Academic self-management: Prevalence and barriers from the perspective of university students

Abstract

The study determines the level of university students' possession of academic self-management based on certain variables to identify specific obstacles. This study employs a descriptive analytical methodology to investigate the level of academic self-management among undergraduate students focusing on specific variables. The sample consisted of 237 male and female students.  The findings showed that the overall level of academic self-management was medium while the dimensions of academic self-management and asking for help were high. There were also differences due to the gender effect favoring male students, differences favoring third- and fourth- year students, and no differences due to the type of college. Additionally, there were statistically significant differences due to the level of academic self-management on the dimensions of goal-setting and planning, asking for help, controlling academic self-management, and knowledge use strategies supporting high achievers. The results of the barriers analysis revealed that 70.3% of the students' answers related to the level of time management skills, 60.4% related to the inability to plan, 65.9% related to not having the appropriate study method, 61.1% related to too many meals, 58.7% related to the difficulty of the subject, 55.6% related to family issues, 53.2% related to peers and 50.4% related to social relations. The study recommends holding courses and training programmes for university students to enhance students' knowledge of aspects of academic self-regulation.