Academic procrastination and performance in distance education: a causal-comparative study in an online learning environment

Abstract

Research indicates that academic procrastination is a common attitude among learners, and that it generally has a negative correlation with academic performance. The present quantitative causal-comparative study aims to determine the cause of differences, in terms of procrastination tendency, in academic performance among online learners. The study further investigates whether academic procrastination tendency significantly predicts the academic performance of online learners. The sample included a total of 333 online distance learners, from whom data were obtained through an online survey. Results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between male and female learners in terms of academic procrastination. Moreover, low procrastinators had better academic performance than that of high procrastinators, and learners’ academic procrastination tendencies significantly predicted academic performance. These results demonstrate that academic procrastination tendency is an important indicator for predicting the academic achievements of online learners.