INCIVILITY AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ON CAMPUS: CAUSES AND IMPACT

Abstract

This study aimed to study the manifestation of incivility among students of University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and further analyze the causes and impact of students’ incivility at campus as it provides a detailed picture of the types and classification of interpersonal conflict situations that arise among students. The study was conducted in one of the oldest and largest university of Azad Jammu & Kashmir. 55 student respondents were selected using purposive sampling technique. Phenomenology as a research method was adopted and data was collected using unstructured and conversational interviews which was later analyzed by making themes. The results obtained from the study have indicated that students differentiate among various uncivil behaviors, from a regular bullying to abusing, to major hand fights. The reasons behind the uncivil behaviors as analyzed by the collected interviews are personal differences, management ignorance and sometimes a latent hate. In addition to this, students who have experienced frequent uncivil behavior at campus has an impact on their academic learning as well as psychological health. The study concludes that majority students who have been part of any kind of incivility at campus are the fresh comers and are enrolled in BS programs. Hence recommends to introduce faculty-led orientation sessions and to increase the faculty civility as teachers can play eminent role in shaping students’ civil behavior. Keywords: uncivil behaviour, incivility, conflict at campus, hate speech