Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

Time management is a skill that every student should not only know, but also apply. A lot

of university students complain about running out of time when asked to do a certain task, they

get frustrated because they are not able to make it before the deadline. According to Laurie and

Hellsten (2002) time management is extremely important, especially when it comes to university

students because it will boost their grades and enhance their productivity

However, most of the time students face problems like task aversion and uncertainty, so they

start to procrastinate because they lack organizational skills. As a result, students will not be able

to organize duties according to their priorities, so they get distracted easily, ending up

procrastinating. As we can see, time management is quite essential to any university student, and

it is one of the keys to higher academic achievements (Kelly, 2004).

According to Campbell and Svenson (1992), time management refers to the way students

manage their time in order to have better academic performance which is invaluable for

academic success. Thus, it is important for students to know the first step of time management i.

e. giving priority to the important matters, and should remain focused on issues essential for

success. In line with these notions, Gloe (1999) argued that the techniques of time management

are the best ways to manage course materials successfully. These includes group discussion,

exchanging ideas and sharing views on key points, which ultimately help students to perform

better in the examination leads to superior academic performance. Moreover, Kaushar (2013)

recognized a vital role of time management in students’ academic performance. The researcher

also argued that lack of time management skills act as the barrier to better academic

performance. Many researchers around the globe explored the issue of time management skills
on academic achievement and their findings reflect that there is a link between time management

and academic performance. The majority of them tend to think that good time management has a

positive influence on students’ academic achievement. Poor time management behaviors, such as

not allocating time properly or last minute cramming for exams, have been frequently discussed

as a source of stress and poor academic performance (Gall, 1988; Longman & Atkinson, 1988;

Walter & Siebert, 1981).

In the relevant literature there are great number of academic studies focusing on the

relation between time management and academic achievements. The related literature showed

that the time management attitude and skill levels of university students affect their academic

achievement. The research revealed that a majority student possesses moderate level time

management skills and only a significantly small portion has high level time management skills

(Yilmaz, 2006). The literature revealed that the students’ time management skills affect their

academic achievement at a significant level and the skills are one of the predictors of academic

performance. The various group of students who exploited time-saving proficiencies notably had

rich academic achievement. They accomplished those students who do not use time saving

techniques in their educational surrounding having significantly lower academic as compared to

results students who employ time- management tactics have considerably higher achievement

(Mercanlioglu, 2010).

Academic performance is the result of the education that depends on achieved

educational goals of students or teachers. Academic performance is generally measured by the

average of all of the exams result and completed assignments at the end of the semester. This

grand point average simply called GPA. There are a huge number of academic studies focusing

on the relationship between time management and GPA (Britton and Tesser, 1991, Indreica et
al., 2011, Macan et al., 1990). Brinton and Tesser’ research (1991) showed that time

management skills affect university student’s academic success. Indreica et al. (2011) obtained

that using time management skill increase GPA. Macan et al. (1990)‘s findings supported that

time management affects academic performance. It can be seen that using time efficiently is an

important fact of student’s success and time management skill is the key of the higher GPA.

According to Adebayo (2015), academic performance is the outcome of education, that

is, the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals.

Academic performance is commonly measured by examinations or continuous assessment but

there is no general agreement on how it is best tested or which aspects are more important.

Academic performance seems to increase when time management skills are well-handled. Time

management is a skill that perhaps impacts the students’ academic performance. Prioritization of

tasks may make studying and schoolwork less overwhelming and more enjoyable. Academic

stress occurs when students feel the pressure of cramming for exams, rushing through homework

and getting minimal sleep because of disorganizations and worry. Effective time management

techniques should not only be applied to the students’ academic life but to their overall schedule

to achieve success and peace of mind.

Time management has a positive impact on academic performance. Academic success

has, on another perspective, a positive impact on motivation (generating motives) and on work

time (which will be shorter if the task aims rapidity, and longer if the task is complex and

requires continuous effort) performance (Elena-Simona Indreicaa and et al, 2011). The

advantages associated with effective time management in education are reportedly numerous and

form the crux of many advisory pieces and counseling services given both to incumbent and at-

risk students (Rowh, 2004). Moreover, poor time management practices such as not allocating
time properly for work assignments, cramming for exams and failing to meet deadlines set by

academic staff are frequently cited as a major source of stress and poor academic performance

(Gall, 1988; Longman & Atkinson, 2004; Macan, Dipboye, & Phillips, 1990) In general, studies

report that time management exerts a positive influence on student learning outcomes (Claessens

et al, 2007).

There is a significant and positive relationship between time management and students’

academic performance (Hamzah et al,2014). Sevil and Necati (2011) indicated a significant and

positive relation between time planning and time consumers and the academic achievement of

the students; there was a low and positive relation between time consumers and academic

achievement; there was a meaningful and moderate relation between time management and

academic achievement. getting minimal sleep because of disorganizations and worry. Effective

time management techniques should not only be applied to the students’ academic life but to

their overall schedule to achieve success and peace of mind.

A study by Alrheme and Almardeni (2014) aimed at identifying the students' viewpoint

about how to time in terms of planning, organizing, directing and censorship and its effect on

academic performance as long as identifying the personal variables effects on academic

performance. The data were collected through a sample of 300 students. The study results

showed that the planning was of high effect on academic achievement proved by a correlation

coefficient. The study concludes that there is a statistically significant positive relationship

between time management and academic performance.

Abulshawi & Abusultana (2003) conducted a study aiming at recognizing the student of

Yarmouk university ability to manage time from different faculties and identifying its relation to
academic achievement considering the variables; gender, the university year and the faculty and

how much these variables affect time management skills. . The study results showed that there is

a medium degree of time management skill among students at Yarmouk University, and the skill

of time management and academic performance. The study results that there is a positive

relationship between time management skill and the academic performance according the faculty

variable goes to the advantage of economics, science students only.

There are huge number of studies that focused in the relationship between time

management and academic performance. Most of the related studies used a checklist-

questionnaire and required the GPA of the students to gather data. The results of the studies are

there is a significant relationship or there is a positive relationship between time management

and academic performance of the students. These studies were used as our guide to our study.