Abstract
Popular descriptions of studying frequency show remarkable discrepancies: students complain about their workload, and alumni describe freedom and pleasure. Unfortunately, empirical evidence on student time use is sparse. To investigate time use and reveal contributing psychological factors, we conducted an e-diary study. One hundred fifty-four students reported their time use and valence hourly over 7 days, both at the start of the semester and during their examination period. Motivational problems, social support and self-control were assessed once via questionnaires. Whereas the mean academic time use was in the expected range, the between-subject differences were substantial. We used multilevel modeling to separately analyze the within- and between-subject associations of valence as within factor and time use and social support, self-control, and motivation as between factors and time use. The analyses revealed the importance of affective factors on a within-subject level. Before studying, valence was already low, and it deteriorated further during studying. As expected at the between-subject level, motivational problems were related to less time studying, whereas surprisingly, self-control had no effect. The findings at the start of the semester were replicated in the examination period.
Highlights
There are remarkable discrepancies in people’s descriptions of studying
Data were collected at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany during the winter semester, which generally lasts from the middle of October to the middle of February, with an examination period of several weeks following the conclusion of the lectures in February
“courses,” “learning-oriented activities,” and “other academic activities” into an academic time use score for each measurement point resulted in values above and below the 40 h/week (Mm1 = 31.6, SDm1 = 11.9; Mm2 = 49.8, SDm2 = 20.4)
Summary
Whereas students complain about their workload and stress, alumni describe how much they enjoyed studying and were motivated by their freedom of choice in terms of topics and courses, personal time management, and learning with other students. The latter reports support psychological and educational models and theories that link self-regulated learning to greater motivation and positive affect (Zimmerman, 2008). Empirical evidence based on methodologically sound studies is limited, especially regarding how academic time use (i.e., time use for learning-oriented activities and course attendance) is influenced by psychological mechanisms such as valence, motivation, and self-control. As accreditation bodies review these calculations, the effort to assess academic time use properly has further increased
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