CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been major changes

implemented all around the world. One of which is the system of education. In the current

situation, online learning has shown to be quite challenging for the students especially on their

academic performance. In a recent study on a student’s learning environment preferences, results

show that student preferences strongly lean (70%) toward in-person environments. (Dana C.

Gierdowski, 2019). With the obvious decline in academic performance, it is important to

consider factors that could possibly improve this. Among the several factors that affect academic

performance, two of which are time management and self-efficacy.

According to a study that was conducted by Faisal Z. Miqdadi, Abdulla F. ALMomani,

Mohammad T. (Shadid Masharqa), and Nabil M. Elmousel, time management does have an

impact on academic performance. Effective time management is associated with greater

academic performance and lower levels of anxiety in students; however many students find it

hard to find a balance between their studies and their day-to-day lives. (Adams, 2019)

Self-efficacy beliefs determine how people might feel, think, be motivated and therefore how

they act and behave. According to Bandura (1997), efficacy beliefs constitute the key factor of

human agency. If an individual believes that he/she cannot achieve the results, they will not

make any effort to make things happen.

Individuals with high self-efficacy beliefs get exceptional results by increasing their

commitment, effort, and tenacity. Learners who have high self-efficacy attribute their failures to

a lack of effort rather than a lack of ability, whereas those who have low self-efficacy ascribe
their failures to a lack of ability. As a result, self-efficacy can influence task selection and

perseverance while performing them. Students with low self-efficacy are more likely to avoid,

postpone, and abandon their tasks (Hayat, A.A., Shateri, K., Amini, M. et al, 2020).

Given this information, this study aimed to determine whether these two factors have a

correlation effect with regards to the improvement of the academic performance of the chosen

population of students. The researchers strongly believe that both these factors alone can cause a

significant change not only on the students’ academic performance but also on their overall

mental well-being.