Issues for UEL students in managing their time

Abstract This study was designed to identify the issues for UEL students in managing their time and balancing their studies with their private lives. Data were collected from the University of East London (UEL) through the use of questionnaires and interviews. A total of 20 respondents were selected for the questionnaire survey while the interviews were conducted on 10 participants.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Issues for UEL students in managing their time specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There was 100 percent response rate given the small number of participants. The results indicate that many students have a challenge in managing their time effectively. The study recommended students to be using various strategies for time management. Introduction There is no doubt that time management is a critical aspect in the lives of students at the university. Most students are faced with circumstances where they are required to balance between their private lives and their studies. This is a common experience among students in UEL and in other institutions of learning across the globe. However, time management is not easily achieved as many students find it very challenging and difficult. Some of the issues identified in research to be contributing to poor time management among people in general include ineffective relationships, poor attitude, fatigue and the weather (Kà ¶nig and Kleinmann, 2007). For students, leading issues that prevent them from managing their personal lives and studies effectively include interruptions such as television, guests, meetings, or crisis. Procrastination and indecision has also been identified by researchers to be a major contributor of time waste among university students and people in general (Dom, et al., 2006). Cell phones and computer devices are good innovations in communication technology, but they can also become a huge time waste for students. The dev ices have very attractive application which students can spend a bulk of their time using at the expense of other important activities (Jex and Elacqua, 1999). Study objectives This seeks to identify the issues for UEL students in managing their time and balancing their studies with their private lives.Advertising Looking for report on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Relevance of study Most students face difficulty in managing their time. They face challenges when it comes to balancing their academic work and their private lives (Eerde, 2003). Some get engaged into relationships which end up taking much of their time thereby making it difficult for them to concentrate on academic work (Margol and Kleiner, 1989). However, it is possible to balance between personal lives and studies. The issues identified in this study and the recommendations provided will be of paramount help to the students. Methodology Statistical methods were used for analysing and summarising the data collected. The primary data collected during the research were both qualitative and quantitative nature. The approach to be adopted for data analysis is mixed method approach because it allows for a parallel analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data (Groves, et al., 2011). The quantitative measure focuses on subjecting the data into categories which can be counted. The process of analysing the data required testing for data integrity, descriptive analysis, making comparison, testing for reliability, and making predictions based on the relationship of the data (Groves, et al., 2011). Testing for data integrity involved checking the questions from the survey instrument to ensure that the responses are within normal range and are reasonable (Adà ¨r and Mellenbergh, 2008). Descriptive statistics will seek to measure the central tendency for each question in the survey too that collects quantified data. Statistical method s to be used for making comparison include t-test and one way ANOVA whereas the method for finding relationship between various variables and making prediction is the correlation test (Groves, et al., 2011). Analysis of qualitative data involved a process that begins by coding themes or responses that recur. The researcher first had to read through the responses and take note of recurring themes. The themes identified were categorised and then codes assigned to each category. The categories were compared for relevant statistical analysis before the researcher draws theoretical conclusion from the analysis (Mitchell and Jolley, 2012).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Issues for UEL students in managing their time specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Sampling is important for finding the data to be analysed and using a correct data for a research. A purposeful sampling is one that has nothing to with probability. It i s used to target a particular group of people. Purposive sampling is used whenever the population of the study is just too difficult to find. This can be due to the nature of the study. At the same time, recruiting the population may take a long time so that the research may go on in good faith. This type of sampling may force one to have to recruit a population. Whenever this is done, the credential of the research is lost as sometime the recruited (Adà ¨r and Mellenbergh, 2008) population may act totally different from the actual population that would have been interviewed instead. Assuming that this method of sampling was to be used in the study, I would be required to look for the appropriate population but of which in this case is very easy to find the population. This research is broad and the population is very much available. Quantitative research design uses probability sampling to come up with a representative sample of the entire population (Mitchell and Jolley, 2012). T he population of this research is composed of the female students at the university. The population of this research is composed of the university students at from the University of East London. A total of 20 students were chosen for the survey. The students ranged from first year to senior level students. The selection process relied on random sampling in order to avoid biasness and to have a representative sample of the whole population. The age of the participants ranged from 20 to 25 years. The respondents were also selected from different cultural and ethnic background including. It is also important that the survey tools be tested for both reliability and validity (Groves, et al., 2011). Determination of reliability will be done through conduction of piloting program where a small section of the sample population will be issued with the survey tools in order to identify any sections of the tool where there are errors.Advertising Looking for report on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More After the piloting program, the reliability of the survey will be further tested to ensure that it remains consistent. Consistency test here entails rating of the items over time. This is done to determine whether the one specific item in the tool can yield the same response when administered at different times. Through the use of Pearson Correlation Coefficient, the result of this reliability test can be determined. Reliability tests can also involve determining whether a single respondent can provide same information when subjected to different circumstances. For instance, the target population in this study is the aged population above 50 years old. This demography is faced with a lot of psychological issues and sometimes circumstances can determine their response towards issues. The process of coding during data analysis depends on the subject and hence it is important that the consistency tests be done for reliability of the tool. Results and Data analysis Issue Percentage o f respondents Internet 15 Friends 30 Extracurricular commitments 30 Dating 20 Family 5 Graph 1: Percentage of respondents Discussion From the data analysis, the study was able to confirm the findings of similar studies. Students at the university generally find it challenging to manage the time effectively. The researcher had already identified major issues preventing students from effectively managing their time from the review of secondary data. The issues identified included friends, club meetings and demands, dating, family, and computer devices. These issues were also identified as a key time wasters for many students at the university. With a response rate of 100 percent, the results indicated that majority of the respondent had a lot of daily engagements. They were required to balance between their studies and private lives. Some of the respondents were into relationships while others were into student leadership positions in various clubs and societies within t he university. The respondents who were in leadership positions admitted to show some sense of effective time management. This was mainly due to the fact that they are required to be effective in their work and to lead by example. These students fill in their diaries on daily basis just to ensure that they manage their activities effectively. Out of those interviewed, there were 11 female respondents and 19 male respondents. Graph1 shows that the two major issues affecting students are friends and extracurricular commitments. Majority of the participants reported that friends take much of their time and are a major impediment towards time management. Conclusion The study sought to identify the major issues in time management faced by students at the university. A total of 20 respondents were selected for the questionnaire survey while the interviews were conducted on 10 participants. There was 100 percent response rate given the small number of participants. The results indicate tha t many students have a challenge in managing their time effectively. Appendix Appendix: Questionnaire interview A semi structured survey instrument prepared to survey the issues for UEL students in managing their time and balancing their studies with their private lives. Are you male or female? What is your age? Indicate your year of study Do you believe that it is possible to effectively balance between personal live and studies through time management? How often do you plan your time? Please indicate how your daily schedule normally looks like How effective are you in time management? Rate the following common issues according to how they affect your time management Always Often Moderate Less often Never Mobile phones Internet Friends Club meetings and demands Dating What do think are other issues that prevent students at this university from managing their time effectively? Appendix 2: interview Question Present categories Emerging categories What are your views on the importance of time management among students? Creates a balance in various demands, effective planning, setting goals, doing the right thing at the time, prioritising activities, delegating responsibilities Setting deadlines How would you explain your life as a student in terms of engagement? Are you involved in so many activities or are you simply focusing on your studies? Busy, active life, I have a lot of responsibilities, challenging, I am hardly engaged, I only focus on academics I balance family, school work, and my job Why do you think that students find it challenging to effectively balance between their private lives and their studies Wrong attitude, laziness, procrastination, students generally love to hangout Spending a lot of time in the rooms watching TV or playing video games. What are the main issues involved in time management? interruptions such as television, guests, meetings, or crisis Procrastination Please state s ome common timewasters among students Mobile phones, internet, TV, video games, computer devices, friends Dating, looking for books in the library, moving from one section of the campus to another How do you think students can effectively manage their time in order to create a balance between their studies and their personal lives? Creating â€Å"to do† list every day, planning time every single day, setting goals, prioritising activities Delegating responsibilities where applicable References Adà ¨r H Mellenbergh G 2008, Advising on Research Methods: A consultant’s companion, Johannes van Kessel Publishing, Huizen. Dom G, D’haene P, Hulstijn W Sabbe B 2006, Impulsivity in abstinent early-and late-onset alcoholics: Differences in self-report measures and a discounting task, Addiction, vol. 101 no. 1, pp. 50-59. Eerde WV 2003, Procrastination at work and time management training, The Journal of Psychology, vol. 137 no. 5, pp. 421-434. Groves R et al 2011, Survey methodology, John Wiley Sons, New York. Jex SM Elacqua TC 1999, Time management as a moderator of relations between stressors and employee strain, Work and Stress, vol. 13 no. 2, pp. 182-191. Kà ¶nig CJ Kleinmann M 2007, Time Management Problems and Discounted Utility, The Journal of Psychology, vol. 141 no. 3, pp. 321-334. Margol J Kleiner BH 1989, New Developments in Effective Time Management, Management decision, vol. 27 no. 5, pp. 28-34. Mitchell, M Jolley, J 2012, Research design explained, Cengage learning, Florence. This report on Issues for UEL students in managing their time was written and submitted by user Edith Martin to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.