The Effect of Gender on Leadership Qualities of College Students: A Case of Public Sector Colleges of Punjab Province, Pakistan

1. Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Govt. Islamia Degree College, Sambrial, Punjab, Pakistan 2. Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Govt. Degree College, Chawinda, District Silakot, Punjab, Pakistan 3. Associate Professor, Department of English, Govt. Emerson College, Multan, Punjab, Pakistan DOI http://doi.org/10.47205/plhr.2018(2-II)2.2 PAPER INFO ABSTRACT Received: June 08, 2018 Accepted: December 15, 2018 Online: December 30, 2018 The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gender on attaining leadership qualities by the college students from public sector in Punjab province, Pakistan. The survey research design was used in this article. A questionnaire (SLQQ) based on ten student leadership qualities were developed on five point Likert scale. The validity and reliability of instrument were observed through pilot study and were found satisfactory. The sample of the study was selected by using multi-stage sampling technique. The data were collected from 697 students (both male and female) out of 730 through postal services and personal visits. Data were analyzed with the help of SPSS19 version software. Results indicate that ‘honesty’ is the most prevailing leadership quality and ‘good communication skill’ is the least prevailing leadership quality in public sector college students. It is also found that female students have significant effect in leadership qualities than male students. Hence, Female students are performing well by utilizing their leadership qualities than male students in public sector colleges. Government of the Punjab, Pakistan should take curative measures to nurture leadership qualities among students to meet future challenges


Introduction
Education is a vital venture for human and economic development and is inspired by the environment within which it exists (Skerritt,1997). Educational policy is affecting with current changes in technology, labor force market patterns and general worldly environment. Traditions, culture and faith all reflect upon the education system and at the same time are also affected by them. The element of continuity and change remains perpetual and it is up to the society to determine its pace and direction.
Colleges have vital role in character building of the students. They are providing educated manpower to build up the society. Gupta (1987) argued, educational administrator has to perform two basic functions in a college. Firstly, he is the principal of the college, and secondly, he has to attain the instant objectives of the organization and also to contrive the long-range development and growth of the institution (p.2).
It is also observed that when students experience a post-secondary education.They have the opportunity to read books and listen to the lectures of top experts in their fields. This stimulation encourages students to think, ask questions, and explore new ideas, which allows for additional growth and development and provides college graduates with a competitive edge in the society. Guile (2010) has found, it is said that the economy of the 21st century is a knowledge economy. The only way to participate in this new knowledge economy is to obtain the higher levels of skills acquired through higher education. Western (2008) has narrated leadership as; it is a process by which one person influences the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of the others. Leaders set a direction for the rest of us; they help us to see what lies ahead; they help us visualize what we shall achieve; they encourage us and inspire us. Leadership is the ability to get other people to do something significantly as they might not otherwise do so. It is energizing people toward the goal. Ketteridge et al (2015) has elaborated, students are the product of educational institutions. They are trained to play vital role in the society under some philosophical thoughts. They can prove themselves as a useful citizen in the society if they have the ability to face challenges in their lives with courage and determination. So, the leadership role of the students will attain substantial prosperity level of the nation. This will help to transform Pakistani people into a developed country.
In our point of view, it is a dilemma in our college education system that the physical and mental abilities of the students are flourished under these less trained managerial heads. Consequently, core leadership qualities are not nurtured in the college students from rudimentary level. The main point of view of this research paper is to highlight some prevailing leadership qualities in the students .This study also tries to investigate the effect of gender on acquiring leadership qualities in the students from public sector colleges of Punjab province, Pakistan.

Literature Review
According to Bovee et al. (1993) 'Leadership' is the ability to influence and to motivate others to achieve organizational goals (p. 468). According to Alder (1995) some ingredients for a modern-day leader are: (a) A guiding vision (b) passion(c) integrity (d) trust (e) curiosity and daring. Pellicer (1999) has said, leader is the person who has the qualities of an open mind, kind hearted and ready to listen.
Communication is a complicated two-way process, which involves the encoding and decoding of the messages. When a message is delivered from the communicator to the intended audience in true sense then it will be known as effective communication. Query, Parry, and Flint (1992)defined communication competence as the "perceived tendency to seek out meaningful interaction with others, render support, be relaxed, appropriately" (p.80).
Honesty is known as a positive quality, and frequently it is mentioned as a desirable trait (Kahn & Rudnitsky, 1989). It is the active and truthful communication of true information to the other person who has not any chance of getting information from any other source. This will be done under the circumstances in which both opportunity and motivation to be honest. Bennis and Nanus (1985) observed the vision as, "It makes possible to distribute decision making widely and that individual behavior can be shaped, directed, and coordinated by a shared and empowering vision of the future" (p. 92). Nanus (1992) has expressed, vision is a pragmatic, reliable, attractive outlook for an organization. Further, he said, there is no more influential engine driving an organization toward a distinction and long-range success. Katzenbach and Smith (1993) have defined the team work as, "A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance of goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable"(p.152).A group of individuals who work as a social unit is ready to share interdependent tasks and outcomes for the prescribed tasks. (Cohen and Bailey, 1997) Tricia (2010) argues about the meaning of action speaks louder than words; actions show an immense determination of nature and behavior. Sometime, people perform contrary, what they have said. So, it is easier to evaluate by what is done instead of by what is said. Hence, Actions should follow the verbal commitments or feelings. For example, if a person promises to help the poor then he donates charity to poor people.
Motivation is the art of involving people to do work more efficiently. It has two types -extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. The extrinsic motivation depends upon the needs that must be fulfilled by the external reinforces, such as reward, salary, security, promotion and condition of work. The intrinsic motivation which is also known as natural motivation is related to the interests, aptitudes and growths etc. Heider (1958) had expressed the consistency, it is a balanced state of situation in which relationship among the parts fit together harmoniously; there is no pressure towards alteration. The degree of consistency and equilibrium is observed for the reasons of prudent and economy of effort, and to permit for prediction and adaption for the subsequent facing the events.
Northouse (2010) explained the criticism; it is an endeavor to analyze the facts and depiction to the relative person. We should ready to confront the critical situation. The constructive attitude and the courage are the essential characteristics to face any trouble situation. We have to overcome on the disappointment and harsh words from the other people, to prove ourselves as a true leader. Paine (1997) has defined the integrity as "Persons of integrity generally strive for harmony between principle and practice and for coherence among who they are,who they perceive themselves to be, and how they present themselves to the world" (p.335).
Feldman and Gardner(1994) described creativity as, "the achievement of something remarkable and new, something which transforms and changes a field of endeavor in a significant way"(p.1). Isaksen and Treffinger(1985) defined the creative problem solving in the following words, "A systematic process you can use to become more imaginative and effective in your thinking and action"(p.1). Carli &Eagli (2018) investigated the Angel Markel's style, characteristics as a leader and evaluation of female leaders. How the expectations of a female leader are effected by the cultural context (p. 245).

Hypotheses
The hypotheses were formulated as; Ho1: There is no difference among prevailing leadership qualitiesin students at college level in public sector.

Ho2:
There is no effect of gender on acquiring leadership qualities bystudents atcollege level in public sector.

Material and Methods
This research was based on survey quantitative nature research design. By keeping in view our college education system, the most suitable, basic and simple ten leadership qualities for the students were selected for this research paper. These are: (a) good communication skill,(b) honesty,(c) visionary outlook,(d)selecting a good team,(e) action speaks louder than words,(f) ability to motivate people around,(g) consistency,(h) ability to stand against critics, (I) integrity, and (j)creativity.

Population
All the students (male and female) who were studying in general education at post-graduate and degree colleges functioning under the jurisdiction of Punjab Government in Punjab, Province.

Accessible Population
All the students (male and female) who were studying in general education at post-graduate and degree colleges functioning under the jurisdiction of Punjab Government in Lahore, Gujranwala ,Faisalabad and Sargodha division.

Sampling
Multi stage sampling technique was used in this study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select colleges. After that, students were selected from these colleges through convenient sampling. Hence, total usable male and female students 'questionnaire were '697' out of '730'.

Instrument of the Study
A questionnaire was developed by the researchers to observe leadership qualities among students. The questionnaire was based on 40 items. These items were constructed onLikert five -point scale. Validity and reliability were calculated through pilot testing. The validity and reliability values were.81 and .86 respectively of the students' leadership qualities questionnaire(SLQQ).

Results and Discussion
The data were subjected to necessary treatment of sorting and organization. Then the statistical tool of percentage was used in the analysis of the data as follows: This table shows the level of occurrence of leadership qualities in the college students'of public sector. 'Good communication skill' was mostly exhibited by 237(34%) students, and 362(52%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 98(14%) students never had this quality. Honesty was mostly exhibited by 565(81%) students, and 125(18%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 7(1%) students never had this quality. 'Visionary Outlook' was mostly exhibited by 300(43%) students, and 286(41%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 111(16%) students never had this quality. 'Selecting a good team' was mostly exhibited by 376(54%) students, and 272(39%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 49(7%) students never had this quality. 'Action speaks louder than words' was mostly exhibited by 460(63%) students, and 202(29%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 56(8%) students never had this quality.

Percentage, Mean Scores and Standard Deviation of Responses on Leadership Qualities Acquired by College Students from Public Sector (n=697)
'Ability to motivate people around' was mostly exhibited by 418(60%) students, and 230(33%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 49(7%) students never had this quality. Consistency was mostly exhibited by 272(39%) students, and 341(49%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 84(12%) students never had this quality. 'Ability to stand against critics' was mostly exhibited by 320(46%) students, and 300(43%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 77(11%) students never had this quality. Integrity was mostly exhibited by 369(53%) students, and 279(40%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 49(7%) students never had this quality. Creativity was mostly exhibited by 348(50%) students, and 279(40%) students were not sure about the existence of the leadership quality. While, only 70(10%) students never had this quality.

P<0.01
This table shows the comparison of male and female in acquiring leadership qualities by college students of public sector. There is statistically significant difference between male and female students on acquiring 'good communication skill' as a leadership quality. The mean score of female students for this quality (M=3.44, SD=0.63) is greater than the mean scores of male students (Mean=3.29, SD=0.65), the results of t-test show that at t-value= -3.12, p=.002.
There is statistically significant difference between male and female students on acquiring honesty as a leadership quality. The mean score of female students for this quality (M=4.24, SD=0.41) is greater than the mean scores of male students (Mean=3.97, SD=0.57), the results of t-test show that at t-value= -7.22, p=.000.
There is statistically significant difference between male and female students on acquiring 'visionary outlook' as a leadership quality. The mean score of female students for this quality (M=3.52, SD=0.67) is greater than the mean scores of male students (Mean=3.36, SD=0.64), the results of t-test show that at t-value= -3.32, p=.001.There is no statistically significant difference between male and female students on acquiring 'selecting a good team' as a leadership quality. The mean score of female students for this quality (M=3.70, SD=0.63) is greater than the mean scores of male students (Mean=3.63, SD=0.65), the results of t-test show that at t-value= -1.52, p=.128.
There is no statistically significant difference between male and female students on acquiring 'action speaks louder than words' as a leadership quality. The mean score of male students for this quality (M=3.72, SD=0.64) is greater than the mean scores of female students (Mean=3.71, SD=0.66), the results of t-test show There is no statistically significant difference between male and female students on acquiring consistency as a leadership quality. The mean score of female students for this quality (M=3.46, SD=0.66) is greater than the mean scores of male students (Mean=3.41, SD=0.67), the results of t-test show that at t-value= -1.07, p=.283. There is no statistically significant difference between male and female students on acquiring 'ability to stand against critics' as a leadership quality. The mean score of male students for this quality (M=3.52, SD=0.68) is greater than the mean scores of male students (Mean=3.50, SD=0.83), the results of t-test show that at t-value= 0.38, p=.704.
There is statistically significant difference between male and female students on acquiring integrity as a leadership quality. The mean score of female students for this quality (M=3.76, SD=0.64) is greater than the mean scores of male students (Mean=3.57, SD=0.66), the results of t-test show that at t-value= -3.98, p=.000.
There is statistically significant difference between male and female students on acquiring creativity as a leadership quality. The mean score of female students for this quality (M=3.65, SD=0.68) is greater than the mean scores of male students (Mean=3.50, SD=0.66), the results of t-test show that at t-value= -2.99, p=.003.

Results and Discussion
It is found that honesty had the highest mean value (Mean= 4.09, SD=0.52) among all other leadership qualities. Thus, Honesty is the most prevailing leadership quality and 'good communication skill' is the least prevailing leadership quality in college students. It is also found that there is the significant effect of gender on acquiring leadership qualities in public sector college students. Female students have significant effect on six leadership qualities (i.e., acquiring good communication skill, honesty, visionary outlook, ability to motivate people around, integrity and creativity) than male students. Joyce (1988) had expressed that professional development of the students have a greater effect on their outcomes if the institutional culture makes available the ongoing support. Female students had the greater mean values in eight leadership qualities whether male students had the greater mean values in two leadership qualities. Female students have greater ability in eight leadership qualities than male students at college level in public sector."The most effective basic interpersonal communication skills focused on initiating conversations, listening effectively, and relationship management" (Hollandsworth, 2004, p.5).

Conclusion and Recommendation
Honesty was the most exhibited leadership quality by 565(81%) students whether Good communication skill was the least exhibited leadership quality by 237(34%) students.
Hence, the study shows that female students have immense leadership qualities than male students during their studies. The leadership qualities as good communication skill, honesty, visionary outlook, ability to motivate people around, integrity and creativity were observed significantly greater in female students than male students in colleges. For developing leadership qualities in the students, principals should conduct special seminars and workshops with the collaboration of parents, private sector and media both electronic and print.
Students are the central figures in the colleges. All activities which are being carried out by principals, teaching and non-teaching staff are related to create knowledge, skills and healthy activities in the students. It is generally observed that female students are exhibiting more concentration in their studies than male students in government colleges. Now days, the female students have more enrollment ratio in different study groups than male students in the colleges. These female students show commitment in their studies. So, it has been observed from the past announced results of post-graduate and degree classes by universities and boards that a number of female students obtained excellent scores than male students. Hence, the study shows that female students have immense leadership qualities than male students during their studies. Female are performing well by utilizing their leadership qualities. The leadership qualities as good communication skill, honesty, visionary outlook, ability to motivate people around, integrity and creativity were observed significantly greater in female students than male students in colleges.