Academic Procrastination of College Going Students in Relation to Their Gender, Locality, Castes and Academic Streams

Abstract

One of the common educational problems is academic procrastination. Several factors such as poor sleep, lack of self-confidence & motivation etc. are responsible for committing academic procrastination among the students at college level. The aim of present research is to study academic procrastination behaviour among college going students in-relation to their socio-educational variables. For this purpose, the present investigator has used Descriptive-Survey method. One hundred sixty samples have been selected and an academic

Full text

Academic Procrastination of College Going Students in Relation to Their Gender, Locality,
Castes and Academic Streams
Manisha Pradhan (Govt. Autonomous College, Rourkela, Odisha)
Ranjit Kumar Behera (G M University, Sambalpur, Odisha)
Abstract:
One of the common educational problems is academic procrastination. Several factors such
as poor sleep, lack of self-confidence & motivation etc. are responsible for committing
academic procrastination among the students at college level. The aim of present research is
to study academic procrastination behaviour among college going students in-relation to their
socio-educational variables. For this purpose, the present investigator has used Descriptive-
Survey method. One hundred sixty samples have been selected and an academic
procrastination scale was adopted to collect the data from the sample. After analysing the
data, the researcher has found that no significant difference exists between different locality
(rural & urban students), among the different Year of Education (1st year, 2nd year, & 3rd year
students) and different castes (OBC, General, & STs/SCs students) but significant difference
exists between gender (male & female students) and different academic streams (Arts,
Commerce, & Science students). Similarly, Year of education, Locality, and castes were not
significant predictors whereas Gender and Academic Streams were significant predictors of
academic procrastination.
Keywords: Academic Procrastination and College students
Introduction:
One of the pervasive and concerning phenomena among the students is academic
procrastination. Procrastination means intentionally delaying the academic tasks, educational
activities, assignments, and project works despite knowing its adverse effects on academic
achievement and overall well-being. Steel (2007) has defined academic procrastination as “to
voluntarily delay in intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the
delay”. Academic procrastination can be temporary and permanent, may be defined as
behavioural outcomes where a student involves himself to put-off important academic
activities and opt immediate and less important tasks (Dewitte & Lens, 2000).
Academic procrastination is a common problem among the students especially in
college going students. Research literatures have consistently shown that a significant number
of college going students are involved in procrastination during their educational journey. In
this regard, Chehrzad et al., (2017) have conducted a study and found that 70% students have
moderate levels of academic procrastination followed by 14% of severe levels of academic
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procrastination. Some other studies (Ellis & Knaus, 1977; Janseen & Carton, 1999) have also
documented that 30-60% students have been involved in regular academic procrastination.
Number of factors are contributing to the prevalence of academic procrastination among
college going students such as educational environment, ongoing academic competition, and
improper study habits. At college level students have different academic tasks such as course
work, assignment, homework, projects, and extra-curricular activities at a time which may
create mental pressure among themselves to postpone their academic task.
Academic procrastination becomes a widespread phenomenon among the college
going students. It has a significant adverse effect on academic performance, personal
development and overall well-being of the students. In present context, understanding of this
nature is crucial for creating an effective environment which helps the students to face the
academic challenges, and develop necessary skills for ongoing competitive world.
Previous studies:
At college level students require proper time management and study habits to meet
their academic expectations. But due to academic procrastination, students often delay their
assignment, project work, and other educational activities which may affect their overall
academic performance. Several factors such as lack of motivation, poor time management,
perfectionism, task difficulty, poor goal setting, poor sleep, and lack of self-discipline are
responsible for committing procrastination behaviour at college level. Due to the lack of
understanding or lack of interest about the content matters, students may face difficulty to
motivate themselves to complete the task. Similarly, the fear of not fulfilling the expectation
such as personal goals, aspirations; parental expectation, peer expectation, and career
expectation can have significant contributions to academic procrastination. Regarding the
task difficulty, it has been observed that the students who have faced difficulty to perform
their task can lead to low self-confidence among themselves to complete the project
successfully. The lack of self-discipline has a significant effect on academic procrastination
of college going students. Procrastination has been used by the students as a form of self-
handicapping and used to protect self-esteem (Ferrari, 1991b) which may lead to them to seek
help from the counsellor (Schowuenburg et al., 2004) as well as reduce lower level of life-
satisfaction. From the positive perspective, it can be said that delaying or postponing aversive
or unpleasant activities can make the individual feel good and satisfying (Pychyl et al., 2000).
It has been also observed that the feeling of fear of failure and task aversiveness
become the cause of academic procrastination among the college going students (Rothblum et
al., 1986). At college level, students have tried to meet the expectations of the society, friends
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and family as well as tried to meet the standard of perfectionist which may be caused of
procrastination among themselves. On the other hand, task aversiveness refers to a situation
where students engage with boring or overwhelming activities (Ferrari et al., 1995). Still a
question comes to our forefront is why do university students engage more in
procrastination? It has been observed that college students have done it before and also get
favourable results. Looking back on their high school where they consistently did
procrastinate but still, they did well which may motivate them to do the same in their college
level (Palmer, 1998).
The association between gender and academic procrastination of college going
students remains an important research area for the researchers but their findings have diverse
perspectives. For instance, some investigators have said that boys have committed more
academic procrastination (Ferrari et al.1995; Milgram et al.1994; Ozer et al.2009) whereas
others have said female students have committed more academic procrastination (Washington
2004; Bian,2017; Song et al. 2000). Moreover, some other studies proposed that there is no
significant difference between them (Hess et al., 2000; Johnson & Bloom, 1995;
Schouwenburg, 1992; Watson, 2001)). This diversity of relationship between gender and
academic procrastination leads the present researchers to propose an assumption: what is the
exact relationship between gender and academic procrastination?
Research studies (Jose and Qasim, 2019) proposed that there is a significant
corresponding relationship between locality and academic procrastination. The social,
cultural, and economical ecology is different in rural and urban areas which may create
differences in academic procrastination among the college going students. For instance, urban
students have faced significant pressure related to their life-style, academic competition, and
perceived academic expectation which may affect their time-management for academic tasks.
Similarly, rural students have faced unique contextual challenges such as limited educational
accessibility (tutoring, libraries, internet facility), transportation problems, and limited co-
curricular activities which may cause them to commit procrastination. But the question is
which area students do procrastinate more? In this regard, again the present researcher has
proposed an assumption like no difference exists between rural and urban students in-relation
to their academic procrastination.
Another factor is academic streams which may have a significant effect on academic
procrastination. The selection of academic stream whether arts, commerce and science are not
only about the subject matter but it has significant effect on handling deadlines. It has been
found that the students who perceive more workload related to their study materials,
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assignment, exams, project work may procrastinate more. Academicians suggest that the
method of teaching and way of content delivery is different in different academic streams
which may be a potential factor for academic procrastination among the students (Ferrari et
al.,1995,2009; Steel and Ferrari, 2013; Jacoben, 2006; Vander Wende, 2011).
Conscientiousness is a strong predictor of both academic performance and procrastination
(Noftle and Robins, 2007; O’Connor and Paunonen, 2007; Steel,2007). Further research
literatures have also found that there is a negative relationship between procrastination and
academic math performance comparable in strength with that of conscientiousness (Lubbers
et al., 2010).
Though a significant number of research studies have been conducted in different
nooks and corners of the world, but the results have mixed picture. However, it has been
clearly observed from the previous literatures that procrastination has negative implications
in educational settings (Keller, 1968; Semb et al., 1979) but a smaller number of studies have
been conducted in Indian context especially in Odisha. In this regard, the present researcher
has decided to conduct this study on college going students in relation to some categorical
variables.
Research Objectives:
RO1: To study whether academic procrastination can be differed due to Gender, Locality,
Castes, and Academic streams.
RO2: To study whether gender, locality, castes, and academic streams are significant
predictors of academic procrastination.
Hypotheses:
H1: Academic procrastination cannot be differed in gender, locality, castes, and academic
streams.
H2: Gender, locality, castes and academic streams are not significant predictors of academic
procrastination.
Methodology:
The present problem is quantitative in nature as well as it is a common or ongoing
problem among the college going students. In this regard, the researcher has used descriptive
survey method to examine the present objectives. For this purpose, 160 samples have been
selected from different colleges affiliated to Sambalpur University by using stratified
purposive sampling techniques. The distribution of samples is given below.
After selection of samples another important work in every research work is data
collection. In this research, participants were directed to complete a 25-items based academic
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procrastination scale. For this we used a standardised academic procrastination scale
developed by McCloskey and A. Scielzo in 2015. This scale has a reliability index 0.95
(Internal Consistency). Academic procrastination scale was measured by using the 5-point
Likert scale. The researcher has used regression, t-test, and ANOVA statistical techniques to
analyse the collected data. For this purpose, the researcher has used SPSS software.
Category No of samples
Gender Boys 80
Girls 80
Locality Urban 80
Rural 80
Castes
General 60
OBC 50
STs/SCs 50
Academic Streams
Arts 60
Commerce 50
Science 50
Table 1. Distribution of Samples
Results:
As per the objective no.1 the investigator has used t-test for two groups independent variable
and ANOVA for three group independent variables to derive the results from the collected
data. The results are analysed below.
Variables Categories Mean SD t/f value p-value Result
Gender Male 71.6 14.5 2.14 0.034 Significant
Female 76.6 14.9
Locality Rural 72.1 14.1 1.58 0.115 Not-
significant Urban 75.8 15.4
Year of
Education
1
st
Year 77.2 15.1
1.74 0.182 Not-
significant
2
nd
Year 71.7 14.4
3
rd
Year 73.2 14.8
Castes
OBC 75.8 11.6
0.806 0.450 Not-
significant
General 73.0 17.5
STs/SCs 72.9 15.2
Academic Arts 74.1 13.3 9.97 0.001 Significant
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Streams Commerce 67.8 15.4
Science 80.0 13.2
Table-2
From the above table it is found that the mean and standard deviation of male group
of students is 71.6 & 14.5 whereas the female group of students is 76.6 & 14.9. The mean
difference between male and female students is 2.14 which is significant at 0.05 level. So, the
formulated null hypothesis has been rejected and an alternate hypothesis has been accepted.
Secondly, the mean and standard deviation of different localities are 72.1 & 14.1 for rural
students and 75.8 & 15.4 respectively for Urban students. The mean difference between both
localities is 1.58 which is not significant at 0.05 level. So, the formulated null hypothesis has
been accepted. Thirdly, the mean and standard deviation of 1st year students is 77.2 & 15.1,
2nd year students are 71.7 & 14.4 and 3rd year students are73.2 & 14.8 respectively. The mean
difference among the different years of Education is 1.74 which is not significant at 0.05
level. So, the formulated null hypothesis has been accepted. Fourthly, the men and standard
deviation of general students are 73.0 & 17.5, OBC students are 75.8 & 11.6, and STs/SCs
are 72.9 & 15.2 respectively. The mean difference among the groups is 0.806 which is not
significant at 0.05 level. So, the formulated null hypothesis has been accepted. Lastly, the
mean and standard deviation of different academic streams are 74.1 & 13.3 for Arts, 67.8 &
15.4 for Commerce, and 80.0 & 13.2 for science group of students. The mean difference
among the group is 9.97 which is significant at 0.01 level. So, the formulated null hypothesis
has been rejected and an alternate hypothesis has been accepted. To know the exact
difference among the group the researcher has used a post-hoc test (Turkey method).
Multiple comparison
(I)Academic
Streams
(J)Academic
Streams Mean difference (I-J) Sig.
Arts Commerce 6.26 0.06
Science 5.96 0.07
Commerce Arts 6.26 0.06
Science 12.22 0.001
Science Arts 5.96 0.07
Commerce 12.22 0.001
Table-3
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From the above table it is found that the mean difference between arts and Commerce
students is 6.26 which is not significant at 0.05 level. Similarly, the mean difference between
arts and Science students is 5.96 which is also not significant at 0.05 level. But, the mean
difference between Commerce and science students is n12.22 which is significant at 0.001
level.
Predictor analysis:
Simple linear regression has been used to derive the predictor results. There are 5 models in
which 1st year students are considered as reference group for 1st model, Female students are
considered as reference group for 2nd model, Rural students are considered as reference group
for 3rd model, General students are considered as reference group for 4th model and Arts
students are considered as reference group for 5th model. The results are given below.
Model
Regression
Weight
Dummy
variable β R2 ANOVA
p-
value t-test p-
value
1 Year of
Education
1
st
year
(ref.)
0.0221
1.77 0.17
2
nd
year -5.45 1.79 0.07
3
rd
year -4.01 1.44 0.15
2 Gender Male -4.96 0.167 4.56 0.03 2.14 0.03
Female
(ref.)
3 Locality Rural
(ref.)
3.70 0.0
156 2.51 0.115 1.58 0.115
Urban
4 Castes
OBC 2.815
0.008 0.668 0.514
0.986 0.325
General(ref.)
STs/SCs -0.019 0.006 0.995
5
Academic
Streams
Arts(ref.)
0.117 10.4 0.001
Commerce -6.26 2.28 0.024
Science 5.96 2.17 0.031
Table-4
From the above table it can be said that Year of Education (F-1.77, P>0.05, R2-0.0221),
Locality (F-2.51, P>0.05, R2-0.0156), and Castes (F-0.668, P>0.05, R2-0.008) were not
significant predictors whereas only Gender (F-4.56, P<0.05, R2-0.167) and Academic
Streams (F-10.4, P<0.05, R2-0.117) were significant predictors of academic procrastination of
college going students. So, 16.7% academic procrastination was predicted by gender and
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11.7% were predicted by Academic Streams. As per the 2nd model male group of students
were predicted to have 4.96 lower score as compared to female group of students. Similarly,
as per the 5th model Commerce students were predicted to have 6.26 lower score in academic
procrastination as compared to Arts students and Science students were predicted to have
5.96 higher score as compared to Arts students.
Discussions:
One of the major educational problems is academic procrastination. Academic
procrastination means intentionally delaying the academic task, assignments, projects works
and educational activities. It has a significant effect on both educational performance and
overall well-being of the students. Previous studies have shown that 60-70% students have
committed academic procrastination at their college level. Multiple factors such as lack of
motivation, poor time-management, perfectionism, task difficulty, poor goal settings, poor
sleep, and lack of self-discipline are responsible for contributing academic procrastination
among the students.
From this study it can be said that no significant difference exists among the different
Year of students as F value is 1.74, different Castes as F value is 0.806, and Locality is 1.58.
But there is a significant difference exist between male and female students as t value is 2.14
and Arts, Commerce and Science students is 9.97. Similarly, from the predictor analysis it
can be said that Year of Education (F-1.77), Locality (F-2.51), and Castes (0.668) were not
significant predictors of academic procrastinations. But Gender (F-4.56) and Academic
Streams (F-10.4) were significant predictors of academic procrastination and Gender explains
16.7% variation and Academic Streams explain 10.4% variation in academic procrastination
at college level.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of academic procrastination is a global phenomenon. Addressing this problem
is necessary at college level as they are more vulnerable and sensitive as comparison to other
students. So, educators, policy makers, and curriculum framers should make necessary
initiatives for developing effective time management skills, and study habits among the
students.
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