Academic Procrastination and Achievement Motivation: An Expectancy Value Approach to Measure Academic Procrastination in University Online Courses

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between students’ achievement motivation and their procrastination behaviour when learning online. Student achievement motivation was measured using Eccles and Wigfield’s (2020) Situated Expectancy Value Theory (SEVT), which conceptually understands a student’s achievement related choices and performance on a task, as influenced by the student’s valuation of that task, and their expectancy to succeed in completing that task. Within this theory, a student’s choices and performance on an academic task, are predicted by several dimensions of value such as interest, utility, cost, and attainment, as well as their expectancy to succeed at the task.

A total of 171 students enrolled in online courses at a mid-sized Canadian university participated (29 male, 135 females, 5 other). Participants completed a 101-item questionnaire consisting of demographic questions, procrastination measures, and SEVT measures. Regression analysis indicated that values and expectancies were different across all three learning activities, but self-efficacy for time management was consistently the strongest predictor of procrastination. Further, trait procrastination as a predictor in the model, overpowered task values and decreased the strength of the self-efficacy measures. The results indicated that efficacy for time management and trait procrastination behaviour were the two strongest predictors of procrastination, indicating that time management strategies and personal tendency to procrastinate, best predict procrastination behaviour.