Students’ perceptions of time and its influence on recreational sports

1. Students’ perceptions of time and its influence on recreational sports Andrea Mercatante

2. Introduction

3. Students and Recreation • Recreation opportunities are plentiful on college campuses • 74% of college students do not get enough physical activity (Rosen, 2000)

4. Barriers to Participation • Previous research indicates that time is a barrier to participation (Jackson, 1993) • A perception based on students individual schedules (Young, Ross, & Barcelona, 2003) • Time deficiency or lack of interest?

5. Why Study Time? • The information gained could provide professionals with: • Insight into the “student schedule” • Inspiration for new programs • New marketing strategies

6. The Study

7. Purpose of the Study • To investigate students’ perceptions of time and how this perception influences recreational sport participation. • Focused on 4 categories of time: • Contracted • Committed • Personal • Free time (Robinson & Godbey, 1997)

8. Research Questions • What recreational sport activities do students participate in, and how often? • What perceived time constraints prevent increased participation? • What time management strategies do students use? • How much free time do students believe they have? • How often do students feel pressed for time? • Do students use “I don’t have enough time” as an excuse for something else?

9. Selection of Participants • Subjects were selected from 5 RPTS undergraduate courses. • R100: Recreation Leadership Skills * • R160: Foundations of Recreation and Leisure • R180: Participant Leadership Development • R181: Organizational Leadership Development • R231: Careers in Leisure Services

10. The Instrument • Paper and Pencil Study • Students were asked questions pertaining to: • Current Recreation Participation • The Impact of Perceived Time Constraints • Dealing with Time Pressures • Time Management Strategies • Does “not enough time” mean “not enough time”?

11. The Findings 292 surveys distributed 281 surveys included in final sample

12. Respondents’ Recreation Participation N = 281

13. Perceived Time Constraints Lack of time due to: • school • work • family commitments • friend commitments • volunteering • difficulty managing my free time • not having time for a long enough session

14. Impact of Perceived Time Constraints • Females expressed that they do not have enough time due to friend commitments and school. • Males were found to have more difficulty managing their time. • Those living off campus were more constrained due to work obligations. • Those living in Greek housing were more constrained by friend commitments.

15. Spending and Perceiving Time • Sleeping, eating, and getting ready • Class, homework, studying • Working, volunteering • Free time activities • Attending to family obligations • Attending to friend obligations • Attending to organization obligations

16. How Students “Spend” Their Time • Most students spent a majority of their time sleeping, eating, and getting ready. • Half of students spent at least 20 hours per week attending class and doing homework. • A majority (66.2%) of students reported that they have between 5 and 24 hours of free time per week. • Two-thirds of students reported not working or volunteering

17. Do Students Feel Pressed for Time? • Females were more likely to feel pressed for time. • 21 hours of volunteering was the cut off, as those volunteering up to 20 hours did not feel pressured for time. • Those who rarely participated in group exercise were more pressured than those participating more and those who do not participate at all.

18. Victims of Time Limitations • Less than 20% of subjects responded that they are often unable to complete tasks/activities due to time limitations. • Conversely, 41%of subjects indicated that time limitations nearly never impede their abilities to complete tasks/activities.

19. Students and Procrastinating • One-half of subjects reported nearly always procrastinating. • Less than one-fifth reported nearly never procrastinating. • Those involved in 1-3 organizations more likely to procrastinate than those not involved in organizations. • Occasional gamers are more likely to procrastinate than those who never “game” at all.

20. Overestimating Time • Approximately 40% of subjects frequently overestimate their available time. • Overestimating time was a significant factor when compared with group exercise participation. • Occasional participants and daily participants were more likely to overestimate time than those participating 1 to 4 times per week.

21. Time Management Strategies • Choosing shorter, less enjoyable activities • Structuring one’s day • Multi-tasking • Keeping a close eye on the clock • Cutting activity sessions short • Altering sleep patterns • Deleting items from schedule • Cutting work/volunteer hours • Cutting studying/homework hours

22. Use of Time Management Strategies • Females were more likely to use time management strategies than males. • Regular (3-4 times per week) gamers are more likely to cut back homework hours than occasional (less than 3 times per week) gamers. • Greeks are more likely to structure their day.

23. “I don’t have enough time.” • “I have no interest.” • “I would rather spend my time on something else.” • “I have other obligations.” • “I do not want to spend that much time doing that activity.” • “I do not have the financial resources to participate.” • “I do not have any friends to participate with.” • “I do not want to hurt someone’s feelings.”

24. A Genuine Excuse? • Infrequent gamers are more likely to use this as an excuse for “no interest” than those who never game. • Sophomores are more likely to use this as an excuse for “wanting to spend time on something else”. • Daily group exercise participants are more likely to use this as an excuse for “other obligations”. • Daily informal sports participants are more likely to use this as an excuse for “not that much time”. • Occasional club sport participants indicated using “not enough time” to mean “no friends”.

25. Conclusions

26. Constrained, or Not Constrained? • Students honestly believe they are victims of time constraints. • Six of the seven constraints had significance. • Half of students frequently felt pressed for time. • Only 50 students indicated that they were unable to complete activities/tasks due to time constraints.

27. Inaccurate Perceptions • Many students could only account for 60-90 hours in a week. • Almost 20% of students indicated that they receive less than 15 hours of sleep per week. • A majority of students indicated having 5-24 hours of free time per week.

28. Excuses Excuses • There is evidence that students are not completely truthful when they say they do not have time for an activity. • Subjects participating in sport were more likely to use these phrases synonymously. • Underclassmen were more likely to use these phrases interchangeably.

29. Implications

30. Not a Priority • Actual time was not found to be a limiting factor in recreation participation. • Sport may not be a priority for some.

31. Unworthy of My Time • Use of “not enough time” could mean: • Those already participating hold sport as a high priority. • Non participants do not want to partake in activities that they deem as unworthy.

32. Difficulty Tracking Time • The difficulty subjects had in tracking their time may impact how they perceive time constraints. • May speak to the priority, or interest, of students’ activities. • Boredom and enjoyment play a factor in how one perceives time. • A quality sport experience is in the eye of the beholder.

33. Recommendations for Future Study

34. Sample Size and Selection • Larger Sample • Variety of majors • Undergraduate and Graduate students • Random Sampling

35. How Do Students Prioritize? • Findings suggest that sport may be a low priority for non-participants. • Further study is needed on how students prioritize activities.

36. What are Students’ Priorities? • If students are not participating in sport, what are they doing? • Future studies should collect information on what activities students participate in, and why they choose these activities.

37. Avoiding the Truth • “I don’t have enough time” is a cop out for other constraints. • Future research should focus on why this is so. • Are there stigmas attached to other constraints?

38. Summary

39. Bibliography Jackson, E. L. (1993). Recognizing patterns of leisure constraints: Results from alternative analyses. Journal of Leisure Research, 25, 129-149. Robinson, J. P., & Godbey, G. (1997). Time for life: The surprising way Americans use their time. University Park: The Pennsylvania University Press. Rosen, C. S. (2000). Integrating stage and continuum models to explain processing of exercise messages and exercise initiation among sedentary college students. Health Psychology, 19, 172-180. Young, S. J., Ross, C. M., & Barcelona, R. J. (2003). Perceived constraints by college students to participation in campus recreational sports programs. Recreational Sports Journal, 27(2), 47-62.