Echoes of Youth Governance: Grounded Theory of Political Expectations among Sultan Kudarat Sangguniang Kabataan Officials

Political expectations shape how young leaders understand, perform, and sustain their roles in local governance. In the context of the Sangguniang Kabataan, these expectations are significant because youth officials serve as both community representatives and emerging political actors whose early governance experiences may shape their understanding of public service. Utilizing Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology, data were generated through in-depth interviews with six Sangguniang Kabataan Municipality Federation officials in Sultan Kudarat. Data analysis involved iterative coding, constant comparison, and memo writing to conceptualize emerging categories grounded in participants’ lived experiences. The analysis yielded a substantive theory of negotiated political expectations in youth governance, characterized by three main themes: formation of expectations, interpretation of leadership meanings, and recalibration under governance reality. The core process describes how political expectations begin from prior leadership experiences, social influences, institutional awareness, and personal motivations; are interpreted through service, accountability, opportunity, ethics, and practical realism and are negotiated through consultation, adaptation, compliance, assertion, and emotional coping. This study contributes to youth governance and political science by providing a grounded framework explaining political expectations as cyclical, negotiated, and shaped by governance reality. The findings offer implications for strengthening youth leadership support, institutional responsiveness, and more realistic governance preparation.