Time Management Practices and Academic Success of the University Lecturers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

In Sri Lankan context, it is hardly possible to find an empirical study relating to time management practice and academic success. The findings of this study will help to properly determine the concept of academic success of the university lecturers and Time Management Practice. Globally, many organizations and individuals practice time management to be effective. Hence, it is very important to examine the nature of time management practice. Main objectives of this paper are to identify the nature of the time management practice and academic success of university lecturers. And, the specific objective is to develop instruments to measure time management practice and academic success of university lecturers. Sample of the study consists of 30 university lectures from two Sri Lankan state uni- versities. Qualitative methodology was followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by the researcher to gather the qualitative data. The data analysis of the study was involving thematic analysis. According to the results of the thematic analysis, it found four themes relating to the perception of time management. Based on these, it can be summarized that according to university lecturers in state universities, time management practices are “Planning, Punctuality, Work-life balance, and Effective use of time”. Similarly, it analyzed the responses of university lecturers of their perception on academic success of university lecturers. As a result of the final thematic map, it found four themes. Based on these themes, their perception of academic success of university lecturers can be identified as a high level of teaching including post-graduate level with high success rate, continuous involvement of research and publication activities, having industry link to improve the practical aspects, getting a good recognition from academic and other fields with a high level of citations, and obtaining awards from recognized bodies. Thus, this study will fill the existing gap relating operationalization of time management practice and academic success of university lecturers. As the next phrase of this study, it will do questionnaire survey to identify the impact of time management practice on the academic success of state university lecturers in Sri Lanka.