~ 369 ~ ISSN Print: 2394-7500 ISSN Online: 2394-5869 Impact Factor (RJIF): 8.4 IJAR 2024; 10(4): 369-373 www.allresearchjournal.com Received: 16-02-2024 Accepted: 23-03-2024 Khizra Irfan M.Ed. Student, Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India Dr. Shahla Shabeeh Shaheen Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India Nida Waris Research Scholar, Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India Corresponding Author: Khizra Irfan M.Ed. Student, Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India Academic procrastination among prospective teachers in relation to certain demographic variables Khizra Irfan, Dr. Shahla Shabeeh Shaheen and Nida Waris DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.22271/allresearch.2024.v10.i4e.11713 Abstract The act of procrastination impedes an individual’s capacity to effectively finish tasks within the allotted time. A person who tends to procrastinate consistently seeks to postpone the task at hand. Primarily the study intends to ascertain the occurrence of procrastination and how it impacts certain demographic factors (gender, locality, faculty, type of institution and type of family) amongst prospective teachers of Aligarh district. The survey involved 150 aspiring teachers, comprising 26 males and 124 females, who were selected from different teacher training institutes of Aligarh district. Academic Procrastination Scale (APS- GSBL) by Dr. Savita Gupta & Liyaqat Bashir, served as the instrument for data collection. Descriptive statistics, such as measures of central tendency (mean), variability (standard deviation), and percentages, were employed to analyze the data. Additionally, inferential statistics, including t-tests and ANOVA, were utilized for further analysis. Analysis revealed no statistically relevant differences in procrastination between male and female prospective teachers. Though prospective teachers from government and private institutions varied significantly in the level of academic procrastination. Keywords: Academic procrastination, prospective teachers, demographic variables Introduction The effectiveness of the educational process relies on the qualities and capabilities of the teacher, who serves as the crucial foundation of the educational system. Hence, teacher needs to be well trained to accomplish his duties and responsibility. Teacher education plays a crucial role in enhancing the calibre of primary and secondary education by offering comprehensive training to both aspiring and practicing teachers, thereby ensuring quality instruction in schools. Pre-service teacher education provides future teachers with both knowledge and skills in various aspects of school education. The term “Procrastination” finds its origins in the Latin word “procrastinare”, where “pro”- means “forward” and “crastinus” refers to “until the next day”. Procrastination seems to be a peculiar phenomenon; instead of making life easier, as its apparent goal would have us believe, it almost invariably leads to stress, disarray, and frequent failure. This behavior can lead to various issues, such as subpar performance, lost chances, and increased stress levels. Individuals delay tasks because they are unexplainably more driven to postpone rather than take action. Academic Procrastination Academic procrastination denotes the consistent postponement of participation in academic tasks and activities. Ferrari (2001) [4] found that about 20% of adults procrastinate frequently, whereas undergraduate students are thought to procrastinate academically in a problematic way at a rate of at least 70-95%. Academic procrastination is characterized as a type of procrastination where individuals irrationally delay the initiation or fulfilment of academic assignments (Senecal, Julian, & Guay, 2003, p. 135) [10] . It is widespread and has reached worrying proportions among students, constituting a problem of considerable scale (Solomon & Rothblum, 1984 [12] ; Ferrari, Johnson & McCown, 1995 [5] ; Ozer, Demir & Ferrari, 2009 [8] ; Balkis & Duru, 2009) [2] . The practice of procrastination, universally acknowledged as undesirable, demonstrably impedes the individual's capacity to maintain established daily schedules. (Letham, 2004; Schmitt, 2008) [7, 9] . International Journal of Applied Research 2024; 10(4): 369-373