondents inferred that there is a protocol in which all clubs
must comply with, before an activity must be implemented, and that it is to be submitted
For UP-Min, there was a general consensus in terms of experiences by both student
leaders from organizations and also the student government in terms of the
Again, for UM, although there are certain similarities that their student
government and clubs have in terms of passing requirements to OSA with that from the
responses coming from AdDU and UP-Min, there are rather intriguing minor differences.
One student government officers response best described that of UMs student
In support of that statement, there are similar concerns coming from the
responses of the club officers of UM. It is best encapsulated in of the club officers of UM:
In planning for school activities, there were many similar ways that each club and
even the student government shared in their responses. Most of them pointed out to a
Respondent ADDU D, who is a club president, said that their club is actually
lively in making activities, because even if we already had a set of activities made
through our LRP (Long-Range Planning), we also have abrupt ones. These abrupt
ones, he said, are either suggested by the Environmental Unit of their student council,
school.
A similar concept of an LRP aroused from the responses of student leaders from UP-
Min. As best described by one of its organization officers, and the same generally
applies to the majority of the organizations and that of the student government.
Another additional insight regarding LRP comes from that of another club officer.
For UM, although their student government and clubs have traditional activities,
just like AdDU and UP-Min, there is still yet another major difference in terms of their
planning for school activities. In this statement by a UM club officer, the difference is
obviously in display.
In addition to the statement, there is one similar response that is rather felt by the
rest of the UM respondents was that of the problems in terms of planning for school
activities.
4) Committees
Another trend from the responses of the student leaders from has something to
do with Committees. Most clubs and the student government officers had similar
responses that they have this sort of division of labor that they allocate to their officers,
For AdDU, the general concept of having committees is shared by most clubs,
and is also a part of the student governments structure. One particular club of AdDU
even ad hoc committees. You know in Samahan, theres the Creative Team, which
is a committee that makes all video presentations, posters, ads, and everything for
the activity to get the attention of students. That Committee I think is the most
important out of the 9 (committees). Thats the key, if you get the attention of
students especially in the social sites, then you are surely going to have many
1) Committees
For the implementation of school activities, respondent ADDU G said that the
committees that we had in the making of the activities are carried over in the actual
activity. Since their club has a consistent set of committees, they know their roles in
start off with attendance, and the program (committee members) are the MCs (Master of
Ceremonies) and they conduct the prayers and all., respondent ADDU G added. For
him, since he assigned these committees based on their skills, they actually know what
37
to do in such activities. But even their activities are not without problems.
At the activity, since almost all of our activities are outdoors, we always start
Environmental club, are often done in coasts, mangrove areas, sanctuaries and the
likes. Most of their club members who participate in these activities that paid prior to an
activity often come late, and since they embark on their destination at a specified time,
the club officers are forced to wait for them. Its a common thing, to wait for them.
Because we paid in advance for jeepney drivers to take us for example, to plant trees in
Matina Pangi or Maa, therefore, we have to wait for them. This Filipino time, its a
Another club president, respondent ADDU H, described how they implement their
activity as a club. We never won the outstanding club because we were just an ordinary
club, she started. The same as other clubs, they also have committees upon which they
38
carry out their duties from the formulation and into the actual activity itself. The main
difference, according to him, is that they are a political club/party. I think its part of
tradition, that we take pride in everything that we do. We have great officers and even
members, they know their tasks, respondent ADDU H boasted. At the actual time of
activity, mostly for leadership and political forums, not only do they have many active
members, but that they do their individual or group tasks very well, for most of the time.
have many talented and hard-working members that makes it easier for activities, said
manpower for implementing activities, the SEC of Respondent H has many people to
assign tasks to. Most of the problems that they encounter are student participation,
wherein it becomes a waste of effort for their activities when only a few people would
attend it.
ADDU O, 2013)
With this, the themes that are most commonly stated in the implementation of
school activities are: committees functioning with different tasks, the problems in
2) Participation
leaders were very disappointed in their activities if there were few students attended the
activity because they encountered different difficulties on the formulation of activity and
passing all the requirement and in the end only few attended the activity.
participate to the activity. The researcher looked at all angles on the problem about the
organization and again the researcher identified one factor and that is again because of
the high standards of the University. The student leader cannot always mandate all the
members of the club to attend to their activities because these students have their
40
academics to attend to. And again they will not prejudice their academic standing by
participating school activities. Also one factor of that the researcher identified was the
schedule of the activities because there activities that are scheduled near exam week.
Even though its not on the actual exam week but some professors move their exam and
that will affect the students. They will rather choose to study than to attend activities.
This statement was given by a respondent in our Focus Group discussion and
most of the participants agreed on this. Yes, they cannot force the members of to
participate but if the student leaders were more interactive it will keep the interest of their
members and they will tend to participate. The researchers analyzed that on this
situation the problem again was on the Student Leader and their capability to become
more interactive with their member. Again we can trace this to the number of years as a
have been student leader at least one year and it is a factor how they keep their interest
of their members. Student leaders should be able to provide what the members wants
Another theme that was common in the focus group discussion and interviews in
information about the up-coming activities. Student leaders pointed it out because they
have a difficulty on disseminating information about the activity this result to fewer
number of participant in their activity. This theme is related to the first theme about the
participation of the members and other students to the activities. And all of these
scenarios happened in the implementation of activity. Although this might also be part of
the formulation of activity this can be also categorized as implementation because most
of the respondents experienced this problem on the day of the implementation of the
activity.
In this statement two problems were identified by the student leader of University
members and other officers in the day of the implementation and the second one is the
dissemination of information to others students so that they will know that there is an
activity. It was stated that the president (UP) always remind her members and other
officers on what to do. This is part of the role of the president unlike in the formulation
that he/she only approves and sign in the implementation the president needs to
manage the whole activity. He/she should know whats happening on the different
committee but this doesn't mean that all members and other officers would just rely on
42
their president. The researcher traced the problem on the commitment of the members
and other officers to participate in the activity and they don't just participate but they also
and perform it for the success of the activity, members should not always really on the
presidents because all members of the club plays their role. Again the researcher traced
the reason on why do these members and other officers cannot do their responsibilities
well and its because they cannot manage their time for the academics and extra-
One factor that contributed to the lack of dissemination of information and the
reason of why only few participants go to the activities is because of the venues.
Although the student leaders can't do anything about the location of the building they
should have planned it in the formulation. The researchers believed that these problems
about the location of the buildings are solvable. The officers should have planned this
ahead before the implementation day so that the participants will know where to go and
how will they go there. But again they cannot force the students to participate to their
activities because they are in charge in the regulating events and activities but
sometimes they are having lapses because some student leaders said that they cannot
feel the presence of the administration during the implementation of the activity.
Even though this statement was not agreed by most participants in our focus
group discussion with the student leaders, the researchers have decided to include it
here in the analysis because even though most of them say that the administration is
very supportive but not all of the club officers experienced that way therefore they are
still lapses that the administration needs to improve. Yes they give rules and regulation
but they should regulate it in the day of administration. These are only students if
something happened they are not capable of doing all the things needed to be done the
administration should be there to help them. In the implementation aspect of the conduct
of school activities it is very important that the students and the administration should
Although the student leaders identified some lapses from the OSA we can still
conclude that in the implementation of the school activity open-systems theory is still
present. There is always an interaction between the school administration and the
student leaders in order to conduct a successful school activity. There is still room for
44
improvements for the administration as well as for the student leaders. In relation to our
review and related literature the researchers would like to point out that nobody is
perfect and even systems are not perfect. There will come a point that one or both of the
systems will have lapses but after these lapses they will have a chance to improve what
they did wrong. It is normal to commit mistakes as long as you accept that it is wrong
and you will find ways to make it right. So even in some point, administration or the
student leaders creates mistake that would affect the school activities there are still time
to make it right.
UM E. They only give ideas for an activity, and if the school administration likes it, then
they would possibly fund it and approve it. But even if the whole studentry wants it, and
the school administration doesnt, then it does not push through at all.
(2013), there is an economic chokehold of the school administration because they are
in control of the finances. Thats the big difference. Although the activity already has a
Another additional problem came out in terms of the venue for the
You cant just use the venue for your activity, even if it
was already reserved. The admin can always take that
away from you, anytime they want. Like for example, when
we had an Intervarsity Debate Competition recently. We
invited students, even from your school, locally, and we
were almost finishing the event. During break time, the
admin just told us to pack up and leave because they are
going to use the event. What?! We reserved this even a
month ago, and then this is what will happen. They didnt
even offer an explanation, and we were embarrassed in
front of our guests. (Respondent UM F, 2013)
As having one of the most numbers of members in any club in their school, respondent
UM C inferred that even their teachers are supportive of their activities. Still, it was
prominent club in their school, respondent UM C has his fair share of problems in
implementing school activities. As of late, they cannot conduct most activities during
University doesnt have an activity period. Its all academics, he said. From the 1st class
in the morning until the last class in the evening, there are no breaks to accommodate
club activities.
These are the themes that are present in the implementation of school activities
of activities, the financial woes of clubs and even the student council, and also a lack of
venue.
Most, if not all student leaders stated that their clubs or organizations usually
dont have an evaluation of school activities. This is one of the main themes of this part
of conducting school activities. One of the respondents, however, stood out as his
evaluation of almost all their activities every after the said activity is conducted. When
well have our first meeting after an activity, we critique it., said respondent ADDU K. For
the student council, this is a very helpful exercise to learn upon for future references on
This sole response of respondent ADDU K, out of all student leader respondents
from the said school, signifies that this is the one and only big difference in terms of their
evaluation of school activities in most organizations and even the student government.
One respondent from UP-Min best describes the overall lack of a formal evaluation of
activities.
conducting evaluations for every activity that they conducted. Most argued that they
usually just move on to the next activity, because most of these are short-term activities.
One of the best responses from the said aspect of conducting school activities was given
Most of the respondents from AdDU delivered suggestions not only directed to
the school administration, but also to future student leaders of their respective clubs and
also that of the student government. One such Ateneo club student leader expressed his
In addition, for the side of the student government of AdDU, there is a vastly
overwhelming response regarding one particular matter that was common in terms of
their suggestion. One of the key respondents, which was also the most experienced
regards to their experiences as student leaders. They have stated that unlike the years
activities in their school, as set by their school administration. However, one particular
experienced student leader defined the most important thing that should improve in the
leaders said that improvements should be made within their certain organizations first.
50
But one particular suggestion of an organization student leader from UP was addressed
Of all the schools in the said study, the respondents from UM had the most
suggestions in terms of the conduct of school activities. Most of these were addressed to
their school administrations, as has been the general theme coming from the said
school. One of UMs seasoned student leader spoke of the direction of the school
suggestion, which generally serves as the best and common statement from almost all
Through all the general themes gathered from all the categories of the conduct of
school activities coming from all schools, there are rather outputs that are in strong
The Open Systems Theory, which is the framework used in this study, assumes
that all organizations are comprised of multiple subsystems, each of which receives
inputs from other subsystems and turns them into outputs for use by other subsystems.
In connection to the data presented and the themes that were generated through
organizations from the said schools. These subsystems are in the form of Committees,
52
which are purposely organized within the student government, club or organization, and
is an integral part in carrying out specific functions to conduct school activities. The
output of these Committees are not only essential, but through all accumulated tasks
that they specifically perform, it determines the success or failure of such activities.
Also, in this theory, organizations are interacting with each other, and that there
is a regular input and output of ideas in the system, all of which determines the feedback
of the course of action taken. At the processing stage the organization creates a new
the input. The output is then exported (with value added) to the environment. The cycle
With regards to the statement and the presented and analyzed data, most
organizations or clubs and student governments from all schools interact with each other
and produce a regular input and output of ideas. For example, all schools clubs,
organizations and student governments interact with their respective Office of Student
Affairs (OSA). They submit requirements, propose budget, all of which will determine
whether their planned activities will take effect, or be considered. With this interaction in
between the organization and their OSA, the student leaders are trained to formulate
activities, allocate budgets, in which it will help in the conduct of their activities. This is
done in a regular matter, for all schools, as each activity undergoes this kind of cycle.
an avenue for students to be engaged in whatever activities that the clubs or student
governments implement. This supports the idea of the theory that At the processing
stage the organization creates a new product, process materials, trains people, or
provides a service. It does not only provide an avenue for the student leaders to serve,
During the evaluation phase, the input from the students regarding their reactions
leaders. This in turn, Is a clear relation to the theorys concept that Something is done
to the input. The output is then exported (with value added) to the environment. The
cycle is eventually renewed and the process begins again. Once an evaluation is done
from the recommendations or reactions of students after an activity, the student leaders
can eventually learn something from it and in turn it will serve as a basis to improve their
In relation to one of the related literatures in this study, there different types of
student governments in order for the students to effectively supervise the student social
activities. Based on the output from the student leaders in this study, the researchers
have determined that according to Klopf (1960), there are three forms of student
governing groups found in literature, thus they have classified the student governments
According to Klopf (1960), these three student governing groups are the
Government. This is because according to Klopf (1960), this type gives the greatest
representatives from each group on the campus: administration, faculty, students and
sometimes clerical and maintenance staff, and that students should be represented in all
of these committees. With all the responses coming from AdDU in this study, it is safe to
say that although they name their student government as a Student Council, they
actually fall in Klopfs category as a Community Government. This is because the AdDU
In the other hand, the student government of the University of the Philippines-
member of this council is elected by all the students, and responsible to all of them. This
broader and more objective point of view in their work. However, it might also mean that
a large group. This is true for UP-Min, as their USC (University Student Council) officers
are elected at large by students, each representing a certain College (cluster of courses)
in their university. And although they represent their different Colleges, they dont put the
interest of their respective Colleges at play, but rather that of the whole studentry in
general.
Lastly, the University of Mindanao student government, although limited, can still
be classified under Klopfs categorization. UMs student government, based on the data
organizations or groups on the campus. Usually these groups are student clubs or
societies. This system is a result of a natural election and representation system, that of
student clubs; however, this means not each and every student is represented on the
organizational council. This bodes true for UMs CCSG (Cluster of College Student
Governments), as their CSG (College Student Government) officers, which are the
members of the CCSG, are elected class/section officers. They are not elected at large
by the UM studentry, and do not represent all students in the student government as a
whole.
55
Chapter V
Profile, Experiences of Student leaders and their suggestions on the conduct of school
activities. The Socio-Demographic profile is categorized in three concepts and these are
Age, Sex and Religion. The Socio-Political Profile is also categorized in three concepts
and these are Part of Student Government and Club or Organization, Current Position
Experiences and Suggestions of Student Leaders in the conduct of school activities the
conclusion is divided in three parts which are in the formulation, implementation and
evaluation.
Socio-Demographic Profile
More than half of the respondents are 19 years old and this is same in the three
schools. The researcher's concluded that most student leaders are in either 3 rd or 4th
year and this is because in this age student are more responsible and capable on
handling situations in the school activities. The researchers also saw the importance on
the policy of the Ateneo de Davao City on deciding that their first year students cannot
enter organization. The importance of this is that first year students dont have much
experience to handle or join an organization and also the university wants the first year
students to establish first their academic status before joining extra-curricular activities.
This policy is not practiced in the University of the Philippines-Mindanao and University
56
of Mindanao thats is why first year have chances to become and officer even though
Throughout the study more females are involved in school activities and being a
student leader. Although this is only present in the University of the Philippines-
Mindanao this shows that females are more capable of handling a position in a student
respondents were males and the researchers concluded that in Ateneo de Dvao
University sex distribution is balance. Males and Females can both handle the
Throughout the study the religions that arise in the data collection is Roman
therefore it is expected that most students are Catholic and other Christian religion. This
Socio-Political Profile
More than half of the respondents are part of the Club. The researcher concluded
that even though Club Leaders have more experience and have more diret relationship
with the students it is still not a guarantee that they have the best qualifications to
become an effective leader. And even student government is the highest student
government body in a university it is not also corresponds that they are fit to be called an
effective leader. Throughout the study both experienced various problems that can be
trace to the weakness of the structure of their student government and club.
The next category is the current position of the student leader. Most of our
57
concluded that although president is the highest ranking position it doesn't guarantee
that they have the vast experience in the conduct of school activities. Presidents
manage the school activities however it doesn't mean that they dont need help form the
other officers. The researcher encountered lower positioned Student leader that have
vaster experiences when it comes to the conduct of school activities than a president.
the conduct of school activities. Most of the respondents have one year experience and
some of them are well experienced enough but also some of them have difficulty coping
concluded that they cannot generalized and say that having one year experience as a
student leader will qualify or not qualify you to become an effective student leader. Since
this will also depend to the personality of the student if he or she can handle the
In the experiences of student leaders, there were themes that were generated
out of their responses. These said themes were present in either two out of the three
schools' student government or clubs and organizations, while some themes were
present in all three of them. As stated in the previous chapter, these themes were
school activities.
Formulation
student leaders from the Ateneo de Davao University and the University of the
Philippines-Mindanao, at least for their clubs or organizations. First is that most of the
respondents stated that their club has a Long-Range Planning (LRP) of activities even
before they conduct a single activity for the school year. Also, their respective Office of
Student Affairs (OSA) has a clear and uniform basis of the requirements for each club or
organizations before they can conduct any activity. The passing of a concept paper,
budget proposal and reservation of venues and materials are all present and available
for the clubs and organizations of the two said schools. Also, most of the respondents
from AdDU and UP-Mindanao also experienced internal problems in terms of complying
with these said requirements. Sometimes their club or organization cannot conduct the
said activity in time because they fail to meet the deadlines set for the requirements by
their respective OSA, and that these are purely because of a failure in coordination or
actions between officers. Meanwhile, the same cannot be said for the respondents from
the University of Mindanao, as their clubs are often times limited, both in budget and in
Implementation
similar problem. This problem is in the form of student participation, or the lack thereof.
In all three universities, the student leaders said that sometimes their efforts to conduct
specific activities for the benefit of students are put to waste when there is not much
attendance, or genuine participation from them. This can be contributed to the venue
availability, wherein the student leaders from AdDU and UP-Mindanao observed that the
availability of the venues, as well as the distance in between buildings are sometimes
detrimental to student participation. The same can also be said to the problems
pointed out that even if they have reserved venues for the event, there is no actual
assurance that they can use that venue in the time that they are conducting an activity.
Also, the interference of the school administration in some activities conducted by the
University of Mindanao student leaders is something that is unique in that school, and is
Evaluation/Assesment
Lastly, in the assessment of school activities, there is one common theme that is
strongly present in either clubs or organizations and student governments of all said
schools. This lack of evaluation of school activities is something that the student leaders
suggested for future and upcoming officers. They understood that it is important to have
an evaluation to know and learn the mistakes and areas for improvement for their next
activities. Only the student government of AdDU and a few of the school's clubs have an
Suggestions
Throughout the study student leaders of the three selected university have
encountered difficulties in the conduct of school activities. Not all of the respondents
have actually stated their suggestions in the three aspects of the school activities.
Student Leaders from Ateneo de Davao University and University of the Philippines-
Mindanao complemented the work of their administration since they have done a great
job to help the Student leaders in the aspect of Formulation. However this was not
follow in the University of Mindanao because student leaders accounted that there are
really problems in the formulation of school activities between them and their
student participation and availability of venues that is why most of the respondents
on every activity of the Student Government and Organizations. In the evaluation there
was no really direct suggestion that was given by the respodents however the
researchers observed that most Student leader does not conduct formal evaluation after
their activity. Some of the respondents actually realize the importance of the evaluation
after we conducted the data gathering and some of them suggested that Student
leaders should have a formal evaluation so that the student leader would know what
The study used the Open Systems Theory in order to describe and analyze the
relationship of the Student Leaders and the Administration, and Organization and their
committees. Open Systems theory assumes that all organizations are comprised of
multiple subsystems, each of which receives inputs from other subsystems and turns
them into outputs for use by other subsystems. The subsystems are not necessarily
activity. (Bertalanffy, 1971) and the study shows that the inputs and outputs are present
in the three schools. Although Ateneo de Davao and University of the Philippines-
Mindanao have great ties with the administration there are still problems identified.
However the researchers found out that in the University of Mindanao ties with the
Administration is not strong and in they always encounter problems in the conduct of
school activities.
In relation to the related literature, the researchers found out that the three
schools have different type of student government according to the definition of Klopf.
Council type of student government. Although the three schools have different type of
student government they still have similarities and that can be traced to their
experiences.
Recommendation
After the researchers have conducted the study they have gained knowledge and
information that can help different entities in the university. The following are the
B.) For the School Administration, the researchers recommend that they should be
more open to the suggestions of the student leaders in order for them to have
healthy relationship. It is important that these two entities works together properly
so that they can deliver their services to the students in the university
C.) For the Student leaders, the researchers recommend that before they enter a
student government or a club as an officer they should be sure that they can take
the responsibility and that they can manage their time as a student leader and a
D.) For the Academe, the researchers recommend that they should become more
aware of the relationship of the different governing bodies in their university and
also that they should be more participative to the activities because this is their
- For the Political Science Program, the researchers recommend that the program
should encourage the conduct an additional researches that would improve the
REFERENCES
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http://www.rappler.com/nation/19503-ust-cancels-senatorial-forum-due-to-
presence-of-pro-rh-bets. March 24, 2013.
Francisco, K. D. (2012). Students, admin dialogue over job fair issue. Retrieved from:
http://www.theguidon.com/2012/02/students-admin-dialogue-over-job-fair-
issue/. March 24, 2013.
Holdsworth, R. (1996). What do we mean by student participation? Youth Studies
Australia, 15(1), 26-27.
Morison, S. (1970). Students and decision making. Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs
Press.
Appendix A
Letter of Approval and Consent to the Respondents
Dear Sir/Madam:
Greetings!
We, the students of Bachelor of Arts major in Political Science from the Ateneo
de Davao University, are currently doing our undergraduate thesis entitled
EXPERIENCES OF STUDENT LEADERS IN THE CONDUCT OF SCHOOL
ACTIVITIES IN SELECTED SCHOOLS IN DAVAO CITY. Our study intends to look into
student involvement in institutional processes in the tertiary level, such as that of
conducting school activities in specific universities in Davao City. The student leaders
experiences regarding the processes of formulation, implementation, and evaluation of
school activities in their specific student government body, club, or organization, as well
suggestions for the improvement of the conduct of these activities are essential to the
fulfillment of this study. Specifically, we have determined the students of your university
as respondents because of their current positions as officers to your universitys student
government body, clubs, or organizations, as well as your schools relevance to the
study at hand.
With this, we would like to ask for your permission to interview your students
inside the premise of your university, and also with their consent, regarding the said
study, and for it to be included as data in our study. This study would help the both of us,
as it would benefit us in fulfilling our course requirement, and it would also help your
students student government body, clubs, or organizations if our conclusions are
satisfactorily met through your hopeful cooperation.
Please do confirm whether or not you are willing to allow us to enter the premise
of your university, by texting this number 09437021876, or through email in this address,
mikoyarra@yahoo.com, as soon as you are able. Rest assured that if you allow us to
interview your students inside your institution, we will follow the rules and regulations of
your school.
Your kind reply would be very much appreciated.
Appendix B
Name: __________________________________________________________
School: __________________________________________________________
Appendix C
A. Formulation/Planning
B. Implementation
C. Evaluation/Evaluation
III. What are your roles in the process of conducting school activities in this
aspects:
A. Formulation/Planning
B. Implementation
C. Evaluation/Evaluation
66
Appendix D
A. Formulation/Planning
B. Implementation
C. Evaluation/Evaluation
II. Based on your roles specified as a student leader, what are your experiences in
conduct of school activities in this aspects:
A. Formulation/Planning
B. Implementation
C. Evaluation/Evaluation
III. Based on your experiences as a student leader, what are your suggestions in the
conduct of school activities in these aspects:
A. Formulation/Planning
B. Implementation
C. Evaluation/Evaluation
67
Appendix E
SDSC Chart
c. c. Evaluation University