ANALYSIS OF TIME MANAGEMENT AS A DETERMINANT IN ACHIEVING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

1.1 Introduction

Time is a resource that affects all aspects of human endeavours. It is a resource that is extremely limited in supply and it is a factor that affects all stakeholders in educational sector - students, teachers, administrators, supervisors etc. According to Ekundayo, Konwea & Yusuf (2010), instances now abound where teachers complain of lack of time to do certain things which they would have done. A good teacher must make effective use of his time to have time for everything he plans to do. Olaniyi (1998) opined that the most important asset a teacher should possess is the skill in managing his time. Such skill will enable the teacher to devote a balanced attention to interpersonal relations and production (Ekundayo et. al. 2010).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Time management plays a vital role in improving student’s academic performance and achievements. Each and every student should have time management ability which includes setting goals & priorities, using time management mechanism and being organized in using time. Here time management is only possible through self-motivation; performance, ability and motivation (Brigitte, Claessens, Eerde, & Rutte, 2005). These are the few activities performed by today’s university students, which act as a barrier between them and their academic performance. Due to miss management of time they gap behind. This study will help to analyze the positive or negative impact of time management on academic performance of students. It will also help to make some decision about changes we would like to make to use our time more effectively (Noftle, Robins & Richard, 2007). There is no one right way to manage our time; however; it is important to get to know our self, so we can make good decisions about how to use our time. Likewise, in the process of providing educational services this issue has been a subject of interest discussed and emphasized in several platforms and an attempt has been initiated to assess and analyze time and the time management attitudes and behaviors of students in educational institutes (Denlinger, 2009).

In developing countries where students have a lot of issues during academic journey have a new story for the researcher to dig out much more interesting results. Time management practices have an impact on the results of students as empirical studies done by past researchers. In spite of knowing about the impact of time on academic achievement, this relationship is not given importance by the students (Sevari & Kandy, 2011). At higher education level the study schedule must properly planned, implemented and controlled for better results. Emphasizing time also helps to develop cost effective educational policies by the authorities especially at higher education level (Kaushar, 2013). Ongoing problem of scarcity of knowledge in connection with time management and academic outputs is due to lack of easiness and of costly ways of collecting data. Driven by this fact, particular emphasis has been paid in the modern education system to time management issues by evaluating students’ attitudes and behaviors related to time and its management (Karim, Sevari, Mitra & Kandy, 2015). Based on the necessity of effective time management required from students during their academic and professional life, field research has been conducted in the present paper towards the aim of designating their position with respect to effective time management and determining the effect of their time management skills on their academic achievements.

In a previous assertion, Naglieri and Gottling (1997) stated that a maximization of the use of time for academic activities is required to enhance students’ academic performances and attitudes. Thus this study investigates the impact of secondary school teachers’ time management on students’ academic performance in Ekiti State, Nigeria.

Therefore, in Nigerian Universities where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Analysis of Time Management as a Determinant in Achieving Academic Excellence by Students.

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1.3 Statement of the Problem

Time management has a significant impact on the lives of the students commonly for those who are studying in the higher education institutions where there is no existence of parent and teacher supervision. The main objective of the current research is that to which extent time management practices influences the academic achievement of the university students in higher education institution of a developing country.

Time management has a significant impact on the lives of the students, especially those in tertiary institutions where time utilization were not supervised by parents and teachers. Unlike the regular programme where academic activities are run in two semesters in a session, that of the sandwich programmes are condensed into a single contact session. Many sandwich students are married with children thus possessed multiple responsibilities. Some sandwich students are nursing mothers, some are in time demanding employment, and some are unemployed yet scavenging for funds to finance their studies. All these exert enormous pressure on time utilization on sandwich students.

The issue of declining academic performance in examinations signifies a critical impediment in any country since education is a major contributor to economic growth. Thus, teachers’ time management is an important input to students’ academic performance. It is universally recognized that the teacher is the key person in an education system. The teacher is a major limiting factor in the classroom. Not only do his character, personality and competence play a large part in determining the atmosphere of the lesson, the sort of relationships which exist, the styles of communication and the rules and regulations governing the formalities affect his students’ performances. The teacher also performs a key role in influencing the students’ view of himself, his use of time and the sort of progress he/she makes.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to explore the Time Management as a Determinant in Achieving Academic Excellence by Students in Nigerian Universities. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To assist students to have command to how effectively utilization of the time management for their academic achievements.
2. To find the interrelation between time management and academic achievements of the students.
3. To create an attempt to fill the gaps exist in the research of time management and academic achievements of the students.
4. To explore more and more knowledge of time management and academic achievement of the students.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Is there any relationship between time planning and academic performance of students?
• Is there any relationship between time organizing and academic performance of students?
• Is there any relationship between time controlling and academic performance of students?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

• H₀1: There is no significant relationship between time planning and academic performance of students.
• H₀2: There is no significant relationship between time organizing and academic performance of students.
• H₀3: There is no significant relationship between time controlling and academic performance of students

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1.7 Significance of Study

The usage of time by students in higher education institutions is related to their daily routines and activities. Students' time management can also affect stress level of students as they need to cope with their tasks and their personal achievements.

This study will be of immense benefit to students, lecturers, and other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Analysis of Time Management as a Determinant in Achieving Academic Excellence by Students in Nigerian Universities

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).