Exploring Female Students’ Quest for Leadership and their Experiential Realities in the University of Education, Winneba

Abstract

The study explored female students’ quest for leadership and experiential leadership realities in higher educational institutions in Ghana. In Ghana, female enrolment in higher educational institutions has increased due to population increases and campaign for girl-child education. However, despite the opportunities and access to higher education, female students’ quest for leadership positions in their educational institutions is often thwarted and largely insignificant compared to their male counterparts. However, there is evidence in Ghana that national leadership, especially in politics, is usually linked to leadership at tertiary institutions, especially, in the universities.  Using female students’ leadership in governance at the University of Education (UEW) as a study focus, and employing the liberal feminist theory, we hypothesised that female students’ desire for leadership positions in higher education would not differ significantly from reality due to some systemic cultural challenges. The study revealed that certain leadership positions are preserved of males, and females who vie for such positions generally encounter some cultural setbacks . The study concludes that female students are motivated to take leadership positions due to their desire to lead and serve the people, but society uses gender to set limit for women when they vie for leadership positions. The study recommends that teachers and parents should encourage both males and females to take up equal leadership roles early in life to arouse in them the drive for future leadership positions.