Time management in university students with different levels of academic performance

Abstract

In this work, we have analyzed the relationship between time management and academic performance in university students. Our initial hypothesis is that students with high level of skills in time management achieve better learning outcomes. The sample consisted of 496 freshman students from two Colombian Universities. We have used a Spanish version of the Time Management Behavior Questionnaire (TMBQ) and we have taken the students’ average academic grades from their first year in the university. To complement this, four focus groups were carried out with students with low or high performance levels, allowing us to know their perspectives about time management. Results show a weak relationship between both variables utilized, in accordance with the results of previous studies. Students with higher grades present better time management than students with low grades, particularly in the sub-scale about perceptions of time control. Group discourses allow us to identify better auto-regulatory time management behaviors in high level performance students. Consequently, we recommend training freshman undergraduates in time management strategies.