Abstract
Time-management skills are acknowledged to be important but there has been little actual research on this topic with students. In this study we examined the scores obtained from 293 first-year students of psychology on a British version of an American time-management scale. The students were divided into three age groups: traditional-entry students - aged less than 21 years (N = 172); borderline mature students - aged 21–25 years (N = 50) and older mature students - aged more than 25 years (N = 71). Our analyses indicated (i) that women students in general reported significantly greater time-management skills than did men students, and (ii) that our older mature students reported significantly better time-management skills than did the other two groups. Academic performance, however, was only modestly predicted by age and scores on one component of the time-management scale.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Arksey, H., Marchant, I. and Simmill, C. (eds) (1994). Juggling for a Degree: Mature Students' Experience of University Life. Lancaster University: School for Independent Studies.
Blaxter, L. and Tight, M. (1994). ‘Juggling with time: how adults manage their time for lifelong education’, Studies in the Education of Adults 26, 162–179.
Bloomfield, C. (1993). ‘The importance of mature, part-time students to higher education in the UK’, Higher Education 25, 189–205.
Bourner, T. and Hamed, M. (1987). Entry Qualifications and Degree Performance. London: CNAA.
Britton, B.K. and Tesser, A. (1991). ‘Effects of time-management practices on college grades’, Journal of Educational Psychology 83, 405–410.
Britton, C. and Baxter, A. (1994). ‘Mature students' routes to Higher Education’, Journal of Access Studies 9, 215–228.
Cassie, W.F. and Constantine, T. (1977). Student's Guide to Success. London: Macmillan.
Clennell, S. (ed.) (1984). ‘Older students in the Open University’, Milton Keynes: University Report from the Older Students Research Group.
Connolly, M. (1985). ‘Achievement of access and non-access students on a B. Ed. course: addendum’, New Community 12, 273–274.
Cox, R. and Pascall, G. (1994). Women Returning to Higher Education. Milton Keynes: SRHE/Open University Press.
Entwistle, N.J. (1992). The Revised Approaches to Study Inventory. Available from the author, Centre for Research on Learning and Instruction, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JT.
Etcheverry, E.J., Clifton, R.A. and Roberts, L.W. (1993). ‘Time use and educational attainment: a study of undergraduate students’, The Canadian Journal of Higher Education 23, 2–17.
Gallagher, A., Richards, N. and Locke, M. (1993). Mature Students in Higher Education: How Institutions Can Learn from Experience. Commentary Series No. 40, Centre for Institutional Studies, University of East London, London E15 1EY.
Hartley, J. and Davies, I. K. (1978). ‘Notetaking: a critical review’, Programmed Learning and Educational Technology 15, 207–224.
Hartley, J. and Lapping, C. (1992). ‘Do mature students of psychology perform as well as traditional ones? An analysis of archival data’, Psychology Teaching Review 1, 76–81.
Hartley, J., Trueman, M. and Lapping, C. (1993). ‘The performance of mature and traditional entry students at Keele University: an analysis of archival data’, paper to the London Conference, British Psychological Society, December. (Paper available from the present authors.)
Hettich, P. (1992). Learning Skills for College and Career. Pacific Grove: Brooks Cole.
Hopper, E. and Osborn, M. (1975). Adult Students: Education, Selection and Social Control. London: Frances Pinter.
Hore, T. (1992), ‘Nontraditional students: third age and part-time’, in Clarke, B.R. and Neave, G. (eds) The Encyclopedia of Higher Education, Volume 3. Oxford: Pergamon.
Jones, P. (1992). Register of Recognised Access Courses to H.E. London: CNAA.
Josephs, R.A. and Hahn, E.D. (1995). ‘Bias and accuracy in estimates of task duration’, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 61, 202–213.
Kember, D., Jamieson, Q.W., Pomfret, M. and Wong, E.T.T. (1995). ‘Learning approaches, study time and academic performance’, Higher Education 29, 329–343.
King, E. (1993). ‘An investigation into the learning experiences of mature students entering higher education’, paper to the London Conference, British Psychological Society, December. Copies available from the author, Department of Human Sciences, Brunel University, UB8 3PH.
Kornhauser, A.W. (1993). How to Study, 3rd edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Locke, E.A. (1975). A Guide to Effective Study. New York: Springer.
Lucas, J. and Ward, P. (1985). ‘Mature students at Lancaster University’, Adult Education 58, 151–157.
Macan, T.H. (1994). ‘Time management: a test of a process model’, Journal of Applied Psychology 79, 381–391.
Macan, T.H., Shahani, C., Dipboye, R.L. and Phillips, A.P. (1990). ‘College students' time management: correlations with academic performance and stress’, Journal of Educational Psychology 82, 760–768.
Maddox, H. (1963). How to Study. London: Pan Books.
Marshall, H. and Nicholson, P. (1991). ‘Why choose psychology? Mature and other students' accounts at graduation’, in Radford, J. (ed.) The Choice of Psychology, Occasional Paper No. 12, Group of Teachers of Psychology. Leicester: The British Psychological Society.
Maynard, E.M. and Pearsall, S.J. (1994). ‘What about male mature students? A comparison of the experiences of men and women students’, Journal of Access Studies 9, 229–240.
Meredeen, S. (1988). Study for Survival and Success. London: Paul Chapman.
Meyer, J.H.F. (1995). ‘Gender group differences in the learning behaviour of entering first-year university students’, Higher Education 29, 201–215.
Meyer, J.H.F., Dunne, T.T. and Richardson, J.T.E. (1994). ‘A gender comparison of contextualised study behaviour in higher education’, Higher Education 27, 469–495.
Molloy, S. and Carrol, V. (1992). Progress and Performance in Higher Education. London: CNAA.
Nisbet, J. and Welsh J. (1972). ‘The mature student’, Educational Research 14, 204–207.
Northedge, A. (1990). The Good Study Guide. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Norton, L.S. and Hartley, J. (1986). ‘What factors contribute to good examination marks? The role of notetaking in subsequent examination performance’, Higher Education 15, 355–371.
Race, P. (1992). 500 Tips for Students. Oxford: Blackwell.
Richardson, J.T.E. (1994a). ‘Mature students in higher education: academic performance and intellectual ability’, Higher Education 28, 373–386.
Richardson, J.T.E. (1994b). ‘Mature students in higher education: I. A literature survey on approaches to studying’, Studies in Higher Education 19, 309–325.
Richardson, J.T.E. (1995). ‘Mature students in higher education: II. An investigation of approaches to studying and academic performance’, Studies in Higher Education 20, 5–17.
Risko, V.J., Alvarez, M.C. and Fairbanks, M.M. (1991) ‘External factors that influence study’, in Flippo, R.E. and Calverly, D.C. (eds) Teaching Reading and Study Strategies at the College Level. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Roberts, T. (1994). ‘Getting into Higher Education: the experience of mature women in computing’, paper to the SRHE Annual Conference, University of York. Copies available from the author, Southampton Institute of Higher Education, Southampton, SO9 4WW.
Rowntree, D. (1988). Learn How to Study. London: Macdonald Orbis.
Severiens, S.E. and Ter Dam, G.T.M. (1994). ‘Gender differences in learning styles: a narrative review and quantitative meta-analysis’, Higher Education 27, 487–501.
Skinner, E., Howes, L. and Scott, A. (1994). ‘The part-time mature distance learning student's tale’, paper to the SRHE Annual Conference, University of York. Copies available from the authors, Centre for Local Policy Studies, Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, Gloucestershire, GL50 4AZ.
Slotnick, H.B., Pelton, M.H., Fuller, M.L. and Tabor, L. (1993). Adult Learners on Campus. London: The Falmer Press.
Smithers, A. and Griffin, A. (1986). The Progress of Mature Students. Manchester: Joint Matriculation Board.
Stricker, L.J., Rock, D.A. and Burton, N.W. (1993). ‘Sex differences in predictions of college grades from scholastic aptitude scores’, Journal of Educational Psychology 85, 710–718.
Taylor, I. and Burgess, H. (1995). ‘Orientation to self-directed learning: paradox or paradigm’, Studies in Higher Education 20, 87–98.
Thacker, C. and Novak, M. (1991). ‘Student role supports for younger and older middle aged women: application of a life event model’, Canadian Journal of Higher Education 21, 13–36.
Topman, R., Kleijn, W.C., Ploeg, Van Der, H.M. and Masset, E. A. (1992). ‘Test anxiety, cognitions, study habits and academic performance: a prospective study’, in Hagvet, K.A. and Johnson, T.B. (eds) Advances in Test Anxiety Research, Vol. 7. Amsterdam: Swets and Zeitlinger.
Trueman, M. and Hartley, J. (1995). ‘Measuring time-management skills: a cross-cultural study’, paper to the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, August. (Copies available from the present authors.)
Wakeford, N. (1994). ‘Becoming a mature student: the social risks of identification’, Journal of Access Studies 9, 241–256.
Walker, P. (1975). ‘The university performances of mature students’, Research in Education, 14, 1–13.
Warrick, P.D. and Naglieri, J.A. (1993). ‘Gender differences in planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive (PASS) cognitive processes’, Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 693–701.
Weinstein, C.E., Palmer, D. and Schulte, A.C. (1987). Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI). Clearwater, Florida: H & H Publishing Co.
Wheeler, S. and Birtle, J. (1993). A Handbook for Personal Tutors. Buckingham, U.K.: Society for Research into Higher Education and the Open University Press.
Woodley, A. (1984). ‘The older the better? A study of mature student performances in British Universities’, Research in Education 32, 35–50.
Woodley, A. (1991). ‘Access to what? - A study of mature graduate outcomes’, Higher Education Quarterly 45, 91–108.
Woodley, A. (1994). ‘The experience of older graduates’, paper to the SRHE conference, The Student Experience. University of York, December.
Yates, J. and Davies, P. (1987). The Progress and Performance of Former Access Students in Higher Education, 1984–1986. Roehampton: Centre for Access Studies, Roehampton Institute, London SW15 3SN.
Zimmerman, B.J., Greenberg, D. and Weinstein, C.E. (1994). ‘Self-regulating academic study time: A strategy approach’, in Schunk, D.H. and Zimmerman, B.J. (eds) Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Trueman, M., Hartley, J. A comparison between the time-management skills and academic performance of mature and traditional-entry university students. High Educ 32, 199–215 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138396
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138396