Power Bases and Campus Discipline: Evidence from Public Universities in Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Campus discipline is central to the academic quality and orderly functioning of universities, yet little empirical evidence shows how the power exercised within institutions shapes it. This study examined the relationship between power influence and campus discipline at the university level, drawing on French and Raven's (1959) bases of power and Tracy's (1991) theory of empowerment. Power influence was measured through six dimensions: coercive, legitimate, reward, expert and referent power, and empowerment. Campus discipline was measured through six dimensions: moral/ethical, academic, behavioural, institutional-policy, social and cultural, and health and safety discipline. The objectives were to assess the association between power influence and campus discipline, and to determine the effect of each power dimension on it. A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational survey design was adopted. Data were collected from randomly selected faculty members (N = [confirm]) of five public universities (KUST, KKKUK, USTB, ULM and Gomal University) in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, using a validated 60-item, five-point Likert-type questionnaire (composite reliability = .930 and .947). Data were analysed in SPSS using Pearson correlation and simple and multiple regression. The results showed a significant, positive relationship between power influence and campus discipline, r(239) = .604, p < .001, with power influence explaining 36.4% of the variance in campus discipline. In the multiple regression, the six dimensions jointly accounted for 37.8% of the variance. Reward power (β = .217) and expert power (β = .203) were the strongest unique predictors, followed by legitimate power (β = .164) and coercive power (β = .122), while referent power and empowerment were not significant unique predictors. The study concludes that university leaders should rely on influence grounded in recognition and competence rather than on coercion and control, and that disciplinary policy should be designed accordingly.

Keywords: Power Influence, Campus Discipline, French and Raven, Empowerment, Higher Education, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan