And the Relationship between the Use of Time Management and Improving Student Performance - Research Paper Example

? The effect of Time management on success Introduction Time management has been reported to be the process of exercising, and planning control on the quantity of time used on particular activities like increasing productivity, efficiency, or effectiveness. There are different tools, skills, and methods that can be used in time management. These methods are used in managing time especially when there are different tasks to be accomplished. Additionally, there are some activities that enhance management of time in an organization. These include setting of goals, planning, delegation, allocation, time analysis, organizing, monitoring, prioritization, and scheduling. In the school setting, time management is extremely crucial for the school to satisfy the organizational goals and objectives. Time management is a tool that determines the project completion and the scope to which a project is done. It helps teachers in satisfying the goals and objectives of the students. When students and teachers on activities that deal with instrumental responsibilities use most of the school time, then, achievement of the student would be influenced positively. In this respect, time management is paramount for the success of any school. This paper explores a report on the impact of time management on the success of a school. Statement of the Problem. The study examined the impacts of time management on the success of a school. In many schools, teachers experience the challenge of accountability and high-stakes testing, that has a massive effect on the success and achievement of the learners. The increased responsibilities towards the profession are one great influence to the time spends on learning activity. School administrators, on the other hand, have the responsibility of policy formulation or a program administration. This means that they have an entitlement to all benefits, rights, and burdens brought about by appropriate management of time. After being assigned to a certain position, administrative and supervisory staff are expected to comply with adequate yearly progress policies and be driven with the desire of establishing ways of maximizing the utility of time to increase student success. In this regard, increased efforts towards the management of time are extremely vital for the success of the school. School administrators should, therefore, take into consideration the impacts of time management on instructional time for them to satisfy their goals of increasing the achievement of students. Research Questions The following research questions will direct the quantitative section of the study: 1. Is there any there any influence of time management on the success of students? 2. Is there a correlation between the time management skills of the teacher’s and student achievement? The following questions will direct the qualitative section of the study: 1. What are the effects of management of time on the performance of students? 2. How does time management correlates with the performance of the students? Purpose of the Study The key purpose of the research was to give out insight regarding the link between time management skills and student achievement. Through the analysis of the skills of time management skills and the academic performance of the students, as given by student’s scores on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), Knowledge could be obtained on the relationship between time management skills of a teacher and the success of the student. The study was conducted to examine the relevance of time management on academic performance hence provide an appropriate solution for increasing the performance of learners in schools. Importance of the Study The success of this study is vital because it is will provide a powerful tool of increasing the performance of learners in a school. The study examines whether time management skills play a factor in the success of student. The existence of any correlation between time management and student’s success will give room for integrating professional trainings on time management skills and finding new avenues of utilizing time more effectively. This means that the use of time management as a success framework will increase the performance of the school districts. Assumptions This study had the following assumptions: 1. Participants completing the Time Management Questionnaire were all graduate teachers working in a TAKS grade level. 2. Participants answered the questionnaire as accurately and honestly as possible. 3. The interpretation of data accurately reflected that which was intended. Limitations of the Study This study had the following limitations: 1. The study focuses on one factor of success leaving out the other factors. 2. The study included graduate teachers enrolled in a university from a selected border town in southern Texas. 3. The study included only graduate teachers enrolled in a research and design class. 4. The study was limited to five participants. 5. The results of this study can only be generalized to graduate teachers in similar contexts. Definition of Terms Below are terms used for the purpose of this study: 1. Allotted Time: The maximum time allotted for learning and instruction given to public schools as outlined by state laws. 2. Actual Learning Time: The time that learning actually occurs within the time students are attentive to or engaged in an activity. 3. Engaged Time: The amount of time a student is engaged in instruction and how it affects learning. 4. Scheduled Instructional Time: The scheduled time given by the district and campus and the time spent in instruction. 5. Teacher Effectiveness: It is defined as teacher’s successful skills, based on student success, instructional delivery, student assessment, learning environment, and personal qualities. 6. Time Management: It is defined as using effectively all resources to achieve a goal, perform a job, or conduct activities. The purpose is to increase the quality of the activity not to increase the limited time. 7. Time Management Behaviours: The perspective of an individual in regards to self-skills of having a clear purpose, planning and prioritizing, avoiding interruptions and distractions, and being organized. Review of related literature. Studies conducted on time management reported that school administrator can also consider making adjustments to school schedules. This study also reported time management as not being a matter of extending a teaching day, rather viewing how to use time in new productive ways. Other studies have reported that although schedule change may not instantly improve instruction, wise allocation and effective use of time increases the opportunity for student learning to occur (Meyer, 2001). In this case, administrators could integrate innovative schedules into the existing curriculum through better block scheduling. One recent study has argued out that one method of improving time management is extending typical 50-60 minute period into longer block periods. The use of doubling up block periods can extend into more complex explorations of topics allowing teachers to manage time in new and better ways (Peyton, 1995). Additionally, consideration should be given to how instructional time is used in the classroom. Instructional time is distributed into allotted time, scheduled instructional time, engaged time, and actual learning time. Teachers have the most direct influence in engaged time and actual learning time which are the ones who have the most contributions to increased student achievement (Suarez, et. al, 1991). “The common denominator in school improvement and student success is the teacher” (Stonge, Ward, & Grant, 2011, p. 351). Collaboration would thus crucial between school administrators and teachers to support teachers in the process of increasing engaged time and actual learning time. Britton and Tesser (1991) conducted a study to examine the effects of time-management practices on college grades. Research findings illustrated that there is a link between attitudes of time management and average grade point. One interesting observation noted in the finding was that time attitude factors influence time management. An individual’s time attitude can refrain from participating on unprofitable duties which can encourage development of self-efficacy (Britton & Tesser, 1991). In another study Cemaloglu and Filiz (2010) examined the relationship between time management skills and academic achievement of potential teachers. These findings demonstrated a positive and significant relationship between time management skills and academic achievement. However, it was noted that three factors, time consumers, time planning, and time attitudes influence time management. Cemaloglu and Filiz (2010) researched showed time management skills along with other related time variables may increase student achievement and academic achievement. One of the most helpful observations noted is that time management skills can be taught (Britton & Tesser, 1991). Knowing this would be beneficial to school organization and teachers with minimal skills. Investing time in teaching time management skills may spiral into teachers making better use of their time to be more effective to increase student learning. Teachers, who are effective, in terms of student achievement, use their time wiser by being more organized, utilizing routines and procedures more productively and having higher student expectations (Stronge, Ward, & Grant, 2011). This statement reinforces the concept that learning time management skills can produce positive outcomes in job effectiveness. From the conducted studies, there are no documented studies that relates time management and student success. This review shows out the high demand of a study investigating the link between time management and performance of students. Methodology Procedure In this study, a group made up of volunteering participants interested with the time management and student performance was established. About four participants students were selected for the study. The Nelson and Low’s (2011) time management questionnaire was used in developing the questionnaire. The time Management Questionnaire acted as an instrument of survey for the research. The questionnaire was then distributed to the selected group of participants who were students enrolled in an educational research course. Design This study used survey design to analyse the data. The study used descriptive statistics in coming up with the means and standard deviations for the collected data. The correlation research was used in finding the link between time management skills and student achievement based on TAKS scores. Data Collection Procedures. The questionnaires were given out to all the students after their arrival. The students were requested to complete the questionnaires with utmost truth. The completion of the questionnaire was done on volunteer basis. The questionnaires were then collected immediately upon completion for analysis. Data analysis The study analysed the data through the use of the SPSS program. Table 1, displayed the overall mean score for time management questions. The mean score was 4.40 for the “agree” status. The individual mean scores for all five behaviour management question all illustrated a 4.6 mean score, with the exception of one question with a mean score of 4.4. These mean scores appear similar and reflect a response similarity of “agree”. The individual standard deviation for the five behaviour questions was the same at .548. The overall standard deviation was at a .894 which leads to assume that most responses fell under “agree” or “strongly agree”. The distribution of means and standard deviation can be more easily visualized and interpreted using once again Table 1 found below. Table 1: Behavior Questions Mean and Standard Deviations The overall mean score was at a 4.40 illustrating an “agree” status. Individual mean scores for all fie questions were closely related ranging from 4.6 to 4.8 reflective of an “agree” status per question. The standard deviation was at a .894 displaying a range from “neutral” to “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 correlation coefficients was found to have a range of +1.00 to -1.00. Correlation coefficient were interpreted as between +0.35 and –0.35 “weak”; between +0.35 and +0.65 or between -0.35 and -0.65 “moderate”; and between +0.65 and 1.00 or between -1.00 and -.065 “strong” (Gay, Mills, & Airasian, 2012). In Table 3. The column labelled scores illustrates Pearson r and degree of significance between TAKS scores and behaviour questions. The overall data analyzed between TAKS scores and behaviour questions suggest that a “moderate” correlation existed among these two variables. Table 3 also illustrated additional Pearson r and level of significance data among time management questions, but for the purpose of this paper only TAKS scores data and its relationship to time management questions were analyzed in narrative form. 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). From table 4, Question 3 had a Pearson r of .250 representative of a “weak” correlation with a significance of .685. Question 4 had a Pearson r of -.375 representative of a “moderate” correlation with a significance of .534. A significant correlation was noted in question 7 with a Pearson r of .919 indicative of a “strong” correlation. Question 9 fell under a “moderate” correlation with a Pearson r of -.375. Question 10 also indicated a “strong” correlation with a Pearson r of .875. 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, we hypothesised that there was a significant correlation between time management and the success of the students. In this case, the participants with higher self time management skills would have higher levels of student achievement based on TAKS scores. Study Participants The participants of the study were selected on the basis that they were students enrolled in a Southern Texas university institution. The subjects were graduate students registered in an educational research class. About five participants were selected using the method of convenience sampling, and seeking volunteers to complete the Time Management Questionnaire. Results. The mean scores of the study ranged from 4.4-4.8 representative of an “agree” status. It can be argued out that the participates integrated time management skills into their profession. The analysis of data using Pearson correlation showed out that a “moderate” correlation existed between time management and student achievement. Approximately all the participants had TAKS scores ranked higher than the seventy percent-tile. The TAKS scores of the participants did demonstrate passing rates, which could be seen as positive effects of time management on TAKS scores. Conclusions. The study established that time management had a medium correlation with the task scores, implying that time management skill positively affect the success of students. In this case, increasing the time management skill will increase the success of the students. The study approved the hypothesis for the study showing out that there is a significant correlation between time management and the student’s success. The study showed out that using a high population sample could better determine whether a positive, strong relationship existed between time management and student achievement. The study reported that teachers could use time management as a tool of improving their performance. Time management, was seen as an area of interest in educational reforms thus this study formed a basis towards the student’s success. References Berry, B., Daughtrey, A., & Wieder, A. (2010, August). Teacher leadership: Leading to effective teaching and learning. Hillsborough, NC: Center for Teaching Quality. Britton, B. K., & Tesser, A. (1991). Effect of time-management practice on colleges grade. J of Educ Psyc, 83(3), 405-410. Cemaloglu, N., & Filiz, S. (2010). The relationship between time management skills and academic achievement of potential teachers. Educational Research Quarterly, 33(4), 3-23. Darling-Hammond, L. (1999). Target time towards teachers. Journal of Staff Development, 20(2), 31-36. Kearns, H., & Gardiner, M. (2007). The relationships between times management behavior, and work-related morales and distress. Higher Educ Research & Development, 26(2), 235-247. Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2012). Educational research competencies for analysis and applications. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc. 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. Meyer, G. (2001). On point on time and how to get more of it. Education Development Center. Newton, MA. National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF). (1996). What matters most:Teaching for America’s future. NY: Author. Nelson, D. B., & Low, G. R. (2011). Emotional intelligence (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Peyton, D. (1995). Time management and educational reform. Directions in Language and Education, 1(6), 1-10. Suarez, T. M., Torlone, D. J., McGrath, S. T. & Clark, D. I. (1991). Enhancing effective instructional time: A review of research. Policy Brief, 1(2), 1-11. Stewart, S. C., Evans, W. H. & Kaczynski, D. J. (1997). Setting the stage for success: Assessing the instructional environment. Preventing School Failure, 41(2), 53-56. Stronge, J. H., Ward, J. T., & Grant, L. W. (2011). What makes good teachers good: A cross case analysis of the connection between teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Journal of Teacher Education, 62(4), 339-355. Walker, J. (2009). Reorganizing leader’s time: Does it create better schools for students. NAASP Bulletin, 93(4), 213-226. Read More