Development and Factorial Validation of a Time Management Scale for Students

Abstract

Time management is a very important factor that predicts a student’s academic success and overall mental health, thus an effective system for managing time is critical to a student being successful. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to assess the time management behaviors of university students in Pakistan. To achieve this goal, two phases were conducted. The first phase involved generating an item pool by deductive reasoning, having experts review the items and the modifications were made accordingly. The second phase consisted of a cross-sectional study using a sample of university students (340) to collect data for factor analysis (exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure was (.80) and the results of a Bartlett’s test of sphericity were significant, thus indicating that the sample was adequate to conduct a factor analysis. After EFA four factors were retained. Later on, CFA demonstrated strong fit indices (GFI=951, CFI =951, TLI=916) for the four-factor model that were labeled as: Goal Setting, Prioritization, Time Estimation, and Planning. Overall, results indicate that the TMS appears to be a reliable and valid measure that can be used for assessing time management behaviors in academic settings.