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To cite this article: Carmen Daz-Mora, Juan A. Garca & Arturo Molina (2016) What is the
key to academic success? An analysis of the relationship between time use and student
performance / Dnde est la clave del xito acadmico? Un anlisis de la relacin entre
el uso del tiempo y el rendimiento acadmico, Cultura y Educacin, 28:1, 157-195, DOI:
10.1080/11356405.2015.1130294
Article views: 30
Abstract: University students use of time is one of the most relevant inputs
to their education process. The aim of this work is therefore to explore the
effect that the time spent on different academic and non-academic activities
(collected using a diary) has on student performance, in order to determine
which of these activities improve students marks. Moreover, we investigate
the role of quality variables such as study skills. Using a sample of under-
graduate business students, we find that academic activities such as doing
assignments in teams, attending university lectures and self study have sig-
nificant positive effects on students marks. It is thus concluded that to
improve academic performance it is not only the quantity of time that matters
but also quality aspects like the ability to schedule.
Keywords: time use; academic and non-academic activities; student
performance; study skills; undergraduate students
Resumen: El uso del tiempo por parte de los estudiantes universitarios es uno
de los inputs ms relevantes de su proceso educativo. Por ello, el objeto de
esta investigacin es analizar el rendimiento obtenido por los estudiantes en
funcin del tiempo que dedican a actividades acadmicas y no acadmicas
(medido a partir de un diario) con la finalidad de averiguar cules mejoran en
mayor medida el rendimiento acadmico. Basado en una muestra de estu-
diantes del Grado en ADE, encontramos que la realizacin de trabajos en
equipo, la asistencia a clase y el estudio de forma autnoma son las activi-
dades acadmicas ms rentables a la hora de mejorar las calificaciones de los
estudiantes. Se concluye, adems, que el tiempo necesario para mejorar el
rendimiento acadmico no tiene que ver nicamente con la cantidad sino
tambin aspectos cualitativos como la capacidad para planificar el tiempo
asignado a cada actividad.
The way in which individuals manage their time provides valuable information on
their behaviour and personal priorities. From the perspective of students, they
have to decide how best to allocate their time in order to maximize present and
future satisfaction. Present satisfaction is related to the amount of time devoted to
leisure activities, while future satisfaction results from the possibility of accessing
the job market for which academic performance is relevant (Dolton, Marcenaro, &
Navarro, 2003).
The aim of this paper is to explore the effect that the time spent on different
academic and non-academic activities has on student performance in order to
determine which of these activities improve students marks. We have therefore
estimated an empirical model using data on time allocation from a sample of
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Table 1. Relation between time devoted to academic activities for undergraduate stu-
dents and academic performance depending on the method used to obtain information.
Authors Method Main results
Schmidt (1983) Survey Mixed results depending on the academic
activity considered.
Michaels and Miethe (1989) Survey Mixed results depending on the academic
activity when quality aspects are considered.
Didia and Hasnat (1998) Survey Negative correlation.
Dolton et al. (2003) Survey Positive correlation.
Stinebrickner and Survey Positive correlation.
Stinebrickner (2004)
Nonis and Hudson (2006) Survey Non-significant correlation.
Brint & Cantwell (2010) Survey Positive correlation.
Nonis and Hudson (2010) Survey Positive relation when quality aspects are
considered.
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all the student activities during a given period, considering that it is a better
means to identify and quantify the time spent on different activities (Kember
et al., 1995; Krohn & OConnor, 2005; Lahmers & Zulauf, 2000; Plant et al.,
2005).
In relation to the quality dimension, recent studies indicate that the relation
between time and academic results depends not only on the quantity of time
devoted to academic activities, but also on its quality, which increases the effec-
tiveness of time spent, as is proposed in several studies. Michaels and Miethe
(1989) introduced measures of quantity and quality of study time to explain
students academic marks. The quality of time includes study habits such as
rewriting lecture notes after attending a class, studying each day throughout the
term and studying in the library or other quiet settings. According to their results,
study habits have significant effects on marks, which are positive in the case of
studying in a noiseless environment but unexpectedly negative in the case of
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rewriting lecture notes and having a study routine. Plant et al. (2005) argued that
the amount of study only emerged as a significant predictor of academic perfor-
mance when the quality of study and previously attained performance were taken
into consideration. More specifically, their results indicate that studying in a quiet,
solitary environment improves students marks. Nonis and Hudson (2010) intro-
duced three different indicators of good study skills as qualitative variables
(ability to concentrate, access to good notes, continuous and programmed
work). Only the interaction between the time spent studying and the ability to
concentrate had a positive effect on academic performance; that is, those students
that both dedicated more time to studying and had a better ability to concentrate
obtained higher marks.
Finally, several empirical studies also incorporate a measurement of the time
spent on non-academic activities. Ackerman and Gross (2003) found that stu-
dents with less reported free time perform better academically in terms of
average marks than do those with more free time. Nonis and Hudson (2006)
showed that the total amount of time spent working has no direct influence on
academic performance. Brint and Cantwell (2010) considered three perspectives
of analysis the use of time for academic and non-academic activities, active
and passive use of time, and the use of time on and off campus in order to
include an approach for other types of activities, such as doing sport, watching
TV or using the computer for fun. Since the available evidence is still scarce, our
work seeks to broaden the empirical analysis regarding the distribution of the
time spent on non-academic activities and observe their contribution to student
performance.
In short, in this paper we establish four objectives: (1) to analyse the students
marks depending on the time spent on academic activities; (2) to examine which
specific academic activities lead to an improvement in students achievement; (3)
to study the influence of the quality of time devoted to academic activities on
students performance; and (4) to examine the impact of other non-academic
activities on students marks.
Time use and student performance / El uso del tiempo y el rendimiento acadmico 161
Method
Participants
We conducted the study in the second term of the 201011 academic year at the
University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) in Spain. UCLM is a public university
that has approximately 30,000 students. The participants were 103 of the 372
students enrolled in the first and second years of the degree in Business
Administration (response rate 27.7%). Table 2 shows the distribution of the
socio-demographic variables in the sample and the population. The representa-
tiveness of the sample was guaranteed since the distribution of the socio-demo-
graphic variables showed no evidence of significant differences between the
sample and the population. According to the Spanish marking scheme, the mark
is measured as a continuous variable from 0 to 10. The average mark of the
sample was 4.85 (SD = 1.82). This average mark of slightly below 5 was
representative of the degree courses chosen due to the existence of several
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the estimated empirical model, we used only the information obtained from the
103 students who presented all three diaries.
The diary contained 13 pre-specified activities (six academic categories and
seven non-academic categories) with an extensive description to help allocate the
time spent on each of them (Table 3). The data showed that the students devoted
7.87 hours per day to academic activities (SD = 1.96). Of these, the activities on
which the students spent the greatest proportion of their time were class attendance
and self study, consisting of 2.92 and 2.63 hours per day respectively. Of the non-
academic activities, those on which the students spent the greatest proportion of
their time were vital tasks (eating, sleeping and personal hygiene) and leisure and
communication (talking on the phone, using email and social networks, watching
TV, etc.), consisting of 9.25 and 3.18 hours per day respectively.
The questionnaire presented along with the first time-use diary was used to
record additional information regarding: (1) the students socio-demographic char-
acteristics (i.e., gender and accommodation during the year); and (2) study skills
(including access to notes, scheduling and ability to concentrate). We measured
these three skills using seven items from Nonis and Hudson (2010). Each item was
rated on a five-point Likert-type scale, ranging from strongly disagree (1) to
strongly agree (5). We performed a confirmatory factor analysis in order to test
the reliability and validity of the instrument used (Table 4). The results from the
confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable overall model fit, adequate
reliability levels (Cronbachs alpha and composite reliability values for all con-
structs were above .7) and satisfactory convergent (all the loadings were significant
and above .5, and average variance extracted values were greater than .5) and
discriminant validity (the average variance extracted for each of the constructs was
greater than the squared correlations for all pairs of constructs).
Finally, academic performance (i.e., average mark) and other academic aspects
(i.e., university entrance scores, university entrance examinations, field of post-
secondary non-tertiary education and scholarship status), which were respectively
used as a dependent variable and control variables, were obtained from the official
university records.
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164
Control variables
We included seven control variables that might affect academic performance.
First, university entrance scores would, in our opinion, be expected to have a
positive effect on students marks. Some studies emphasize the role of previously
acquired knowledge, skills and abilities, measured by means of performance
attained prior to university level, in current performance (Grove, Wassermanb,
& Grodner, 2006; Plant et al., 2005). Second, it is to be supposed that academic
performance would be better for those students that pass university entrance
examinations during the first period (June) than for those that pass these exam-
inations during the second period (September exams taken by students that
could not take the exams in the first period, because they had not yet passed all of
the required subjects, or because they failed their exams during the first period).
Third, the existence of various subjects of a quantitative nature (mathematics and
statistics) led us to predict that students originating from the fields of social
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sciences and humanities might have a weaker academic performance than those
originating from the fields of sciences and technology. Fourth, scholarship status
is an indicator variable of whether students are motivated and pressured to achieve
good academic results. Fifth, data from previous years reveal different pass rates
in different subjects (these rates oscillate between 7% and 68%), suggesting the
existence of very dissimilar difficulty levels for each subject which tend to be
quite stable over time. In other words, the handicaps confronted by students as
regards passing each subject are by no means homogenous. We therefore calcu-
lated the indicator of the level of easiness of the set of subjects in which the
student is enrolled during the second term as the mean of the one-year lagged pass
rates for those subjects. A positive relation would, in our opinion, be expected
between the students academic performance and the level of easiness of the set of
subjects in which they are enrolled. Finally, and with regard to the control
variables related to the condition of students living in the family home and the
gender of respondents, it is not possible to determine a priori any signs of their
impact on academic performance.
Results
Specifications of the empirical model
We proposed several specifications of the empirical model in order to achieve the
four objectives stated in the introduction. We estimated a cross-section model in
which the dependent variable was academic performance proxied by the students
average mark. The explanatory variables were the aforementioned control vari-
ables, time devoted to total academic activities (Academic_total), to different
academic activities (Academic_Activ) and to different non-academic activities
(Non_Academic_Activ), and study skills.
Model 0 included only the control variables as explanatory variables.
166 C. Daz-Mora et al.
As already indicated, not only the amount of time devoted to academic activities,
but also the quality of that time influences students marks. Therefore, study skills
(i.e., access to notes, scheduling and ability to concentrate) were also introduced.
These were calculated as weighted arithmetic means, in which the weights were
the standardized loadings derived from the previous confirmatory factor analysis
(Table 4). The study skills had to be measured in terms of interaction with the time
Time use and student performance / El uso del tiempo y el rendimiento acadmico 167
spent on academic activities (Nonis & Hudson, 2010), that is, the time spent will
enable better results if the student also has good notes, concentrates well and
schedules things properly. Problems with multi-collinearity were avoided by
calculating the variables of time spent on academic activities and those for quality
(i.e., access to notes, scheduling and ability to concentrate) in their deviations with
respect to the mean, while the time devoted to academic activities was interacted
in deviation with respect to the mean with each of the study skills in deviation
with respect to the mean. The different variables for study skills are included in
different equations (Models 2A2C).
Finally, we propose a model to evaluate the impact of the time spent on each of
the seven non-academic activities (Model 3).
168 C. Daz-Mora et al.
Regression analyses
The results of the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimates of the empirical model
are presented in Table 5 (an extended version with standard errors is reported in
Table A1).
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We first estimated a baseline model that included only the control variables
(Model 0). These exogenous variables explained 51% of variance in academic
performance, F(7, 95) = 14.03, p < .01. On the one hand, the university entrance
scores had a high positive impact on academic performance (B = 0.88, p < .01).
Students with the best scores at the previous stage of education, and who therefore
have the best academic backgrounds, also obtain the best marks in higher educa-
tion. In other words, those who had already displayed a good academic perfor-
mance in previous periods, continued to do so at later stages of education,
showing consistency. On the other hand, being enrolled in a set of low difficulty
subjects implied better student grades (B = 0.01, p < .01). Other control variables
showed no significant effects on academic performance.
Model 1A, in which academic performance is made to depend on both the
amount of time spent on academic activities and the control variables, explained
55% of the variance (R2 = .05), F(8, 94) = 14.34, p < .01. We observed a
positive and significant impact of the amount of time spent on academic activities
on students marks (B = 0.04, p < .05). That is, the more time that is dedicated to
these activities in general, the better the marks obtained by students. The sign and
significance of the control variables was maintained with respect to Model 0, with
the exception of gender, which was significant (B = 0.55, p < .1). Once the fact
that they spend more time on academic activities had been taken into account,
being a woman implied a poorer academic performance.
The results of the estimation of Model 1B (i.e., that in which the time spent on
academic activities was disaggregated in the six academic categories) were then
analysed. These exogenous variables explained 57% of variance in academic
performance, F(13, 89) = 8.93, p < .01. Of the six academic activities considered,
three had a positive and significant influence on the students academic perfor-
mance: doing work and preparing presentations in groups (B = 0.14, p < .05),
attending university lectures (B = 0.06, p < .05) and self study (B = 0.04, p < .05).
In the case of other academic activities (i.e., private tuition, individual resolution
of practical exercises or cases and the search for information), the impact was not
significant (p > .1). The sign and significance of the control variables was
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(Continued )
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170
C. Daz-Mora et al.
Table 5. (Continued ).
B
Exogenous variable Model 0 Model 1A Model 1B Model 2A Model 2B Model 3
Non_Academic_Actv4: Social life 0.001
Non_Academic_Actv5: Compromised time 0.001
Non_Academic_Actv6: Doing vital tasks 0.001*
Non_Academic_Actv7: Others 0.001
R2 .51 .55 .57 .60 .63 .60
F 14.03*** 14.34*** 8.93*** 6.17*** 6.93*** 9.37***
Notes: Exogenous variables in Model 0: Control variables; Model 1A: Control variables and total academic activities (Academic_total); Model 1B: Control
variables and academic activities (Academic_Activ16); Model 2A: Control variables, academic activities (Academic_Activ16) and study skills (access to notes);
Model 2B: Control variables, academic activities (Academic_Activ16) and study skills (scheduling); and Model 3: Control variables and non-academic activities
(Non_Academic_Activ17). Non-significant interaction variables are omitted from the Models 2A and 2B but are available upon request; *p < .1, **p < .05,
***p < .01.
Time use and student performance / El uso del tiempo y el rendimiento acadmico 171
maintained with regard to the previous estimation of Model 1A, with the excep-
tion of accommodation with the family, which was significant (B = 0.51, p < .1,
i.e., students living in the family home while they were studying at university had
a better academic performance), while gender was not significant
(B = 0.47, p > .1).
In addition to containing the hours dedicated to each of the academic activities
and control variables, Model 2 also included the quality variables considered (i.e.,
access to notes, scheduling and ability to concentrate) by levels and these were
interrelated with the different academic activities. We ran the model for each study
skill (Models 2A2C). Only the time spent on individual resolution of practical
cases when it was accompanied by access to good notes (B = 0.10, p < .1), Model
2A (R2 = .60), and the time spent on private tuition and self study when it was
accompanied by scheduling (B = 0.20, p < .05; B = 0.003, p < .05, respectively),
Model 2B (R2 = .63), had positive and significant effects on academic performance.
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benefits of time spent on self-study. Moreover, having good notes increases the
academic benefits of time devoted to resolving practical tasks. We complete the
recommendations by considering that private tuition improves academic perfor-
mance only in the case of students who schedule their time properly.
Finally, with regard to the non-academic activities considered, we provide
evidence that none of them had a positive impact on academic performance and
only two of them had significantly negative correlations (sports and vital tasks),
although the coefficients were very small. These findings are partially different
from those of Brint and Cantwell (2010), who found a positive relationship
between average marks and time spent on sleeping and being with the family
and a negative one for time devoted to using the computer for fun.
To conclude, the present study contributes to the literature by showing which
academic activities are the most relevant as regards improving students marks, how
scheduling and having good notes strengthen the positive impact of certain academic
activities and which non-academic activities are obstacles to students increasing their
academic performance. There is a need for future studies to take into account the
differences in the temporal orientation of students (Horstmanshof & Zimitat, 2007) as
a highly relevant variable for explaining the quantity of time spent on academic and
non-academic activities, in addition to its impact on student performance.
Despite the fact that our research has been carried out with only one group of
business students from one university, this study may provide useful suggestions for
students and for university teaching staff. In the case of students whose goal is to
improve their academic performance as a means to increase the possibility of acces-
sing the job market and better salaries, our findings offer helpful guidelines as regards
how to organize their time more efficiently and information on which study habits
should be strengthened. For university teaching staff, our analysis provides sugges-
tions on how to design the course structure, and more specifically, which types of
academic activities could be offered to maximize students academic performance.
Time use and student performance / El uso del tiempo y el rendimiento acadmico 173
La forma en que las personas organizan su tiempo aporta informacin valiosa sobre su
comportamiento y sus prioridades personales. Desde la perspectiva de los estudiantes,
deben decidir la mejor forma de organizar su tiempo para obtener la mayor
satisfaccin en el presente y en el futuro. La satisfaccin presente est relacionada
con la cantidad de tiempo dedicada a actividades de ocio, mientras que la satisfaccin
futura procede de la posibilidad de entrar en el mercado laboral, para lo cual el
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174
Tabla 1. Relacin entre tiempo dedicado a actividades acadmicas y rendimiento acadmico de estudiantes de grado segn el mtodo empleado
para obtener informacin.
C. Daz-Mora et al.
clase tenan una influencia positiva sobre el rendimiento de los estudiantes. Krohn y
OConnor (2005) mostraron que el tiempo de estudio tena un efecto negativo, mientras
que el impacto de la asistencia a clase no fue significativo. Dolton et al. (2003)
encontraron que tanto el tiempo dedicado a asistir a clases como a estudiar de forma
autnoma tenan una relacin positiva con las puntuaciones en los exmenes de en la
universidad, pero solo el primero era significativo cuando se controlaba la capacidad
innata del estudiante. De acuerdo con Schmidt (1983), cuando se trata como una
medida agregada, el tiempo dedicado a actividades acadmicas no influye sobre el
rendimiento de los estudiantes, aunque algunos componentes concretos de dicho
tiempo, como las horas dedicadas a asistir a clase, a sesiones de discusin y a estudiar
para un segundo examen, s tienen un efecto positivo y significativo, mientras que
estudiar para el examen final tena un impacto negativo.
La diversidad de estos datos empricos podra deberse, en parte, al tipo y nmero
de actividades acadmicas estudiadas, lo que hace esencial llevar a cabo una medida
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adecuada del tiempo dedicado a cada una de ellas (Dolton et al., 2003). Por tanto,
nuestro estudio trata de superar este inconveniente ampliando el nmero de activi-
dades acadmicas. Otras dos razones pueden explicar la heterogeneidad de los
resultados obtenidos en anteriores estudios empricos: en primer lugar, el mtodo
empleado para obtener informacin sobre el uso del tiempo de los estudiantes y, en
segundo lugar, la calidad del tiempo dedicado a actividades acadmicas.
Respecto al mtodo, la mayora de los estudios previos aplicaron una encuesta a
los estudiantes para obtener informacin (Dolton et al., 2003; Kamp, Dolmans, van
Berkel, & Schmidt, 2012), preguntndoles cuntas horas dedicaban a una determi-
nada tarea durante un perodo de tiempo (por lo general una semana) o dividiendo el
da en tres partes (maana, tarde y noche). El principal inconveniente de emplear
encuestas es que se informa sobre el uso del tiempo retrospectivamente, mtodo que
parece ser menos adecuado para recoger informacin sobre actividades espordicas
y a corto plazo (Sonnenberg, Riediger, Wrzus & Wagner, 2012). Algunos estudios
sobre uso de tiempo de los estudiantes han llamado la atencin sobre este hecho,
calificndolo como una limitacin (Nonis & Hudson, 2010). Otros, sin embargo,
han empleado un diario para registrar todas las actividades de los estudiantes
durante un perodo determinado, ya que es un medio que identifica y cuantifica
mejor el tiempo dedicado a diferentes actividades (Kember et al., 1995; Krohn &
OConnor, 2005; Lahmers & Zulauf, 2000; Plant et al., 2005).
En cuanto a la dimensin de la calidad, los estudios recientes indican que la
relacin entre tiempo y resultados acadmicos depende no solo de la cantidad de
tiempo dedicada a actividades acadmicas, sino tambin de su calidad, que
incrementa la efectividad del tiempo invertido, como varios estudios proponen.
Michaels y Miethe (1989) introdujeron medidas de cantidad y calidad de tiempo
de estudio para explicar las calificaciones de los estudiantes. La calidad del
tiempo incluye hbitos como reescribir los apuntes de clase despus de la
misma, estudiar todos los das a lo largo de todo el curso, y estudiar en la
biblioteca u otros lugares tranquilos. Segn sus resultados, los hbitos de estudio
tienen un efecto significativo sobre las notas, positivo en el caso de estudiar en un
ambiente tranquilo pero inesperadamente negativo en el caso de reescribir los
176 C. Daz-Mora et al.
apuntes de clase y de tener una rutina de estudio. Plant et al. (2005) argumentan
que la cantidad de estudio solo emergi como un predictor significativo del
rendimiento acadmico cuando se tena en cuenta la calidad del estudio y el
rendimiento obtenido con anterioridad. En concreto, sus resultados muestran
que estudiar en un ambiente tranquilo y solitario mejora las calificaciones de los
estudiantes. Nonis y Hudson (2010) introdujeron tres indicadores distintos de
buenas habilidades de estudio como variables cualitativas (capacidad de concen-
trarse, acceso a buenos apuntes de clase, trabajo continuo y programado). Solo la
interaccin entre el tiempo dedicado a estudiar y la capacidad de concentracin
tuvo un efecto positivo sobre el rendimiento acadmico, esto es, los estudiantes
que dedicaron ms tiempo a estudiar y tenan una mayor capacidad para concen-
trarse obtuvieron calificaciones ms altas.
Por ltimo, varios estudios empricos tambin incorporan una medida del
tiempo dedicado a actividades no acadmicas. Ackerman y Gross (2003) encon-
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traron que los estudiantes que dijeron tener menos tiempo libre obtuvieron un
mejor rendimiento acadmico (calificaciones medias) en comparacin con aque-
llos que tenan ms tiempo libre. Nonis y Hudson (2006) mostraron que el tiempo
total dedicado a trabajar no tena influencia directa sobre el rendimiento
acadmico. Brint y Cantwell (2010) aplicaron tres perspectivas de anlisis: el
tiempo dedicado a actividades acadmicas y no acadmicas; uso de tiempo activo
y pasivo; y uso de tiempo dentro y fuera del recinto escolar, con el fin de incluir
otro tipo de actividades, como practicar deporte, ver la televisin o jugar con el
ordenador. Como los datos son escasos, nuestro trabajo persigue ampliar el
anlisis emprico de la distribucin del tiempo dedicado a actividades no
acadmicas, y observar su influencia sobre el rendimiento de los estudiantes.
Resumiendo, en este artculo establecemos cuatro objetivos: (1) analizar las
calificaciones de los estudiantes en funcin del tiempo dedicado a actividades
acadmicas; (2) examinar qu actividades acadmicas concretas implican un
incremento en el rendimiento de los estudiantes; (3) estudiar la influencia sobre
el rendimiento de los estudiantes de la calidad del tiempo dedicado a actividades
acadmicas; y (4) examinar el impacto de otras actividades no acadmicas sobre
las calificaciones de los estudiantes.
Mtodo
Participantes
Llevamos a cabo el estudio en el segundo semestre del ao acadmico 201011 en
la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) en Espaa. La UCLM es una
universidad pblica con 30,000 estudiantes. Los participantes fueron 103 de los
372 estudiantes matriculados en primero y segundo del grado en Administracin y
Direccin de Empresas (tasa de respuesta 27.7%). En la Tabla 2 se muestra la
distribucin de las variables sociodemogrficas en la muestra y en la poblacin.
La representatividad de la muestra estaba garantizada, ya que la distribucin de las
variables sociodemogrficas muestra que no hay diferencias significativas entre la
muestra y la poblacin. Segn el esquema de calificaciones espaol, las notas son
Time use and student performance / El uso del tiempo y el rendimiento acadmico 177
variables continuas que oscilan entre 0 y 10. La nota media de la muestra era de
4.85 (DT = 1.82). Esta nota media ligeramente por debajo de 5 era representativa
de las asignaturas del grado escogidas, con presencia de diversas asignaturas de
naturaleza cuantitativa y con un alto grado de dificultad, que tienen como
resultado un pobre rendimiento acadmico en el primer y el segundo ao del
grado de Administracin y Direccin de Empresas.
Procedimiento y materiales
Se emplearon tres fuentes de datos en este estudio: un diario sobre uso del tiempo,
un cuestionario ad hoc, y las calificaciones oficiales de la universidad.
Para recoger datos sobre el uso del tiempo decidimos emplear un diario. Otras
alternativas menos costosas, como las encuestas, son de menor calidad y con-
llevan una inexactitud significativa (Juster & Stafford, 1991). Presentamos el
diario en tres das distintos (lunes, mircoles y sbado) durante las semanas
intermedias del semestre, siguiendo a las recomendaciones de Lahmers y Zulauf
(2000), que consideran til evitar el comienzo y el final de un semestre por la
menor/mayor cantidad de trabajo en esos perodos. Se distribuyeron los diarios
178 C. Daz-Mora et al.
entre los estudiantes, y se les pidi que los completaran y los devolvieran a travs
de la plataforma Moodle. Este procedimiento minimiz el riesgo de que los nicos
estudiantes que rellenaran el diario fueran aquellos que asisten habitualmente a las
clases. Las tasas de respuesta variaron entre 36.8% para el primer diario y 27.7%
para el ltimo. Como se mencionaba anteriormente, en el modelo emprico
estimado solo empleamos la informacin obtenida de los 103 estudiantes que
presentaron los tres diarios.
El diario reflejaba 13 actividades pre-especificadas (seis categoras acadmicas
y siete no acadmicas) con una extensa descripcin para ayudar a asignar el
tiempo dedicado a cada una de ellas (Tabla 3). Los datos muestran que los
estudiantes dedicaron 7.87 horas al da a actividades acadmicas (DT = 1.96).
De estas, las actividades a las que dedicaron ms tiempo los estudiantes fueron la
asistencia a clase y el estudio autnomo (2.92 y 2.63 horas al da, respectiva-
mente). De las actividades no acadmicas, aquellas a las que los estudiantes
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Variables de control
Incluimos siete variables de control que pueden afectar al rendimiento acadmico.
En primer lugar, podra esperarse, en nuestra opinin, que las notas de acceso a la
universidad tuvieran un efecto positivo en las notas de los estudiantes. Algunos
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180
Resultados
Especificaciones del modelo emprico
Propusimos varias especificaciones del modelo emprico con el fin de alcanzar los
cuatro objetivos expuestos en la introduccin. Estimamos un modelo transversal
en el que la variable dependiente era el rendimiento acadmico, representada por
la nota media del estudiante. Las variables explicativas eran las variables de
control mencionadas, el tiempo dedicado al total de actividades acadmicas
(Acadmicas_total), a distintas actividades acadmicas (Actividad_Acadmica) y
a distintas actividades no acadmicas (Actividad_No_Acadmica), y habilidades
para el estudio. El modelo 0 inclua como variables explicativas solo las variables
de control.
182 C. Daz-Mora et al.
Por ltimo, proponemos un modelo para evaluar el impacto del tiempo dedicado a
cada una de las siete actividades no acadmicas (Modelo 3).
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Anlisis de regresin
Los resultados de las estimaciones de los mnimos cuadrados ordinarios (Ordinary
Least Squares, OLS) del modelo emprico se presentan en la Tabla 5 (una versin
ampliada en la que se incluyen los errores estndar se ofrece en la Tabla A1).
En primer lugar estimamos un modelo que inclua solo las variables de control
(Modelo 0). Estas variables exgenas explicaban el 51% de la varianza en
rendimiento acadmico, F(7, 95) = 14.03, p < .01. Por una parte, las notas de
entrada a la universidad tenan un alto impacto positivo sobre el rendimiento
acadmico (B = 0.88, p < .01). Los estudiantes con las mejores notas en la etapa
educativa anterior, y que por tanto tenan los mejores antecedentes acadmicos,
tambin obtenan las notas ms altas en la educacin superior. En otras palabras,
aquellos que ya haban mostrado un buen rendimiento acadmico en perodos
anteriores continuaron hacindolo en etapas posteriores de la educacin, mos-
trando consistencia. Por otra parte, estar matriculado en un conjunto de asigna-
turas de baja dificultad se asociaba con mejores notas (B = 0.01, p < .01). Las
otras variables de control no mostraron efectos significativos sobre el rendimiento
acadmico.
El Modelo 1A, en el que el rendimiento acadmico depende tanto de la
cantidad de tiempo dedicado a actividades acadmicas como de las variables de
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(Contina )
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186
C. Daz-Mora et al.
Tabla 5. (Continuacin).
B
Variable exgena Modelo 0 Modelo 1A Modelo 1B Modelo 2A Modelo 2B Modelo 3
Actv_No_Academica4: Vida social 0.001
Actv_No_Academica5: Tiempo comprometido 0.001
Actv_No_Academica6: Tareas vitales 0.001*
Actv_No_Academica7: Otros 0.001
R2 .51 .55 .57 .60 .63 .60
F 14.03*** 14.34*** 8.93*** 6.17*** 6.93*** 9.37***
Notas: Variables exgenas en Modelo 0: Variables de control; Modelo 1A: Variables de control y Total de Actividades Acadmicas (Acadmicas_total); Modelo
1B: Variables de control y actividades acadmicas (Actv_Academica16); Modelo 2A: Variables de control, actividades acadmicas (Actv_Academica16) y
habilidades para el estudio (acceso a apuntes); Modelo 2B: Variables de control, actividades acadmicas (Actv_Academica16) y habilidades para el estudio
(horarios); y Modelo 3: Variables de control y actividades no acadmicas (Actv_No_Academica17). Las variables con interaccin no significativa se omitieron de
los Modelos 2A y 2B pero se proporcionarn previa instancia; *p < .1, **p < .05, ***p < .01.
Time use and student performance / El uso del tiempo y el rendimiento acadmico 187
control explic el 55% de la varianza (R2 = .05), F(8, 94) = 14.34, p < .01.
Observamos un impacto positivo y significativo en la cantidad de tiempo de-
dicado a actividades acadmicas sobre las notas de los estudiantes (B = 0.04,
p < .05). Esto es, cuanto ms tiempo se dedica a estas actividades en general, ms
altas son las notas que obtienen los estudiantes. El signo y significacin de las
variables de control se mantuvo con respecto al Modelo 0, a excepcin del sexo,
que se torna significativo (B = 0.55, p < .1). Una vez se tuvo en cuenta el hecho
de que las mujeres dedicaban ms tiempo a las actividades acadmicas, ser mujer
implic un peor rendimiento acadmico.
A continuacin se analizaron los resultados de la estimacin del Modelo 1B
(aquel en el que el tiempo dedicado a actividades acadmicas se desagregaba en
las seis categoras acadmicas). Estas variables exgenas explicaron el 57% de la
varianza en rendimiento acadmico, F(13, 89) = 8.93, p < .01. De las seis
actividades acadmicas en consideracin, tres tuvieron una influencia positiva y
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Discusin y conclusiones
La presente investigacin ha encontrado que la relacin entre el uso del tiempo de
los estudiantes y sus resultados acadmicos es compleja, y que el rendimiento
acadmico no depende solo de la cantidad de tiempo dedicada a diferentes
actividades acadmicas sino tambin de la calidad de ese tiempo, una vez se
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Acknowledgments / Agradecimientos
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and
suggestions to improve this paper. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support
of the University of Castilla-La Mancha through the Teaching Innovation Projects. / Los
autores quieren agradecer a los revisores annimos por sus valiosos comentarios y suge-
rencias para mejorar este trabajo. Los autores agradecen y reconocen el apoyo econmico
de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha mediante los Proyectos de Innovacin Docente.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. / Los autores no han referido
ningn potencial conflicto de inters en relacin con este artculo.
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Statistical appendix
0. Control variables
University entrance scores 0.88*** 0.92*** 0.90*** 0.87*** 0.79*** 0.90***
(0.18) (0.17) (0.17) (0.19) (0.18) (0.17)
University entrance 0.20 0.31 0.31 0.23 0.15 0.18
examinations
(0.35) (0.34) (0.35) (0.37) (0.35) (0.34)
Field of post-secondary 0.36 0.32 0.32 0.18 0.47 0.33
non-tertiary education
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(0.02)
ACA4*Access to notes 0.10*
(0.06)
ACA2*Scheduling 0.20**
(0.09)
ACA3*Scheduling 0.003**
(0.001)
3. Non-academic activities
Non_Academic_Actv1: Taking complementary courses 0.003
(0.003)
Non_Academic_Actv2: Doing sports 0.005***
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(0.001)
Non_Academic_Actv3: Leisure and communication 0.001
(0.001)
Non_Academic_Actv4: Social life 0.001
(0.001)
Non_Academic_Actv5: Compromised time 0.001
(0.001)
Non_Academic_Actv6: Doing vital tasks 0.001*
(0.000)
Non_Academic_Actv7: Others 0.001
(0.001)
R2 .51 .55 .57 .60 .63 .60
F 14.03*** 14.34*** 8.93*** 6.17*** 6.93*** 9.37***
194 C. Daz-Mora et al.
Apndice estadstico
0. Variables de control
Notas de acceso a la 0.88*** 0.92*** 0.90*** 0.87*** 0.79*** 0.90***
universidad
(0.18) (0.17) (0.17) (0.19) (0.18) (0.17)
Exmenes de acceso a la 0.20 0.31 0.31 0.23 0.15 0.18
universidad
(0.35) (0.34) (0.35) (0.37) (0.35) (0.34)
Modalidad de acceso a 0.36 0.32 0.32 0.18 0.47 0.33
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bachillerato
(0.29) (0.28) (0.29) (0.31) (0.30) (0.29)
Estatus de becas 0.36 0.14 0.07 0.20 0.01 0.07
(0.34) (0.33) (0.34) (0.35) (0.33) (0.34)
Facilidad de las 0.01*** 0.01*** 0.01*** 0.01*** 0.01*** 0.007***
asignaturas
(0.002) (0.002) (0.002) (0.002) (0.002) (0.002)
Hogar familiar 0.23 0.39 0.51* 0.45 0.58* 0.44
(0.29) (0.29) (0.30) (0.30) (0.30) (0.29)
Sexo 0.21 0.55* 0.46 0.51* 0.71** 0.76**
(0.27) (0.28) (0.29) (0.30) (0.30) (0.33)
1. Actividades Acadmicas
Acadmicas_total 0.04**
(0.01)
Actv_Academica1: Asistir 0.06** 0.14 0.15**
a clase
(0.03) (0.09) (0.06)
Actv_Academica2: Asistir 0.02 0.08 0.10
a clases particulares
(0.06) (0.12) (0.08)
Actv_Academica3: 0.04** 0.22* 0.27***
Estudio autnomo
(0.07) (0.11) (0.10)
Actv_Academica4: 0.03 0.10 0.12
Ejercicios/casos
prcticos
(0.04) (0.10) (0.07)
Actv_Academica5: 0.14** 0.16* 0.19**
Trabajo en grupo
(0.08) (0.08) (0.08)
Actv_Academica6: 0.03 0.10 0.12*
Bsqueda de
informacin
(0.04) (0.09) (0.07)
2. Habilidades para el estudio
Acceso a apuntes 0.02
(Contina)
Time use and student performance / El uso del tiempo y el rendimiento acadmico 195
(0.02)
Horarios 0.03
(0.02)
ACA4*Acceso a apuntes 0.10*
(0.06)
ACA2*Horarios 0.20**
(0.09)
ACA3*Horarios 0.003**
(0.001)
3. Actividades No Acadmicas
Actv_No_Academica1: Asistencia a cursos complementarios 0.003
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(0.003)
Actv_No_Academica2: Hacer deporte 0.005***
(0.001)
Actv_No_Academica3: Ocio y comunicacin 0.001
(0.001)
Actv_No_Academica4: Vida social 0.001
(0.001)
Actv_No_Academica5: Tiempo comprometido 0.001
(0.001)
Actv_No_Academica6: Tareas vitales 0.001*
(0.000)
Actv_No_Academica7: Otros 0.001
(0.001)
R2 .51 .55 .57 .60 .63 .60
F 14.03*** 14.34*** 8.93*** 6.17*** 6.93*** 9.37***