"It's About Time!" First-year Generation Z African American Collegiate Male Time Management Practices: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the impact of time management practices on the experiences of academic integration and social integration for first-year Generation Z African American collegiate males. African American collegiate male retention, persistence, and completion rates are lower than those of other higher education demographics. The theory guiding this study was Astin’s (1984, 1999) student involvement theory which hypothesized that student learning and personal growth results from the degree of involvement measured by the amount of time personally invested in the educational process. The central research question is “How do first-year Generation Z African American collegiate male practices of time management impact their experiences of academic integration and social integration?” A sample of 12 first-year Generation Z students attending a Historically Black College and University participated in semi-structured individual interviews and submitted documents containing a time management plan. Five of the 12 participated in a focus group interview. The six themes of procrastination, schedule, organization, productivity, self-discipline, and accountability emerged, each with two related sub-themes. Accordingly, first-year Generation Z African American collegiate male students experience academic integration and social integration when they utilize a time management plan. Use of the time management plan facilitates involvement by helping students counter procrastination with a schedule that leads to organization, productivity, self-discipline and accountability.