Exploring Gender Difference in Academic Procrastination and Assertive Behaviour among Undergraduate Students of Faculty of Education, Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, Nigeria
Abstract
This study exploring gender difference in academic procrastination and assertive behaviour among undergraduate students of Faculty of Education, Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, Nigeria. It has 4 objectives, 2 research questions and 2 hypotheses. It adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised of undergraduate students in the Faculty of Education. Proportionate sampling technique was used to select a sample of 227 400-level undergraduate students. The instrument used for data collection was a researcher-designed questionnaire titled “Academic Procrastination and Assertive Behaviour Scale (APABS)”, it was validated by two experts. The reliability of the instrument was established using the test-retest method. The questionnaire was administered to 20 students outside the study area. The scores obtained were analyzed using Cronbach’s Alpha, which yielded a reliability coefficient of: Academic Procrastination Scale = 0.82 and Assertive Behaviour Scale = 0.79. The data collected were analyzed using: Mean and Standard deviation used to answer research questions and t-test was used to test hypotheses all at 0.05 level of significance Based on the finding of this study, it concluded that academic procrastination is a common behavioural challenge among undergraduate students regardless of gender. However, gender plays a significant role in assertive behaviour, with female students demonstrating higher levels of assertiveness than male students. The following recommendations among others were made; the university management should organize time management and study skills workshops to reduce academic procrastination among students. Departmental lecturers and educational psychologist/counsellors should provide regular guidance and counselling services to help students improve self-regulation and academic discipline.