Examining the Relationship between Academic Procrastination, Self-Regulated Learning, and Academic Performance among Secondary School Students

Abstract

The present study aims to explore how students’ tendency to delay academic tasks and their ability to regulate learning influence their academic achievement. Academic procrastination refers to the unnecessary postponement of study-related activities such as completing homework, preparing for examinations, submitting assignments, and revising lessons. Self-regulated learning refers to students’ ability to plan, monitor, control, and evaluate their own learning process. Academic performance reflects the educational achievement of students, usually measured through marks, grades, or examination scores. The study focuses on secondary school students because this stage is important for academic growth, career preparation, habit formation, and personality development. Students at this level often face academic pressure, examination stress, digital distractions, lack of motivation, and time-management difficulties. These factors may increase academic procrastination and negatively affect academic performance. On the other hand, students with strong self-regulated learning skills are generally better able to set goals, manage time, use effective study strategies, control distractions, and maintain motivation. The study may adopt a descriptive and correlational research design. Data may be collected from secondary school students through standardized scales related to academic procrastination and self-regulated learning, along with academic performance records. The study is expected to find a negative relationship between academic procrastination and academic performance, while self-regulated learning is expected to show a positive relationship with academic performance. It may also reveal that self-regulated learning helps reduce procrastination and improves students’ achievement.