Study procrastination, achievement, and academic motivation in web-based and blended distance learning

Growth in distance education is increasing the need to examine students' learning strategies in distance and blended learning environments. Students' cramming or spaced-review behaviors were measured and compared across delivery formats as well as examined related to course achievement and attitudes across a term. Although theory would predict that spaced study rather than last minute cramming would yield higher achievement, researchers report mixed findings in both areas. One hundred fifty-seven students in distance and blended course formats were blocked into 5 groups based on their cramming/spaced-review patterns a week prior to each of 3 posttests. Significant differences were observed in cramming/spaced-review behaviors between delivery formats and for achievement and attitudes.     

Implications for academic workload of the changing role of distance educators

The changing work roles and resulting workloads of distance educators hold significant implications for the wellbeing and mental health of academics. New work roles include redesigning curricula for online delivery, increasing staff-student ratios and demands for student-support, management of part-time staff, and 24-h availability. This research was conducted to investigate the perceived importance of various job roles constituting the quantitative and qualitative workload of distance educators at an open and distance learning university in South Africa. A quantitative, cross-sectional self-report survey design was employed. A stratified random sampling technique was used to ensure generalisability. The questionnaires were completed online, and the results were statistically analysed. The findings include a priority list of 40 distance educators’ work roles that may impact on their perceived workload. The article offers recommendations for policy development to facilitate a healthy workload allocation for distance educators.     

Perceptions of academic quality and approaches to studying among technology students in distance education

Primary objective. To examine perceptions of academic quality and approaches to studying in students taking six technology courses by distance education.

Research design. Students taking four courses received an end-of-course questionnaire. The following year, students taking all six courses received a mid-course questionnaire.

Method. The Course Experience Questionnaire and the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory were administered in a postal survey to 3539 students of the UK Open University.

Outcomes and results. Across successive levels of study, students were progressively less likely to adopt a deep approach, were more likely to adopt a surface approach and rated their courses less favourably, especially with regard to the workload and materials. Between the middle and end of a course, students were more likely to adopt a deep approach and gave more positive ratings with regard to the materials and amount of choice.

Conclusions. The survey instruments can be recommended as useful tools for monitoring the experiences of engineering and technology students.     

The role of personality in motivational regulation and academic procrastination

This study explores the role of the motivational self-regulation in academic procrastination under the personality framework. Therefore, the aims of the study were to investigate: (a) the role of personality dimensions in the self-regulation of motivation; (b) the role of self-regulation of motivation in procrastination; and (c) the mediating role of the self-regulation of motivation. The participants were 274 university students (M?=?21 years). The Big Five traits explained from 6% to 17% variance of the individual motivational regulation strategies (MRSs). Both personality (conscientiousness) and the MRS (environmental control) were significant predictors of academic procrastination. Conscientiousness, agreeableness, and intellect showed an indirect effect on reducing academic procrastination, mediated through the strategy of environmental control, thus additionally suggesting the important role of this motivational strategy. Since this strategy can be taught, these findings have a strong practical value.     

Task ambiguity and academic procrastination: An experience sampling approach

Procrastination is thought to be affected by trait-based and by situational, or task-specific determinants. Situational and task-specific influences on students' procrastination behavior have rarely been studied. Most research has examined trait-based individual differences in students' general procrastination tendencies. This study used an adaptive experience sampling approach to assess students' (N = 88) task-related perceptions of ambiguity and their situation-specific procrastination behavior during exam preparation six times a day for seven days (n = 3581 measurements). Results revealed that 30% of all intended study sessions were procrastinated. The risk that study sessions were procrastinated increased with students' task-related ambiguity perceptions. Individuals' average risk of procrastinating study sessions was further predicted by their procrastination tendency and conscientiousness assessed at baseline. The findings suggest interventions that promote students’ ability to self-regulate but also modify tasks and instructions. Further implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Exploring reasons and consequences of academic procrastination: an interview study

In the present study, we broadly investigated reasons and consequences of academic procrastination. Additionally, we explored whether students seeking help from student counselling services to overcome academic procrastination (counselling group) report more serious reasons and consequences of academic procrastination than students who procrastinate but seek no counselling support (non-counselling group). We conducted standardized interviews with university students (N?=?36, of which 16 belonged to the counselling group) and analysed these using qualitative content analysis and frequency analysis. The reasons and consequences of academic procrastination, each summarized in a separate category system, were manifold. The category systems consisted of 20 main categories in total, subsuming 81 subcategories, of which 32 were inductively developed. The counselling group reported more serious reasons and consequences of academic procrastination than the non-counselling group. Our results suggest considering academic procrastination as a self-regulation failure and contribute to constructing interventions tailored to students’ specific needs.     

Perceptions of Botswana primary teacher educators on selected teaching skills

This study investigates the levels of confidence of several categories of educators in some selected teaching skills. The educator categories comprise of primary school teachers, tutors at the Primary Colleges of Education, education officers and unqualified teachers in the colleges' catchment areas. The results are based on a questionnaire survey involving 504 educators. The educators are seen to influence to some extent the outcomes of the preservice training of teachers at the Primary Colleges in Botswana. The findings firstly suggest that about one-third of the respondents are not at all satisfied with teaching. The majority of education officers and principals of schools are the ones satisfied with their jobs. These differences among educator categories are statistically significant. Secondly, the analysis by location, rank and experience of the educators shows several trends. The analysis by location shows that educators in the urban setting are more confident in the selected skills than those from the rural areas. However, these differences are constant but not significant. The results by rank suggest the education officer respondents as being the most confident group. The college tutors and primary school teachers are more confident than the last category of unqualified teachers. The Pearson chi-square values for the analysis by rank suggest that these differences are significant. The results consistently show that longer experience in years does not lead to higher levels of confidence. The findings are also consistent in showing that there is a drop in levels of confidence with experience of twenty-six years and more. The paper discusses the implications of these results for professional skills training within the primary college catchment areas.     

Perceptions of identity among Finnish university-based subject teacher educators

The aim of the present study was to explore how Finnish university-based subject teacher educators perceived their professional identity. Several factors related to professional identity were analysed. Subject teacher educators are initially subject teachers who have proceeded to the doctorate level. They form a small academic group within a larger faculty milieu with only partial responsibility for a teacher education programme. The study is based on focus group interviews with 15 subject teacher educators at four of the eight universities that offer teacher education in Finland. The results reveal that these teacher educators have a strong and persistent self-ascribed identity of an educational nature. The close social interplay with other subject teacher educators within the faculty seems to contribute to a confident collective identity. However, the self-identity is not congruent with the other-ascribed identity, which varies depending on the other party’s institutional context. The subject teacher educators examined in this study wished to have research included to a higher extent in their identity as subject teacher educators.     

The effect of phubbing,a behavioral problem,on academic procrastination: The mediating and moderating role of academic self-efficacy

Our preoccupation with smartphones affects our attitudes. Our changing attitudes also create disruptions in our daily routines. Smartphones, the most common technological device we use, have exposed individuals to phubbing behavior. The behavioral problem we define as phubbing causes disruptions and procrastination in our academic responsibilities. In this study, the relationship between phubbing frequency and academic procrastination tendencies of students and the effect of academic self-efficacy on this relationship were performed. For this purpose, in this study, the mediator and moderator role of academic self-efficacy in the relationship between academic procrastination and phubbing was examined. The study group of the research consisted of 518 students in late adolescence from Turkey. 323 (62.4%) of the participants were females and 195 (37.6%) of them were males (Mage = 19.4 years). They completed questionnaires measuring phubbing tendency, academic procrastination, academic self-efficacy, and personal information form. It was found that academic self-efficacy was a partial mediator in the relationship between academic procrastination and phubbing. In addition, academic self-efficacy also had a moderator effect. According to these results, it can be said that the acquisition of academic self-efficacy can reduce the negative effects of phubbing, which is a behavioral problem, and the tendency to academic procrastination.     

Reducing statistics anxiety and academic procrastination among Israeli students: A pilot program

Many college students consider statistical courses as frightening and demanding, yielding high anxiety and low competence, and correlating with maladaptive academic behaviors and low achievement. With undergraduate students, the present pre-post study compared a supportive online teaching program utilizing mandatory statistical exercises (n = 37) with a no intervention, optional exercise statistics class (n = 32). We evaluated whether our statistics teaching intervention decreased test anxiety and academic procrastination and increased academic self-efficacy and academic achievements. Results indicated a decrease in academic procrastination and test anxiety at course end for intervention group and an increase in test anxiety for control group. At the end of the course intervention group reported higher academic self-efficacy and achievements. Teaching statistics using mandatory supportive activities might contribute to more positive psychological outcomes (eg, higher academic self-efficacy and lower academic procrastination) and higher academic achievements.     

Factors related to Taiwanese adolescents' academic procrastination,time management,and perfectionism

There is a shortage of studies that explore adolescents' academic procrastination. The author hence attempted to examine the mechanisms determining Taiwanese adolescent students' perfectionistic tendencies, time management, and academic procrastination. A total of 405 eighth-grade Taiwanese students completed a self-reported survey assessing their perceptions of classroom structure, parental expectations and criticism, perfectionistic tendencies, time management, and academic procrastination. Findings of regression analyses indicated that parental expectations and criticism were the key predictors of students' adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism. Students' perceptions of classroom structure also positively predicted their adaptive perfectionism. Moreover, results of hierarchical regressions suggested that perceived classroom structure, parental expectations and criticism, as well as adaptive perfectionism all emerged as predictors of time management. With regard to procrastination on homework and examination preparation, parental expectations and adaptive perfectionism were negative predictors, whereas parental criticism and maladaptive perfectionism were positive predictors. Also, time management negatively predicted academic procrastination.     

Perceptions and knowledge of preservice and inservice educators about early reading instruction

A major conclusion from research regarding children with poor reading performance is that early, systematic instruction in phonological awareness and phonics improves early reading and spelling skills and results in a reduction of the number of students who read below grade level. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and knowledge of presevice and inservice educators about early reading instruction. The results indicated that these educators expressed positive attitudes toward explicit and implicit code instruction, with inservice educators more positive about explicit code instruction than preservice educators and preservice educators more positive about implicit code instruction. Preservice and inservice educators demonstrated limited knowledge of phonological awareness or terminology related to language structure and phonics. Additionally, they perceived themselves as only somewhat prepared to teach early reading to struggling readers. These findings indicate a continuing mismatch between what educators believe and know and what convergent research supports as effective early reading instruction for children at risk for reading difficulties. Implications support continuing efforts to inform and reform teacher education. Just prior to publication, the editorial office was informed of the untimely death of the first author, Candace Bos, who died on August 13, 2001.     

Relationships between learning approach,procrastination and academic achievement amongst first-year university students

Individual differences in student learning influence academic performance, and two aspects influencing the learning process are the particular learning approach the students use and procrastination behaviour. We examined the relationships between learning approaches, procrastination and academic achievement (measured 1 year later as the grade point average (GPA)) amongst 428 first-year university students. Deep and strategic learning approaches positively predicted GPA, and a mediation analysis showed that the strategic learning approach also partly mediated the effect between deep learning approach and GPA. Less procrastination was associated with a strategic learning approach, but procrastination tendencies did not predict GPA. Recommendations are made for educating new students in cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies, helping reduce their procrastination and facilitating the use of deep and strategic learning approaches.     

Landmarks in the professional and academic development of mid-career teacher educators

This paper focuses on the professional and academic development of mid-career teacher educators from two universities in England. The objectives of the study were to analyse and compare the career experiences of teacher educators; in particular, to identify stages of development, landmark events and contextual factors affecting professional learning and academic identities. In-depth biographical interviews were carried out with 12 teacher educators, together with living graphs of their career paths. Clear landmarks were identified in both contexts, with development in teaching seen as largely positive, while research development was much more varied. Teacher educators who were further on in their careers saw research development as transformative personally as well as academically. In analysing the findings within a sociocultural learning framework, the authors draw in particular on Swennen et al.’s model of teacher educators’ sub-identities, Akerlind’s categorisation of an academic identity and Eraut’s contextual and learning factors.     

Research and scholarship: Perceptions of senior academic administrators

This paper reports selected findings from the first stage of a study on the research role within academic work in Australian universities. These findings come from the interview component of the study and discuss the perceptions that senior academic administrators hold on research and scholarship. The analysis of the interviews indicates that research covers a wide and varied range of activities across the disciplines found in a university and therefore needs to be defined broadly. However, research has three major attributes: new knowledge, enquiry and publication of results and views. Scholarship was perceived to be part of the research process, providing the context for good research by adding the element of breadth to the depth of research. In addition, scholarship describes the manner of pursuing a serious, sustained line of enquiry as well as the dissemination process.     

Academic work: Perceptions of senior academic administrators

This article reports on selected findings of the first stage of a qualitative study of academic work in Australian universities. This stage examined the perceptions senior academic administrators from the humanities, sciences, social sciences and professional areas hold of the work roles of academics. The article presents their perceptions of ‘research’ and ‘scholarship’ and the link between the two, as well as the interrelationships between research, scholarship and teaching. The findings show a high level of consensus and coherence in the views presented. The article examines possible reasons for such a unanimity of perception and raises further questions for investigation.     

Academic hardiness as a moderator of the relation between perfectionism and academic procrastination in university students

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The aim of the study was to investigate the predictive value of adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism for academic procrastination in...     

Roles and competencies of academic counsellors in distance education

Academic counsellors or tutors are engaged as a link between learners and distance teaching institutions. They perform various roles such as facilitating learning of subject matter content, assessing assignments, providing motivation and encouragement, and supervising research/term papers/project work. Each of these roles requires specific competencies to enable them to perform satisfactorily. This paper identifies the roles performed by academic counsellors at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the competencies required for each role. It also provides a generic list of competencies required to perform as an academic counsellor. Based on self‐rating of the competency of a group of academic counsellors, the paper recommends the training of academic counsellors and the development of distance teaching materials for use in competence‐building.