Evolution of self-efficacy, student engagement and student burnout during a semester. A multilevel structural equation modeling approach

An investigation into academic burnout, enjoyment and engagement in EFL learning among Chinese junior high school students

With the booming of Positive Psychology, a growing scholarly interest has emerged in language learners' psychological well-being. However, limited research has been conducted on the emotions of Chinese EFL learners. Therefore, this study aimed to quantitatively examine the burnout, enjoyment, and engagement levels among 387 junior high school EFL learners. The findings revealed that the students experienced low levels of burnout but high levels of enjoyment and engagement in learning. Furthermore, significant gender and grade differences were observed in these variables. The study also found strong negative associations between burnout and both enjoyment and engagement, along with significant positive correlations between enjoyment and engagement. Additionally, it was discovered that enjoyment, rather than burnout, significantly predicted English learning engagement. Interestingly, the study also revealed that enjoyment fully mediated the relationship between engagement and burnout. These findings highlight the importance of promoting enjoyment in order to reduce burnout and foster increased engagement among language learners. This article concludes with the theoretical and pedagogical implications for EFL instruction.

Can Moving More and Sitting Less Improve the Academic Engagement of Adolescents?- A Study Based on Junior High School Students in Shanghai, China

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between academic engagement and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE) and sedentary behavior (SB) among adolescents, so as to provide evidence from the perspective of exercising for students to learn efficiently, teachers to improve classroom teaching, and schools to improve educational quality.

Methods

A questionnaire survey was conducted in 12 junior high schools in Shanghai, China, which were selected by a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Then, with the valid data of 2078 students collected from the survey. A data analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics 26.0. Multiple linear regression models were adopted to analyze the factors affecting adolescent academic engagement and to determine whether MVPA, MSE, and SB play roles in it.

Results

(1) The differences in academic engagement depended on the exercise adherence to the recommended amount of MVPA, MSE, and screen-based SB. (2) In terms of the three independent variables of total time, MSE (β = 0.206) and MVPA (β = 0.175) showed a significant positive correlation with academic engagement, while SB (β = -0.155) was negatively correlated with academic engagement. (3) From the linear regression model of eight combination groups divided by the exercise adherence to the recommended amount of MVPA, MSE and SB, the group that met none of the recommendations (β = -0.235) showed a significant negative effect on academic engagement, while the groups that met any two or all three of the recommendations demonstrated strong positive correlations with academic engagement (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Increasing adolescents' muscle-strengthening exercise and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior can effectively promote academic engagement. Therefore, adolescents are suggested to reach the recommended amounts of physical activity, muscle-strengthening exercise, and sedentary behavior so as to improve academic engagement more effectively.

Examining student burnout causes among English as a foreign language students: focus on school climate and student growth mindset

Introduction

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between student burnout and two key factors - perceived school climate and growth mindset - in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) learning among Chinese students.

Methods

A sample of 412 intermediate English language learners from China participated in an online survey and completed valid measures of the three constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to establish the validity of the scales used to measure the three latent variables. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was then used to test the proposed model.

Results

The results of SEM showed that both perceived school climate and growth mindset had a significant positive impact on EFL student burnout, with perceived school climate having a stronger effect compared to growth mindset.

Discussion

The findings suggest that promoting a positive school climate and fostering a student growth mindset can help reduce student burnout in EFL settings.

The student version of the Burnout assessement tool (BAT): psychometric properties and evidence regarding measurement validity on a romanian sample

The objective of the present research was to investigate the psychometric properties and the validity of the student version of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) in a Romanian undergraduate student sample. A sample of undergraduate students (N = 399, 60,70% female) from a Romanian university completed the BAT and other measures used for assessing measurement validity. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original factor structure of the BAT, and all scales showed good internal consistency. The validity of the BAT scales was supported by their strong associations with measures of depression, anxiety, stress, psychosomatic symptoms, prospective appraisal of future tasks, and coping strategies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04232-w.

Burnout Integrative Measure: A preliminary validation among French college students

The aim of this research was to create and validate an integrative measure of college students' burnout. A burnout measure was proposed and extended the three-dimensional conceptualization of burnout (weariness, detachment toward social objects, inadequacy). Based on prior research, our conceptualization and measure distinguished between types of weariness (cognitive, physical, and emotional weariness) and between different targets of detachment toward social objects (studies, other students, teachers). We also relied on negatively worded items to assess inadequacy, as suggested in the literature. The criterion-related validity of our Burnout Integrative Measure (BIM) was examined by exploring associations with two closely related constructs, namely stress and depression. The participants are 905 students in several disciplinary (psychology, nursing care, medicine, science and techniques in sports and physical activities). Results from structural equation modelling provided support for a third-order model encompassing the different targets of detachment, the distinct types of weariness, and inadequacy. The third-order model had a better fit than a first-order model (with a global burnout) and a second-order model (with no distinction between the targets of detachment and the types of weariness). Correlations with related constructs (depression and stress) mostly confirmed our hypotheses. Results and practical implications are discussed.

The Role of Chinese EMI Teachers' Clarity and Credibility in Fostering Students' Academic Engagement and Willingness to Attend Classes

Given the fact that students’ absence and disengagement are among the major challenges that teachers experience in educational contexts, investigating factors contributing to students’ academic engagement and willingness to attend classes is of high importance. These challenges are more common in English as a medium of instruction (EMI) classes wherein students are usually not skilled enough to participate in academic tasks and activities. Accordingly, the present study probed into the role of Chinese EMI teachers’ clarity and credibility in fostering students’ academic engagement and willingness to attend classes. In doing so, the E-version of Teacher Clarity Short Inventory, Source Credibility Scale, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students, and Willingness to Attend Classes Questionnaire was virtually distributed among 832 Chinese college students. Performing correlational analyses, strong associations were found between teachers’ clarity and credibility and students’ academic engagement and willingness to attend classes. To assess the power of Chinese EMI teachers’ clarity and credibility in predicting students’ academic engagement and willingness to attend classes, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed. The results of SEM analysis illuminated that both teacher clarity and credibility are strong predictors of students’ academic engagement and willingness to attend classes. The implications of the findings are also discussed.

The mediating effect of academic engagement between psychological capital and academic burnout among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Almost all universities have been forced to close and change to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a big challenge for students. There is little knowledge about the academic burnout among nursing students in these difficult circumstances, especially in traditional Chinese medicine universities, and the relationship between the burnout and their psychological capital and academic engagement.

OBJECTIVE

The aim is to describe academic burnout and clarify the relationships between academic burnout, academic engagement, and psychological capital among nursing students in traditional Chinese medicine universities.

DESIGN

This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study.

SETTING

The study sampled a four-year undergraduate traditional Chinese medicine university in Jian, Shandong Province, China.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sampling method was used to select 733 nursing students from April to June 2020.

METHODS

The Academic Burnout Scale, the Positive Psychological Capital Scale, and the Academic Engagement Scale were used for data collection, in addition to social-demographic data. Path analysis was used to clarify the relationships among academic burnout, academic engagement and psychological capital.

RESULTS

Of all the study participants, 39.29% had a certain degree of academic burnout. Academic engagement and psychological capital were negatively correlated with academic burnout among nursing students in traditional Chinese medicine university. Psychological capital was positively correlated with academic engagement.

CONCLUSION

Nursing students had a certain degree of academic burnout. Academic engagement played a partial mediated role in the relationship between psychological capital and academic burnout.

"Want to Learn" and "Can Learn": Influence of Academic Passion on College Students' Academic Engagement

Although research exists on the relationship between passion and engagement among employees, the mechanisms of academic passion on academic engagement among students needs to be elucidated. Guided by the broaden-and-build and situated cognition theories, we explored the positive effect of academic passion on academic engagement, the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy, and the role of teacher developmental feedback as a moderator in the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement. Based on a sample of 1,029 college students from universities in the Henan Province of China, the results showed that academic passion was positively related to academic engagement, academic self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement, and teacher developmental feedback effectively moderated the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement. These findings explained the mechanism underlying the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement. Moreover, the findings highlighted important factors that promote college students' academic engagement.

Psychological Capital Mediates the Relationship Between Problematic Smartphone Use and Learning Burnout in Chinese Medical Undergraduates and Postgraduates: A Cross-Sectional Study

Learning burnout is a pressing issue among Chinese medical undergraduates and Postgraduates and has drawn continuous attention worldwide. Studies have found that problematic smartphone use could affect learning burnout, but more research is needed in this direction. Furthermore, few studies focused on the mediating effect of psychological capital on the relationship between problematic smartphone use and learning burnout. The present study was a cross-sectional survey that recruited 1,800 participants from a medical university in Chongqing, China. A questionnaire based on the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Learning Burnout Scale, and demographic variables were administered to these students, and 1,475 provided valid responses (81.94%). 771 were undergraduates (52.3%) and 704 were postgraduates (47.7%). Hierarchical regression and the bootstrap method were used to examine the mediating effect of psychological capital. After controlling for demographic variables, problematic smartphone use positively predicted learning burnout in undergraduates (β = 0.328, p < 0.01) and in postgraduates (β = 0.342, p < 0.01). The partial mediating effect of psychological capital was 0.068 in undergraduates and 0.074 in postgraduates, accounting for 20.67 and 21.64%, respectively, of the total effect of problematic smartphone use on learning burnout. All the 95% confidence intervals (CI) did not contain 0. Problematic smartphone use can directly predict learning burnout and their relationship was mediated by psychological capital in Chinese medical undergraduates and postgraduates. Strategies to alleviating problematic smartphone use and enhance psychological capital in medical undergraduates and postgraduates may provide useful suggestions for future interventions on dealing with learning burnout in Chinese medical undergraduates and postgraduates.