Achieving Radical Leadership in Institutions of Higher Learning through Effective Student’s Participation in Decision making Process

Effective management of institutions of higher learning include a successful participation of students in decision making process. The full participation of the majority students in the day to day decision making process in institution of higher learning tends to bring about harmony, builds capacity in student’s leadership skills and it is one of the most effective marketing strategies for student’s enrolments. There has always been a gap between management and students in terms of participation in institutional decision making process. This gap which has often been created partly by management and has often led to perpetual conflicts that have often resulted in disruptions to the smooth running of institutions of higher learning thereby affecting quality of education, creating inequity and inequalities. The main objective of this study therefore was to investigate factors that affect student’s participation in decision making process in the running of institutions of higher learning in Zambia. The significance of the study was to establish the role of radical leadership in realising effective student’s participation in decision making process. This study used a qualitative research methods involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. The sampling techniques involved purposively and random sampling techniques. Data were collected using interviews and focused group discussions. The collected data were analysed using thematic analysis.