Assessing Time Management Skills as an Important Aspect of Student Learning

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to analyse the factorial structure, psychometric properties and predictive capacity for academic achievement of a scale designed to evaluate the time management skills of Spanish high school students. An adaptation of the Time Management Questionnaire was presented to two samples of 350 Spanish high school students. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis results from the two samples shows an adequate fit of a three-factor oblique model, as well as its superior explanatory capacity compared to other competitive models considered. This model basically reproduces the structure of the original scale, integrating the subscales on short-range planning, long-range planning, and time attitudes. The psychometric properties of the three subscales also reach satisfactory values. Finally, the predictive capacity of time management skills on academic achievement is examined, especially regarding the scale on Long-range planning. The results are discussed with regard to the prior study on the topic and their instructional repercussions.Time management constitutes one of the most traditional topics in the field of learning and study strategies, occupying a central position in the courses and numerous handbooks on study skills. This question is not far removed from the daily situation in classrooms, as one of the Please address correspondence to: Rafael García-Ros,

What Do We Know About Time Management? A Review of the Literature and a Psychometric Critique of Instruments Assessing Time Management

“…Factor analysis of the TMQ with a sample of 472 Shona speaking (Zimbabwe) teacher candidates replicated the original three factor model demonstrating some evidence of crosscultural replicability . The original 18-item TMQ was also translated into Spanish and administrated to 137 high school students (Garcia-Ros et al, 2004). Factor analysis of the Spanish TMQ scale reproduced the original TMQ scale structure of three subscales: Short-range Planning (7 items; α =.81), Time Attitudes (4 items; α =.64), and Long-range Planning (4 items; α =.60).…”

“…However, there is much literature examining time in the education domain, specifically in reference to time and schools (e.g., Knight, 1989), time and school learning (e.g., Anderson, 1984;Bloom, 1965;Carroll, 1963), time management and study skills for students or student athletes (e.g., Carney, 1988;Crutsinger, 1994;Danyluk, 1985;Garcia-Ros et al, 2004;Gibbs, Some of the populations identified as requiring time management training programs include adults performing job searches (Lindgren, 2004), first year university students (Ho, 2003;Swart et al, 2010;van der Meer et al, 2010), at risk university students (Zinatelli et al, 2002), online students (Bocchi et al, 2004), adults and college students with diabetes (Wdowik et al, 2001), adolescents with exceptionalities (DiPipi-Hoy et al, 2009), and student athletes . Recent time management training programs are also taking advantage of technology for their delivery (e.g., Zinatelli et al, 2002).…”

“…Recent time management training programs are also taking advantage of technology for their delivery (e.g., Zinatelli et al, 2002). The focus of time management research has also expanded to include individuals from North America (e.g., Hellsten & Rogers, 2009), Europe (Garcia-Ros et al, 2004van de Meer et al, 2010;Zampetakis et al, 2010), Africa , and Australia (Kearns & Gardnier, 2007) and is cross-cultural in nature (e.g., Cemaloglu & Filiz, 2010;Garcia-Ros et al, 2004).…”

“…Five studies examined the time management behaviors and practices of specific populations using qualitative methodologies including the use of time diaries (Hessing, 1994;Ho, 2003;Kotter, 1980;Winter et al, 1993;Yoels & Clair, 1994). Twenty-seven studies examined time management behaviors or practices in relation to other variables such as academic achievement, stress, or creativity (Adams & Jex, 1997Alay & Koçak, 2002;Anand, 2007;Britton & Tesser, 1991;Burt & Kemp, 1994;Cemaloglu & Filiz, 2010;Claessens et al, 2004;Francis-Smythe & Robertson, 1999;Garcia-Ros et al, 2004;Hellsten & Rogers, 2009;Jex & Elacqua, 1999;Lahmers & Zulauf, 2000;Lang et al, 1990;Lay & Schouwenburg, 1993;Macan et al, 1990;Misra & McKean, 2000;Mpofu et al, 1996;Mudrack, 1997;Shahani et al, 1993;Simons & Galotti, 1992;Swart et al, 2010;Trockel et al, 2000;van de Meer, et al, 2010;Williams et al, 1995;Zampetakis et al, 2010). One study (Trueman & Hartley, 1996) compared the effectiveness of time management skills between mature and traditional entry university students.…”

The Effect of Time Management on Academic Achievement among University Students Who Memorizing Qur'an (Hifdz)

“…Time management is one of the most traditional topics in the field of learning and learning strategies (García-Ros, Pérez-Gonzalez, & Hinojosa, 2004). Research on time management began to develop because of the large amount of literature that praised the benefits of time management, but this was not matched by existing empirical research (Macan, 1994).…”