Time Management Practices, Character Development and Academic Performance among University Undergraduates: Covenant University Experience

Abstract

Background: University undergraduates are representative of the Nigerian youth population; and sustainable development in any nation depends on the resourcefulness of her youth. This necessitates the need to drive excellence among Nigerian undergraduates through quality education and advice. Quality education is demonstrated in character and in learning; and characters of discipline, responsibility and diligence serve as the hallmark of excellence among university undergraduates. It is hypothesized that time management practices will be positively related to character development and academic performance among university undergraduates. Method: The case study and ex-post facto research designs were adopted in this study. Questionnaire was administered to 120 Diploma and Certificate students of Leadership Development Programme in Covenant University. Results: The findings revealed a positive relationship between character development and time management practices (r = .44, p < .01) and between character development and academic performance(r = .23, p < .05). The result further revealed that time management practices predicted character development (R 2 = .241, F (3,116) = 12.383, p < .01) and character development predicted academic performance (R 2 = .241, F (3,116) = 5.412, p < .01). However, no significant relationship was found between time management practice and academic performance (r = .18, p > .05). Conclusion: It was concluded that in the quest for academic excellence, building performance characters such as discipline, responsibility and diligence among university undergraduates was as important as improving the quality and standard of learning. This study therefore recommended that time management training be incorporated into academic advising and tutoring programs in the Nigerian academia.