Time perspective as a predictor of academic competence among black first-year students in the Humanities

The aim of the study was to explore the constructs of academic competence and time perspective amongst a population of Black African first-year students from the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of the Free State. A mixed method design was implemented to investigate the research aims in a conclusive manner. The potential of time perspective to predict academic competence was investigated during the quantitative phase. Greater in-depth knowledge was gained by exploring the participants' understanding of the constructs in the qualitative phase. In the quantitative phase of the study, participants' time perspective was measured with the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), which divides time perspective into five frames: past-positive, past-negative, present-hedonistic, present-fatalistic, and future. Academic competence was conceptualised as the average result of all the modules that the participants had completed during 2011. A multiple regression analysis was conducted in order to measure the amount of variance in academic competence that is accounted for by time perspective. The quantitative results did not indicate a significant predictive value of time perspective in relation to academic competence. However, the past-negative time frame showed a significant negative correlation with academic competence. During the qualitative phase of the study, focus group sessions and individual interviews were conducted with a select number of participants in order to explore their personal understanding of the relevant constructs. A thematic analysis identified the challenges that were unique to the population as forces that limit academic competence. It was also found that participants apply different time frames and utilise all as motivational forces for achieving academic competence. The way in which social relationships are related to time perspective was identified as an important role player in participants' engagement with their studies.