Time Management - Research Paper Example

? Time Management and performance It is undisputed that the process of teaching takes a considerable amount of time, and in school, just like it applies to other areas, there is never enough of it. As widely cited the biggest challenges for teachers, as well as students entail managing time (McEwan, 2012). It has been noted that time management is a thread running through all aspects of teaching (Nelson & Low, 2011). It determines various activities such as organizing the day, deciding how often and how long various subjects are to be taught, organizing classroom, recording the progress of students, and how to reduce keep time-consuming behavioral problems. In the view of Berry, Daughtrey and Wieder (2010) effective use of time in school starts with efficient classroom management and organization. According to Ames and Archer (1988) most of the essentials of the classroom life often involve management of time. For instance paring down paperwork, establishing or routines that can eliminate confusion and the wasted time, planning, using learning centers, seatwork to help one to get more time for working with groups, independent assignments, as well as creating classroom conditions that can provide allowance for activities and students to move smoothly. The subject of time management is undisputedly ivy to researchers and most have sought to find how it affects parameters especially in the teaching field. According to Walker (2010), effective utilization of time by both students, and the teaching staff can impact on the student performance. In the view of Hall and Hursch (1982) effective utilization of managerial skill can help teachers to manage time well and hence make them more productive in their duties. Although there has been a growing concern among scholars and teachers on the impact of time management on student activities such as their performance, way of thinking, accomplishing other school related activities, there are limited studies have sought to investigate on the correlation between student achievements and success and effective time management. There has been a growing need for teachers, students, as well as other stakeholders to review how better they can utilize time in order to boost the performance of students. Endeavoring to elucidate on this issue, this paper seeks to investigate if there exists a significant correlation between teachers with time management skills and student achievement. This would be based on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores. Statement of the Problem There is a growing pressure on teachers, students and policy makers within education sector to measure up to the expected standards of performance. Students are expected to work hard and make sure they make their parents and teachers proud by passing their exams. As often the case, administrators in charge of schools are under pressure to comply with government policies, which support better utilization of time for the better of student success. For this to be achieved there is need for school administrators, the student fraternity and the entire teaching staff to impress programs that are geared towards maximizing on time utility. This can only be done if the issue of time management is taken into consideration. This points to the fact that such schools need to take into consideration the role of time management and its impact on instructional time in case they so wish to meet the demands of increasing student achievement. Research Questions This study was driven by the research questions below: 1. Can the student success be influenced by time management skills? 2. Does teacher’s with time management skills and student achievement correlate? Purpose of the Study The study aimed at establishing the link between student’s achievement and time management skills. This shall be achieved through examining the two important parameters: time management skills and the academic success of students’ basing on the student scores on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Through this, the relationship between time management by teachers and the achievement of students can be established. The study, as well aimed at informing teachers and stakeholders within the education sector as to whether there is need to put in place measures that can increase effective utilization of time for purposes of student’s achievements. Relevance of the Study It goes without saying that the success of students in education reflects on the economy of a country and the way teaching is done. Parameters that affect student success should therefore be highlighted in order for teacher to know how best they can manipulate them in making sure the success of students is assured. Therefore, through this study, more light would be shade on whether increasing the better management of time can impact on the success of students or not. If it is found that the two correlate, whether negatively or positively, then it shall be upon the teaching fraternity to incorporate programs that shall increase or reduce on time management with a sole purpose of helping better the success of students. Assumptions There were various assumptions in this study. First, it was assumed that the participants through willingness, they gave honest and very correct and accurate responses. Second, given that the study was limited to graduate teachers, there was an assumption that correspondents who filled the time management questionnaires were teachers who were graduates and were at the level of Limitations of the Study The study had a limited scope in that the participants were only graduate teachers who had been part of design and research class and it also required only five corresponds. Additionally, the graduate teachers who had enrolled in the university from border town in southern Texas, were the only ones legible. Definition of Terms In order to make the study clear to all interested readers, the following key terms were defined. Time Management Behaviors This according to Kearns and Gardiner (2007) this refers an individual’s own point of view regarding self-skills of the purpose, prioritizing, planning being organized Time Management. This being a key word in the study refers to effective use of the relevant resources with a view to realize the set objective in conducting an activity. The Effectiveness of a teacher According to Ackerson (1992) this refers to the successful skills of a teacher in regard to student success, assessment of students, personal quality, instructional delivery and personal qualities Actual Learning Time The time that learning actually occurs within the time students are attentive to or engaged in an activity (Ackerson, 1992). REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE People have lived striving to control events affecting their lives. Through exerting influence on spheres upon which they can have certain command, they can be better in realizing desired future and hence can forestall the undesired ones (Smith & Steffen, 1994). In the view of Smith, Teske and Gossmeyer (2000) the main goal of education system should be shifting to a person a burden of pursuing her or his own education goals. The construct of time management is one that can be studied for purposes of determining the ivy issues that are related to how students learn, as well as how they might not agree to the shift of being responsible for their own learning. According to Sidentop (1999) prominent psychologies and theories propose that people’s ability to cause a significant outcome can assist them with the ability to predicting such outcomes that in turn can foster adaptive preparedness. In the view of Meyer (2001), schools, as well as large organization face great challenges due to poor time management. Smith and Steffen (1994) is of the view that through effective time management, various education reforms can be realized easily. This researcher suggested that students, just like teachers ought to have a skill in managing time in order for them to effectively maximize time on key objectives. According to Kearns and Gardiner (2007), if Teachers were given enough time to perform an array of events including teaching, assessing, planning, collaborating, disciplining, as well as communicate with parents, there would be lots of benefits that shall be reaped from the education sector. Seeking to examine whether given better management skill would various forms of stress would be reduced at work places, Suarez Torlone, McGrath and and Clark (1991) indicated that work place related challenges would drop significantly if people impressed the subject of time management. Skinner 1998) questioned whether heavy workloads and long hours on the job could impact negativelyt on job performance and well-being and thus, one method of avoiding this could be by investigating whether time management skills, having an awareness of time, and controlling time connected to higher job performance. Hall and Hursch (1982) conducted a study in which university professors would receive time management training and then examined if a relation existed after their training with regards to job performance. Their study found a positive relation between time management skills and self evaluation of job effectiveness. Darling-Hammond (1999) sought to identify the relationship between time management behaviors and job related morale and distress and noted that the two are positively correlated. METHODOLOGY Procedure In this study, a group of persons that had interest in the subject under consideration took part. This constituted a total of 4 students who had special interest. The Nelson and Low’s (2011) time management questionnaire was then adopted as a means of developing a questionnaire. Through this, the Time Management Questionnaire (See Appendix A) was developed. This tool was distributed among the graduate students who had enrolled in an educational research course. Design In this study, a survey was the design used. As often the case, survey design is quantitative. The use means, standard deviation, and other measures of dispersion were used in this study. Moreover, correlation analysis was done in helping ascertain the link between time management skills and the student achievement basing on TAKS scores. In this case, the focus of the study was on both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics basing on a range of correlation coefficient of +1.00 and -1.00. Data Collection Procedures In doing the study, there was need seek an approval from the relevant department. This way, there was an agreement reached for purposes of distributing the survey to those students who had been enrolled. Generally surveys were filled voluntarily by students upon arriving at the place. They were then distributed and then picked from the correspondents after confirming that they had fully been completed. In total, there were five surveys, which were enveloped for purposes of analyzing them.. DATA ANALYSIS This study employed the statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) in analyzing data, considering the two sections of the Time Management Questionnaire, with one on the demography of and the other having ten item questionnaires given the five point Likert scale. The ten questions being divided into behavior or perception questions, with the set purpose of determining the degree of self time management skills, it was noted that a mean score for behavior time management questions was 4.40 indicative, which was of an “agree” status (table 1). Similarly, there was a mean score of 4.6 for the five behavior management questions (table). In this study, it was found that the five behavioral questions individual standard deviation was .548 (table 2), which indicated that it was similar. However, .894 (table 2) was the overall standard deviation hence it was assumed that the responses were under “agree” or “strongly agree”. Table 1: Behavior Questions Mean and Standard Deviations As concerns the perception of time management questions, it was observed that the overall mean score was 4.40, indicating an “agree”. It was observed that 4.6 to 4.8 was the individual range for the five questions, with a standard deviation of .894 (table 2), demonstrating a response range from “neutral” to “strongly agree”. For question seven, the standard deviation was .548 (table 2) suggesting that the response might have slightly deviated from “agree” to “neutral” or “strongly agree”. On the opposite side, the behavior time management questions, it was observed that the perception time management questions had a mean indicative of responses ranging from “neutral” to “strongly agree” where as behavior time management questions responses were either “agree” or “strongly agree. Table 2: Perception Questions Mean and Standard Deviations Mean Std. Deviation N Scores 4.40 .894 5 Q3 4.80 .447 5 Q4 4.80 .447 5 Q7 4.60 .548 5 Q9 4.80 .447 5 Q10 4.80 .447 5 The bi-variate, correlate options on the SPSS by selecting as options a correlate, were used in analyze relationships. The key variables under analysis included TAKS scores, behavior time management questions, and TAKS scores and perception time management questions. From the correlation analysis using Pearson r correlation and degree of significance between TAKS scores and time management, it was observed that a positive correlation between time management and performance existed for questions two, five, six, and eight (r =.612, .408, .408, .408) (table 3), and that performance improved significantly (p= .272) with an increase in time management However, for question one, the results showed that performance and time management were strongly negative correlation (r= -.102) and that time management did not significantly impact on performance (p=.870 (table 3). From the results, it was observed that behavior questions and TAKS scores, were positively correlated (table 3). Table 3: TAKS Scores and Behavior Time Management Correlations Scores Q1 Q2 Q5 Q6 Q8 Scores Pearson Correlation 1 -.102 .612 .408 .408 .408 Sig. (2-tailed) .870 .272 .495 .495 .495 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q1 Pearson Correlation -.102 1 .667 .167 .167 .167 Sig. (2-tailed) .870 .219 .789 .789 .789 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q2 Pearson Correlation .612 .667 1 .667 .667 .667 Sig. (2-tailed) .272 .219 .219 .219 .219 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q5 Pearson Correlation .408 .167 .667 1 1.000** 1.000** Sig. (2-tailed) .495 .789 .219 .000 .000 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q6 Pearson Correlation .408 .167 .667 1.000** 1 1.000** Sig. (2-tailed) .495 .789 .219 .000 .000 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q8 Pearson Correlation .408 .167 .667 1.000** 1.000** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .495 .789 .219 .000 .000 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). On analysis of TAKS scores and perception time management questions, it was observed that in Question 3 performance and time management were weakly positively correlated (r= .250) and that performance was significantly affected by time management (p= .685). On the other hand, Question 4 demonstrated that performance and time management was strongly positively correlated (r= -.375) and that performance was significantly affected by time management (P =.534). In question seven, it was noted that time management and performance were strongly positively correlated (r= .919). Question 9 indicated that performance and time management were weakly negatively correlated (r= -.375). Last, question 10 indicated that there was a “strong” correlation (p= .875) between TAKS scores and time management with a Pearson r of .875 (table 4). Table 4: TAKS Scores and Perception Time Management Correlations Scores Q3 Q4 Q7 Q9 Q10 Scores Pearson Correlation 1 .250 -.375 .919* -.375 .875 Sig. (2-tailed) .685 .534 .028 .534 .052 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q3 Pearson Correlation .250 1 -.250 .612 -.250 -.250 Sig. (2-tailed) .685 .685 .272 .685 .685 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q4 Pearson Correlation -.375 -.250 1 -.408 1.000** -.250 Sig. (2-tailed) .534 .685 .495 .000 .685 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q7 Pearson Correlation .919* .612 -.408 1 -.408 .612 Sig. (2-tailed) .028 .272 .495 .495 .272 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q9 Pearson Correlation -.375 -.250 1.000** -.408 1 -.250 Sig. (2-tailed) .534 .685 .000 .495 .685 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 Q10 Pearson Correlation .875 -.250 -.250 .612 -.250 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .052 .685 .685 .272 .685 N 5 5 5 5 5 5 *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Hypothesis In this study, it was hypothesized that students who had higher self time management skills would end up realizing higher levels of achievement basing on TAKS scores. Study Participants This study was composed of students from Southern Texas university institution. This way, the study sample consisted of graduate students who had been registered in an educational research class. There were in total 5 participants chosen basing on the convenience sampling through seeking volunteers to fill the Time Management Questionnaire. Results From the results obtained in this study, it is clear that time management is key in ensuring that students realize better performance. As highlighted above, students with a higher self time management skills had a higher mean score on the TASK score. The statistical analysis proved that time management is correlated with student performance. This is because, students who were better placed in terms of time management skills professionally, ranked higher in terms of performance. The SPSS analysis indicates there is moderate to strong positive correlation between time management and student achievement. It was observed the five participants that completed the survey had their TAKS scores above the seventy percent-tile. . Conclusions Conclusively, time management and student achievement are strongly correlated. From this study, it is apparent that if teachers and stakeholders in education would endeavor putting in place programs and policies that would make sure, there is better management of time, and then the performances of students would become better. It has been shown that students who have better time management skills are advantaged in performance. This implies that inculcating such virtues in students would boost their performance not only in academics but also in other activities. However, one thing that is not clear is whether differences in skills in time management have an impact on performance. This study suggests that a study should be done to ascertain skills in time performance is responsible for variations in performance among students. References Ackerson, C., (1992). Affective objective: Adiscussion of certain controversies. Instructional Development, 3 (2), 7-13. Ames, C., & Archer, J. (1988). Achievement goals in the classroom: Students’ learning strategies and motivation processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80 (3), 260-267. Atkinson, W. (1988). Motivational determinants of risk-taking behavior. Psychological Darling-Hammond, L. (1999). Target time towards teachers. Journal of Staff Development, 20(2), 31-36. Kearns, H., & Gardiner, M. (2007). Is it time well spent: The relationship between time management behaviors, perceived effectiveness and work-related morale and distress in a university context. Higher Education Research & Development, 26(2), 235-247. Hall, B. L., &Hursch, D. E. (1982). An evaluation of the effects of a time management training program on work efficiency. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 3, p. 76- 96. McEwan, A. E. (2012). Time and teaching. The Educational Forum, 76, 81-89. Nelson, D. B., & Low, G. R. (2011). Emotional intelligence (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Sidentop, D. (1999). The Ohio State University supervision research program summary report. Journal of teaching in physical Education Introductory Issue, 30-39. Skinner, B.F. (1998). Science and Human behavior. New York: Macmillan. Smith, M., Teske, R., & Gossmeyer, M. (2000). Improving student achievements through the enhancement of study skills. Xavier University. Smith, M., & Steffen, J. (1994). The effect of different schedule of feedback on the management time of student teachers. The physical Educator, 51, 81-92. Walker, J. (2009). Reorganizing leader’s time: Does it create better schools for students. NAASP Bulletin, 93(4), 213-226. Appendix A Time Management Questionnaire TIME MANAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE PART I: Teacher Demographics Please circle years of teaching experience: 0-1 years 2-5 years 6-10 years 11-15 years 16 years + Please circle your student success rate based on 2010-2011 TAKS scores: 59% or below 60%-69% 70%-79% 80%-89% 90%-100% PART II: There are ten items in this questionnaire. These are statements to be considered in the context of how you manage your time. Think about how well the statements describe you and time management. Indicate your answer by circling one of the given choices. SD If you strongly disagree with the statement D If you disagree with the statement N If you neither agree nor disagree with the statement A If you agree with the statement SA If you strongly agree with the statement 1. I organize my responsibilities into an efficient personal time schedule. SD D N A SA 2. I create a “things to do list” for myself and then successfully complete them within a specific time frame. SD D N A SA 3. If I were being evaluated in terms of student success, I would receive high rating in managing my work day. SD D N A SA 4. I know exactly how much time I need to complete assignments and projects. SD D N A SA 5. I am able to manage my time in the present so that I am not pressured by always trying to catch up with things that I have not done in the past. SD D N A SA 6. I effectively work on several projects at the same time with good results. SD D N A SA 7. I am an efficient and well organized person. SD D N A SA 8. I plan and complete assignments and obligations on schedule. SD D N A SA 9. I control my responsibilities rather than being controlled by them. SD D N A SA 10. I am satisfied with the way I manage my time. SD D N A SA Your TIME in completing this survey is greatly appreciated! Read More