Sociological Analysis of Academic Procrastination among Graduate Students from the Perspective of Faculty Members: (A Case Study of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz)

The factors and processes influencing academic procrastination can be analyzed across a wide range of disciplines, including sociology. While this phenomenon has been extensively studied in psychology, the sociological aspects of academic procrastination, despite their relevance, have been largely overlooked. This study adopts a grounded theory approach to provide a sociological analysis of academic procrastination among graduate students. The participants included 15 faculty members from Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, selected through purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using three stages of coding: open, axial, and selective. Findings revealed that factors such as poor academic literacy, inefficient educational structures, teaching methods, academic alienation, misaligned socialization processes, unpredictability of conditions, and individual psychological traits act as causal conditions for academic procrastination. Intervening conditions included academic deviance, stereotypical beliefs, and familial support, while contextual conditions encompassed online education, student-teacher ratios, environmental factors, and students' socioeconomic status. In response to students' procrastination, educational system employed facilitative, strict, and follow-up strategies. The consequences of academic procrastination included improved academic performance for some, normalization and perpetuation of procrastination, and the formation of an "academic proletariat."