Navigating the Middle School Transition in a Non-Western Culture: Exploring the Interplay of Perceived Academic Performance, Time Management, and the Mediating Role of Academic Engagement

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between time management, academic engagement, and academic success among 11- and 12-year-old students in an online learning environment. A sample of 250 Iranian students was selected using a multi-stage random cluster sampling method The data were collected from students that self-reported via surveys. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that time management significantly predicted academic performance (p < 0.01), with academic engagement mediating this relationship. Students with high academic engagement demonstrated an increased willingness to invest time and effort in their studies. The findings suggest that while interventions aimed at developing time management skills are beneficial for students transitioning to middle school, prioritizing the increase of academic engagement and enthusiasm in middle school students, without explicitly focusing on time management, will lead to enhanced time management skills as well. Consequently, teachers can optimize their efforts and resources by focusing on academic engagement interventions, as academic engagement inherently fosters improved time management skills.

Keywords:

• Academic engagement
• time management
• academic performance
• transition to middle school
• non-Western culture

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all the participants and parents in this research who patiently cooperated.

Ethical approval

The current study was exempted by the ethics committee of the Institutional Review Board in the city’s education department, Tehran, Iran. The questionnaires were sent via email to the participants, who were given the choice to opt out of answering. This study required parental consent to participate in the study. The study’s participants voluntarily gave informed consent, with clear instructions that they had the option to withdraw at any time without adverse consequences. Additionally, the students were assured that no negative outcomes or penalties would result from their decision not to participate. This quantitative research did not entail any personal interviews, and, at the request of the city’s education department’s IRB, the participants’ identities were kept confidential from the authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).