Student Success

Compiled by Kaveh Farrokh (Ph.D.), Counsellor & Learning Specialist at Langara College Counselling Department.

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Nonis, Hudson, Logan and Ford (1998) conducted a comprehensive study on 164 post-secondary students with respect to their perception of control over time and their stress levels. The results of this study can be classified into three overall findings: (1) the researchers found a significant relationship between a sense of high control over time (management) and low stress (2) students reporting a high sense of control over their time management also reported higher levels of problem –solving ability and academic performance and (perhaps most significantly) (3) reports of high control or efficacy with respect to time management were strongly inked to better overall health. Put simply effective time management results in not only more effective academic performance and problem-solving abilities but also reduced stress and better overall health.

A British study by Trueman and Hartley (1996) examined the relationship between time-management and academic performance with respect to three groups of first-year psychology students (total of 293 students) in the University of Keele in Newcastle, England: (a) traditional-entry students (less than 21 years of age) (b) borderline mature students (between 21-25 years of age) and (c) older mature students (over 25 years of age). The instrument used to measure competency in time management was a British version of a US time-management scale. There were four significant finds in this study. First, older mature students older than 25 years of age were significantly more effective in their time management skills than the other two groups (aged below 25 and 21 years). They were also more likely to make use of time-management strategies than the other groups. Second, women students were more effective overall in their time management skills than their make counterparts. Third, age as an independent factor was only a modest predictor of academic performance. The fourth finding was that academic performance was predicted by only one component of the time-management scale: the “Confidence in Long-Term Planning scale”. This scale was specifically related to performance in exam-taking, course-work and academic performance in general. Put simply, it would appear that long-term planning with respect to time management does have a significant impact on the successful completion of assignments and exam performance. Finally the authors theorize that students with good time-management skills spend less time to achieve their academic objectives than students with poor time management. As a result students with better time management are probably have more time left over for other non-academic activities.

An Irish study (Gibney, Moore, Murphy & O’Sullivan, 2011) found that it is important to acknowledge the anxieties that students have with respect to when entering first year university courses. Additionally it is important to understand students’ beliefs about their abilities and their confidence in managing their role as learners in a post-secondary setting. Time management is a critical success tool for students to cope with the stress of post-secondary academic demands.

How productive you are in the use of time is directly dependent on how psychologically engaged/motivated you are with your goals and tasks.

References

Gibney, Moore, Murphy, & O’Sullivan, (2011). The first semester of university-life: ‘will I be able to manage it all?’ High Educ, 62, pp. 351-366.

Nonis, S.A., Hudson, G.I., Logan, L.B., & Ford, C.W. (1998). Influence of perceived control over time on college students’ stress and stress-related outcomes. Research in Higher Education, Vol. 39, No.5, pp.587-605.

Trueman, M., & Hartley, J. (1996). A comparison between the time-management skills and academic performance of mature and traditional-entry university students. Higher Education, Vol.32, No.2, pp.199-215.