Students’ Needs on Development Programs: Inputs for Student Services Enhancement

in terms of leadership formation,


INTRODUCTION
The main responsibility of society is to shape, guide, and influence the next generation of leaders and to help them discover their potential.They are important because they represent the country's future and they must be hopeful, entrepreneurial, and productive, among all other qualities.They must develop skills to be prepared to face today's and tomorrow's challenges (Kouzes & Posner, 2021).
One of the goals of higher education is to prepare students for their profession or occupation (Patterson, 2012).It was also reported by Foubert and Grainger (2006), that more involved students have greater skill development compared to those uninvolved students.Literatures discovered the impact of participation of students in clubs and organizations on the development of students (McCLuskey-Titus 2003).
Higher education has a significant impact on the development of critical skills that improve students' academic outcomes.However, academic institutions have not adequately focused more on the role of student organizations in supporting and improving student outcomes.
Assessing what students learn from their participations in different programs helps in evaluating and justifying effectiveness of the programs offered.Outcomes can be used as way to make improvements on the services and programs (McCLuskey-Titus 2003).
NDMU, as one of the schools in SOCCSKSARGEN, offered different programs that helped develop different skills in its learners and enhancing their educational well-being by developing knowledge, skills, and competencies through engagement in some of the extracurricular activities.These programs provide sufficient skills for learners to hone their potential in different fields such as leadership formation, socio-cultural performing arts, advocacy programs, clubs and organizations' involvement, sports and wellness programs but in order to achieve the sufficient skills these programs should be assessed.
Thus, this study aimed to assess the degree of needs for the betterment of these identified programs and to demonstrate what is gained from a particular programs or services provided by the institution.
To develop their leadership abilities, young people require chances to assume leadership roles.This is why leadership development programs should offer practical leadership experience, a practice-based infrastructure, as opposed to academic understanding.(Allio, 2005;Fish, 2011), and hands-on learning activities (Cress, Astin, Zimmerman-Oster & Burkardt, 2001).A university setting should offer plenty of opportunities and favorable conditions for developing leadership skills (Wurr & Hamilton, 2012).Undergraduate students' college experience should be a time for independence and learning about their personal leadership skills (Forbes, 2014).
As Winchester (2018) explains, "We enhance young leadership development and their ability to have a good impact on society if they find affirmation in who they are and are empowered to realize their agency in tackling issues that concern them."The long-term effects of this leadership development could be seen in social, political, or economic situations, but they might be significantly influenced by how our young people perceive their leadership potential.Gould and Voelker (2012) suggest that leadership is "a process wherein an individual influences a group of individuals towards achieving a common goal."Young people have an extraordinary chance and obligation to affect the world around them.The prospect of being able to influence others positively and helpfully is exhilarating.I do not believe I am alone among those who work with teenagers in believing that their vigor and aptitude are just what we need to address some of the major issues that society is currently facing.
As Winchester (2018) argues, our young people have increased ability and agency (feeling of self-determination and belief that one's actions matter) to address the issues they perceive around them as a result of actively teaching and enabling kids to be leaders.The deliberate development of our students as leaders has additional advantages besides this one.They are choosing student leaders and relying on them to "figure it out as they go." Nelson (2010) lists several benefits of purposeful leadership development for young people.He discovers that one of them is that by treating learners as leaders throughout training activities, learners form a leadership identity that results in "behavioral and attitude modifications."Collins and Rosch (2017) concur; students who experience success through their involvement often experience threefold levels of growth," they note, "as their skills improve, their leadership self-efficacy grows as well, given the real-world impact they see.In such a volunteer-led setting, their motivation to lead also grows" (Rosch & Collins, 2017).
Students who understand their capacity to address issues they encounter gain from this leadership development, but it also benefits our school and community.Students who develop their capacity to successfully lead groups toward a common objective have an effect on the organizations they participate in both now and in the future (Waldron, 2020).
For many educators, it is enriching to see how students' leadership develops and matures.The people that assign young pupils to various jobs within their schools will gain if these students grow into the obligations and expectations of these roles, resulting in a more positive experience for everyone."An educator's biggest focus and most enduring legacy should be inspiring and developing tomorrow's global leaders in a contemporary secondary-school setting."(Bowman, 2014).
The term "performing arts" refers to genres of art in which performers communicate their artistic vision through their voices, bodies, or inanimate objects.Most people believe that performing arts do not require much intelligence compared to achieving art competencies.People have many different types of intelligence, such as musical, interpersonal, spatial-visual, and linguistic intelligence, in addition to their intellectual potential (Tabao, 2022).A quality arts education is based on and reflects an understanding of the distinctive and remarkable ways in which the arts influence people's thoughts and lives.D. Booth.According to (2016), the strategies are means of understanding, exploring, responding, disclosing and exhibiting, imagining, depicting, and making sense.
The particular kind of civic participation known as advocacy is frequently viewed as a precursor to or a supplement to direct action or civic activism.Groups and organizations utilize advocacy to solve problems with the criminal justice system, environment, health care, education, and civil rights.They support causes and work to sway judgments in the social, political, and economic spheres.Typically, advocacy groups voice their concerns about institutions that are insensitive to the needs of people or about laws and practices that they believe to be unjust (Berke et al., 2010).Effective lobbying changes public policy and decisions about the distribution of resources, giving people more power to change institutions to serve human needs better.The purpose of advisory programs-also referred to as advocacy programs-is not to take the role of school guidance counselors.On the other hand, they are intended to increase the number of kids whose requirements are satisfied in a school environment.Its objectives are to raise achievement levels, decrease discipline referrals, and enhance students' attitudes about school.Many schools have started "advisory programs" where students meet in groups with adult mentors to work on self-esteem and developmental concerns to address the changing requirements of the students today.Smaller non-academic contexts are intended to be created by advisory programs within the more extensive educational system.Students' personal development can be encouraged in smaller settings, and they can develop good relationships with teachers, parents, and other students.The essential to advisory programs is that at least one adult in the school gets to know each student well.
Participation in student organizations is seen as one of these chances to develop one's skills.According to Foubert and Grainger (2006), more involved pupils have higher skill development scores than their less-involved peers with lower developmental scores.According to research, student groups give members a chance to learn or strengthen essential communication skills, provide them an opportunity to deal with others of diverse ethnic origins, and support and care for those who are less fortunate (Harper & Quaye, 2007).Participation and participation in university-sponsored organizations appear to give students various chances to familiarize themselves with campus life and promote intellectual growth (Montelongo, 2002).Student organizations function as social opportunities for students to network on college campuses and also serve as a significant link for students to college or university experiences (Kuk & Banning, 2010).Although the concepts of campus involvement provide a valuable context to examine and analyze the connection between college experiences and student outcomes, this reveals several inquiries (Huang & Chang, 2004).
According to Hall (2012), student organizations provide strategies to enhance learning outside the traditional classroom curriculum.Students with similar personal and professional interests can network with one another thanks to them, increasing their chances of connecting to larger communities outside their organization (Hall, 2012).Students who participate in student organizations see involvement as a critical component of their socialization and academic persistence, providing participants with resources and opportunities (Hall, 2012).Students who participate in student organizations view involvement as a significant element of their socialization and academic persistence, providing participants with recourses (Flowers, 2004).
According to research (Beyer & Hannah, 2000;Smart & Wolfe, 2000), student involvement in sports has positive effects on a university's overall wellbeing, institutional loyalty, and cohesion, increased revenue and prestige to the institution's reputation, and ultimately improves student applications, enrolment, fundraising, and sponsorship.Therefore, it becomes crucial that colleges recognize the significance of student-athlete's well-being to capitalize on the potential advantages of student participation in sports.
University student-athletes, who comprise one of the key clients of the university, is also regarded as the heart and soul of every educational institution.They have been referred to as a particular population with a unique college experience from non-athletes.Multiple stressors working together to put physical and psychological demands on individuals impact their wellbeing.Some of these stressors include time restrictions, rigid schedules, negative media stereotypes of students, instructors, and players, physical stress and exhaustion, commitment to attend practices and games, and juggling multiple roles as students and athletes (Rensburg, 2011).The current study analyzes student-athletes wellness, focusing primarily on their physical, intellectual, social, and emotional wellness.The studentwellbeing of athletes needs to be addressed early in their university career because this is a crucial time for them to build a healthy lifestyle that will ultimately affect their academic and athletic performance.
Students' growth is greatly impacted by their participation in sports.More studies have been conducted in this field as researchers have come to understand the value of participating in sports (Silliman et al., 2004).Participating in sporting activities has been linked to less depression symptoms, higher levels of enjoyment and life satisfaction, and better student health (Menec, 2003).In addition, students will increase their social networks, broaden their range of life experiences, and open up career and educational options in sports by participating in sports.They need to engage in sports-related activities to unwind from difficult academic work.
Furthermore, most students will enter a sophisticated culture after graduating from college, where social connection is essential.Therefore, it is undeniable that the social events on campus benefit students much.For instance, many other universities may participate when the university hosts a sporting event.As a result, the students can interact with many individuals and meet new people while exchanging ideas and opinions on various topics (Weil,2012).Students' education will also be aided by participating in athletic events that the institution has planned.

METHODOLOGY
This study utilized a quantitative-descriptive research design since it assessed the degree of need for students' involvement in five (5) categories: leadership formation, socio-cultural performing arts, advocacy programs, clubs and organizations' involvement, sports, and wellness programs.It was conducted at Notre Dame of Marbel University, Koronadal City, South Cotabato, in the school years 2019-2020 and 2021-2022.
The respondents of the study were the 345 students of NDMU, selected through convenient sampling.The researcher developed a needs assessment survey tool that was used in gathering data.An online survey was the method employed in collecting the data.Descriptive statistics were employed in analyzing the data.A weighted mean was used to analyze the degree of need for students' participation in different categories.

I. Leadership and Formation
Mean

Overall Mean 3.30
High Degree of Need Based on the results, there is a high degree of need to address the leadership and formation of the students, who have an overall mean of 3.30.The study also shows a high need for learning more about the styles and qualities of effective leadership, with a mean of 3.32.It is also important for them to learn more about their self-discovery and to have awareness about leadership.Students who participated in this study wanted to learn more about 1061 how to manage groups and team building to have an effect on leadership, with a mean of 3.33.They believe that there is a high degree of need to improve their communication skills, good decision making, and effective handling of meetings.There is also a need to learn more about cash flow preparation and basic auditing.
In contrast, there is a moderate degree of need for students to learn more about Marist leadership, Marcelin's mission, and spirituality to be effective Marist leaders, with a mean of 3.11.From the perspective of the students, learning more about value clarification has a moderate degree of need to develop, with a mean of 3.20.They wanted to experience more pastoral leadership by joining community and extension activities, which should be addressed moderately.

Overall Mean 3.10 Moderate Degree of Need
The table presents the extent of the need to address the socio-cultural and performing arts of the students who are participating in the activities related to them.The results show that there is moderate degree of need to intensify the program that will help the students improve their skills in performing, with an overall mean of 3.10.Based on the data gathered, students have a moderate degree of need to learn some basic skills in dancing, singing, acting, and playing instruments, with a mean of 3.18.With a result of 3.16, there is also a moderate need to experience tedious training and practice to improve their skills, be more flexible as a performer, and be exposed to develop their confidence in performing.There is a need for them to have an enrichment session that will help in developing their discipline as a performance, and they wanted a person who would look at the progress of their performance.The results also reveal that a need to develop their professionalism as performers and learn more techniques for performing garnered a mean of 3.01 and 3.14, respectively, which means that they moderately need it.

Overall Mean 3.23 Moderate Degree of Need
The table shows the specific needs of the students to facilitate their advocacy programs.Based on the results, there is a moderate degree of need to enhance the social and communication skills of the students who wanted to organize a community project, with an overall mean of 3.23.A majority of the respondents wanted to moderately address their needs, which included the need to learn project development evaluation and develop their facilitating skills for the implementation of programs and initiatives, with a mean of 3.24.There is also a moderate degree of need to intensify the communication skills of the students when facing other partners in the programs and projects (3.27) and learn how to analyze the problems needed in the community (3.26).The results of the data gathering show that the involvement of the students in clubs and organizations has a moderate degree of need to be improved, with an overall mean of 3.20.Based on the data, students need moderate training for the organization's financial management, with a mean of 3.24.Officers and members also need training on conflict management in the organization, with a mean of 3.23.There is a moderate degree of need for students to have more training in effective leadership (3.17  Students who are into sports develop social skills needed for their selfdevelopment.There is a high degree of need for students' athletes and students to have sufficient and quality equipment for skills development, fitness, and wellness training, with a mean of 3.31.They want to find sport programs at the university that are significant in bringing out their skills and potential in sport.Thus, there is a high degree of need for it to be addressed, with a mean of 3.32.In addition, engaging in sports and any physical programs fosters teamwork and collaboration among students and students' athletes and contributes to their mental wellness, which is why this aspect has a moderate degree of need to be developed with a mean of 3.24.Students also see the varsity program at the university as helpful (3.23), and sports and wellness programs and activities are essential for them as students (3.16).Participating in sports programs allows students to balance their time with academics and develop their conscious effort on it for a mean of 3.26.All in all, the sports and wellness programs of the university have a moderate degree of need to intensify or address, with an overall mean of 3.19.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings of the study, it was found out that four (4) categories gained a moderate degree of need such as socio-cultural performing arts, advocacy program, clubs and organizations' involvement, sports and wellness program.However, leadership and formation resulted to high degree of need.
It was revealed that the school should intensify the programs that will help students improve their skills in performing.Also, there is a need to enhance the social communication skills of the students who want to organize community projects.In addition, involvement in the clubs and organizations of the students must be improved.The institution should address sports and wellness programs in order to strengthen the Lastly, there is a need to evaluate the leadership and formation of the students since the result is a high degree of need.

RECOMMENDATION
Given the findings of the study, researchers recommended the following: 1.All students should be extended opportunities for formal and informal leadership responsibilities.2. Re-evaluate the conduct of leadership training, support guidance, and mentorship.3.There should be a development of competencies in socio-cultural performing arts, advocacy programs, clubs and organizations' involvement, sports, and wellness programs.4. Re-examine the programs with a moderate degree of need.It should be evaluated and improved effectively.
), effective facilitation (3.20), community organizing (3.21), and exposure activities (3.21).In addition, students need to have adequate training on project and program planning and organizing (3.12) and training and experience on advocacy building (3.18).