The Influence of Transformational Teacher Leadership on Academic Motivation and Resilience, Burnout and Academic Performance

Research on the impact of the socio-educational environment on the academic performance of college students: the mediating role of study motivation

Background

Enhancing the academic performance (AP) of college students can contribute to the overall scientific literacy among this population, thereby fostering societal progress.

Objective

The study investigates the correlation between college students' AP and the socio-educational environment (SEE, including family, roommates, and teachers), study motivation (SM, including self-efficacy and study behaviors). Based on the research findings, recommendations are offered to students, educators, and school administrators.

Settings

Utilizing a stratified sampling approach, data was collected by selecting a sample of 330 first-year computer science students from a specific local university in Hebei Province, China.

Methods

Data will be collected through a hierarchical sampling method. Using correlation analysis, difference analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) as data analysis methods. The data passed reliability and validity analysis (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.88, KMO = 0.88, χ2/df = 1.49RMSEA = 0.04).

Results

The independent sample T-test results showed that female students had higher academic performance than male students (p < 0.001), and there was no significant difference in academic performance between students from single parent or orphan families and students from normal families (p = 0.14), from non urban areas and from urban areas (p = 0.67). The results of the mediating effect analysis indicate that SM exerts complete mediation in the association between SEE and AP, with a mediating effect value of 0.18.

Conclusion

The educational disparity between urban and rural areas in China is gradually narrowing. Support policies for students from impoverished families in higher education institutions are showing initial effectiveness. The conducive learning environment and educational atmosphere for students can indirectly influence their psychological state, thus impacting their academic performance during their university years.

Stress, Resilience, Burnout and Study Hours in Physical Education Pre-Service Teachers-An Explanatory Model about Gender

The process of becoming a public teacher in Spain requires a long period of preparation. This long period of preparation has an impact on the psychosocial environment of the candidates. Differences have been observed in the psychosocial area according to gender in pre-service teachers. This research aims to study the relationship between the study hours per day, stress, burnout syndrome and resilience according to gender and to study the differences in the effects according to gender using multigroup equation modeling. A multigroup structural equation analysis has been proposed according to the gender of the participants. Parametric tests were used for the descriptive analysis of the results. The sample consists of 4117 participants, 1363 males and 2754 females. The instruments used to collect the data were a self-made questionnaire, Perceived Stress Questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory. All the instruments have been validated and adapted to the sample. The data reveal that there are variations in the effects of the variables according to the gender of the participants. In conclusion, it is affirmed that gender is a very important factor in coping with the competitive examination process for state-public-teaching institutions, as well as in avoiding the appearance of disruptive states generated by this preparation process.

Transformational leadership of physical education instructors and university students' satisfaction with online classes

This study examined the relationship between the transformational leadership of PE instructors and students' satisfaction in an online PE class. In particular, it aimed to investigate whether the PE instructors' transformational leadership behaviors could predict students' satisfaction toward the class, their PE teacher, and their health and fitness. Furthermore, this study explored these relationships in male and female students. A total of 448 university students (male = 228; female = 220) between the ages of 18 and 22 participated in the study. The results revealed a positive relationship between the transformational leadership behaviors of PE instructors and students' satisfaction with online PE classes. Moreover, male and female students' satisfaction with the teaching of their PE instructor, feelings of fun and enjoyment, and perception of improved health and fitness in their online PE classes varied greatly as they perceived specific behaviors of transformational leadership from their PE instructors. These findings demonstrate that PE instructors play an important role as (online) classroom leaders in enhancing students' satisfaction with online learning. Therefore, PE instructors should be mindful to demonstrate transformational leadership to improve their effectiveness when conducting online classes.

Authentic leadership and employee resilience during the COVID-19: The role of flow, organizational identification, and trust

The present work investigated fundamental mediating mechanisms (i.e., flow experience, organizational identification, and trust), underlining the impact of authentic leadership on employee resilience during the turbulent COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 901 frontline employees working in a construction engineering company in China participated in this study. They were asked to respond to a battery of questionnaires comprising Trust Scale (affective-based, cognitive-based, and competence-based), Flow Proneness Questionnaire (FPQ), Organizational Identification Scale, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, and Employee Resilience Scale. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that: (1) Authentic leadership positively predicted employee resilience in the COVID-19 pandemic, directly and indirectly. (2) As for the indirect relationship, two parallel mediation effects and one chain mediation were detected: employees' flow at work and organizational identification respectively and dependently mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and employee resilience; trust and organizational identification played as a chain mediation role within authentic leadership-employee resilience association. The study provides empirical evidence for organizations' resilience-building and leadership training programs. Findings also contribute to the literature by facilitating flow intervention, promoting organizational identification and trust to enhance the effect of authentic leadership in promoting positive psychological functioning of employee resilience. Limitations with respect to future research directions were also outlined.

School climate and left-behind children's achievement motivation: The mediating role of learning adaptability and the moderating role of teacher support

School climate has been reported to have an important impact on children's achievement motivation, but the mechanism for the impact of school climate on left-behind children has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the roles of left-behind children's learning adaptability and teacher support in mediating and moderating the relationship between school climate and achievement motivation. In this study, 1,417 left-behind children were surveyed. The results showed that: (1) after controlling for gender and age, the school climate still had a positive effect on the achievement motivation of left-behind children (c' = 0.177, p < 0.001). (2) School climate perceived by left-behind children directly predicted their achievement motivation, and indirectly through their learning adaptability (a1 = 0.338, p < 0.001; b = 0.341, p < 0.001). In other words, left-behind children's learning adaptability may play an intermediary role between school climate and achievement motivation. (3) The indirect effect of school climate on achievement motivation through learning adaptability was moderated by teacher support (a2 = 0.153, p < 0.001), and this indirect effect was more significant for left-behind children who perceived high teacher support. The research reveals the importance of school climate and teacher support to the growth and development of left-behind children, thus holding theoretical significance for improving the achievement motivation of left-behind children.

Parental burnout and resilience intervention among Chinese parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

Parental burnout is a mental state that combines long-term stress and depression with an overwhelming feeling of parental pressure.

Methods

In Study 1, we conducted a web-based survey of 390 Chinese parents (75.1% mothers) with children aged 1–18 years old (Mean age = 9.05 years, SD = 5.098) to examine the parental burnout during the COVID-19 global pandemic and to identify associated factors during the national lockdown. In Study 2, eight weeks of resilience intervention was administered to 20 parents to compare parental resilience and parental burnout before and after the intervention.

Results

The correlational study showed that greater parental burnout occurred in parents with the lower educational levels and in parents of school-age children. The risk factors of parental burnout included household burden and children’s interference with work; while protective factors included living materials, family atmosphere, and parent–child meeting frequency. The intervention study showed the effectiveness of meditation intervention in resilience and parental burnout, suggesting that meditation training can effectively increase parental resilience and reduce parental burnout.

Discussion

These findings demonstrate the risk and protective factors associated with parental burnout during the COVID-19 lockdown and highlight the positive role of meditation in mitigating parental burnout.

English-learning stress and performance in Chinese college students: A serial mediation model of academic anxiety and academic burnout and the protective effect of grit

INTRODUCTION

Having to adapt to a new environment with various other challenges while completing their studies, Chinese college students experience intense stress related to the study of the English language. However, there has been little research on the serial mediating mechanism of English-learning stress on English academic performance.

METHODS

Present study recruited 1130 undergraduate students to finish self-report online questionnaire to collect the information about their English-learning stress, academic anxiety and burnout, English academic performance and grit. We constructed a moderated serial mediation model to test the effect of academic anxiety and academic burnout and explored whether grit can restrict the decrease in academic performance caused by English-learning stress.

RESULTS

Results show that: (1) both academic anxiety and academic burnout mediate the relationship between English-learning stress and performance; (2) academic anxiety and academic burnout show a significant serial mediating role between academic pressure and English academic performance; and (3) grit significantly moderates the relationship between academic burnout and English academic performance.

DISCUSSION

These results lead us to believe that cultivating the grit of Chinese college students may be an effective way to improve the academic performance of those experiencing high English-learning stress.

Measuring Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language learners’ resilience: Development and validation of the foreign language learning resilience scale

Despite the growing body of research on the factors of resilience in diverse fields, there is still a dearth of particular attention on foreign language learning resilience. To fill the gap, this study seeks to develop the foreign language learning resilience scale (FLLRS) to measure its psychometric scale reliability and validity in Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language contexts. Valid data were collected from 313 Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language college students who voluntarily participated in the survey. The FLLRS was validated based on a series of reliability (e.g., item analysis, split-half reliability and internal consistency) and validity (e.g., construct validity, convergent validity and discriminant validity) tests. Results suggested that the 19-item FLLRS presented three factors: ego resilience, metacognitive resilience and social resilience. Besides, all the three factors contributed high effects to foreign language learning resilience. Among the three factors, metacognitive resilience was found to have the highest path coefficient, followed by social resilience, with ego resilience having the lowest. The validated scale could advance knowledge in the field of second language acquisition regarding how learners’ individual differences, emotional factors and the contextual antecedents may affect foreign language learning resilience.

How physical exercise impacts academic burnout in college students: The mediating effects of self-efficacy and resilience

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Academic burnout is harmful to college students, their institutions of learning, and society at large. While research has shown that physical exercise may be associated with reduced academic burnout, the underlying mechanisms require further exploration. This study explored the relationship between physical exercise and academic burnout in a sample of college students, with a focus on the serial mediating roles of self-efficacy and resilience.

METHODS

This study adopted a cross-sectional survey approach among a sample of undergraduate college students in China. We recruited 1,270 participants in the second half of the 2021-2022 academic year (476 men and 794 women), all of whom completed questionnaires containing the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Academic Burnout Scale for College Students, 10-item General Self-Efficacy Scale, and 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. We then subjected the collected data to a series of statistical analyses.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Physical exercise was significantly and negatively associated with academic burnout and its three subfactors (i.e., emotional exhaustion, improper behavior, and low personal achievement). Participants in the high physical exercise group showed lower levels of academic burnout than those in the moderate and low physical exercise groups. Finally, our serial mediation model showed that physical exercise had a significant direct effect on academic burnout (β = -0.1104, 95% CI = [-0.1421, -0.0791]) in addition to significant indirect effects on academic burnout via self-efficacy and resilience (β = -0.0802, 95% CI = [-0.1088, -0.0527]); the more exercise participation, the lower the academic burnout among college students. These findings suggest that physical exercise is an important interventional target when aiming to reduce academic burnout.

Classroom Digital Teaching and College Students' Academic Burnout in the Post COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study

The continued development of digital technology and its overuse in teaching and learning in the post-epidemic era have brought about digital health risks, which are associated with academic burnout among college students. This study focused on the relationship between classroom digital teaching and students' academic burnout and designed the Classroom Burnout Inventory (CBI) and the Classroom Burnout Causes Inventory (CBCI) to conduct a cross-sectional survey of 206 Chinese university students. Correlations and regression analyses were conducted between key factors and burnout values through a path model of "Digital teaching-Teaching & learning process-Causes subjects-Burnout". The results of the study show that an inappropriate and excessive use of unintegrated digital teaching and learning technologies in the classroom was positively correlated with academic burnout among college students. Burnout levels and the three manifestations were not correlated with students' gender, grade, and major. In terms of causes, the academic burnout of college students was more correlated with their own personal reasons than with external factors such as teachers, universities, and environments. Integrating digital technology platforms, enhancing teacher leadership in the digital classroom, and strengthening peer support and students' psychological resilience are all meaningful explorations of academic burnout prevention strategies.

Behaviour Patterns between Academic Motivation, Burnout and Academic Performance in Primary School Students

BACKGROUND

The final years of primary school (early adolescence) are regarded as key for the academic and personal development of students. This study aims to analyze the relationship between academic motivation, academic burnout, and academic performance, differentiating between adaptive and non-adaptive patterns according to the results of the three constructs studied.

METHODS

The sample comprised 398 students, both male (N = 224; 56.28%) and female (N = 174; 43.71%) with ages ranging from 11 to 13 years (M = 11.49; DT = 0.52). The instruments used were the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), as well as academic marks as a measure of performance.

RESULTS

The results revealed significant correlations between the three constructs under study, the variables that can be used to predict academic performance, and both adaptive and non-adaptive behavior patterns.

CONCLUSIONS

The importance of motivation, burnout, and academic performance in primary education is manifested, whose interrelation can give rise to adaptive behaviors based on high school motivation away from academic burnout that leads to a higher academic performance in students.

Technologies and Mental Health in University Students: An Unhealthy Combination

Introduction The exposure of medical students to a full-time schedule that includes classes, extracurricular activities, patients' lives responsibility, and great competition between classmates can interfere in emotional issues and in the sleep time.

Objective The aim of the present study was to evaluate the sleep quality, and the incidence of anxiety and depression in medical school undergraduates as well as the relationship of these parameters with the intense use of technologies.

Methods Fifty-five medical school undergraduates in their second year participated in the present study, answering questionnaires to evaluate sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index - PSQI), night-time use of technology (sleep time-related information and communication technology - STRICT), and signs of anxiety or depression (hospital anxiety and depression scale - HADS).

Results The results showed 31 students (56.4%) with poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5). Based on the STRICT questionnaire, 36 (65.4%) of the participants referred to making use of technology at night-time; and 34 (61.8%) students had compatible anxiety score, while 14 (25.4%) had a compatible score for depression on the HADS questionnaire. There has been a correlation between poor sleep quality, the abuse of technologies before sleep time, and the presence of anxiety or depression.

Conclusion The abuse of technology before sleep time reduced the sleep quality in the studied population, besides increasing the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Childhood neglect and academic performance in Chinese adolescents: A serial mediation model

BACKGROUND

Chinese parents and students, especially senior high school students, attach great importance to academic performance. Some studies have confirmed that childhood neglect is related to academic performance. However, the internal mechanism is relatively underexplored.

OBJECTIVE

Guided by life course theory and bioecological theory, this study examined the relationship between childhood neglect and academic performance using a serial mediation model that included belief in a just world (PBJW) and academic resilience as hypothesized mediators.

METHODS

A sample of 614 tenth grade students (297 males and 307 females, and 10 who did not report their sex; M_age = 15.75 years old, SD = 0.71 years old) completed questionnaires regarding demographics, childhood neglect, PBJW, academic resilience, and academic performance.

RESULTS

After demographic covariates were controlled for, the results revealed that: (a) childhood neglect was negatively associated with academic performance; (b) PBJW and academic resilience mediated the link between childhood neglect and academic performance in a parallel fashion; and (c) PBJW and academic resilience also mediated the link between childhood neglect and academic performance in a sequential fashion.

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood neglect is negatively related to adolescent academic performance, and the relation is mediated by PBJW and academic resilience both parallelly and sequentially.

Profiles of Achievement Motivation and Performance in Middle School: Links to Student Background and Perceived Classroom Climate

Achievement motivation and performance at school are reciprocally related, however, empirical studies report a large variability of findings and, in some cases, weaker than expected associations between these constructs. To further our understanding of the motivation–performance link, we examined typical patterns of motivation and performance and their correlates, in two cohorts of 8th-grade students (N₁ = 998, N₂ = 441). As expected, we identified both concordant and discordant patterns of achievement motivation and performance. In two subgroups, specifically, those characterized by low motivation and low performance (34% of the sample) and those characterized by high motivation and high performance (18% of the sample), the levels of motivation were highly concordant with scores on math and reading tests. In contrast, the other two profiles—weak motivation with elevated performance (38% of all sample) and high motivation with low performance (9% of the sample) had divergent patterns of motivation and performance. The subgroups also differed on student socio-economic background, special educational needs, gender, as well as perceptions of classroom climate. Overall, our findings reveal context-dependent patterns of the relationship between aspects of achievement motivation and performance.

Psychological Distress, Burnout, and Academic Performance in First Year College Students

Background: The first years of university can be very challenging for students. Previous research has focused on the study of the prevalence of burnout and of psychological distress in medical students. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of psychological symptoms and burnout reported by first-year students, the relationship between these variables and their academic performance, and the differences between health and non-health sciences students. Methods: An observational study with a cross-sectional design was performed. Students of health sciences (medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology), and non-health sciences (biology, social sciences, business management, and engineering) undergraduate programs completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS). Students’ grades for the first semester were collected. Results: A sample of 506 students participated. Prevalence of psychological distress was 27.1% and burnout was 7.3%. Academic performance was unaffected in relation to either psychological distress or burnout. Non-health sciences students showed a greater risk of depression. Conclusions: This study provides evidence of the high prevalence of psychological distress in the first year of college. Even when burnout prevalence was low, the results suggest the need to introduce prevention programs to improve the psychological wellbeing of these students.

The Hidden Factors Affecting Academic Performance Among Chinese Middle School Students: Traumatic Experience and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Background and Purpose

The role of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the path from traumatic exposure (TE) to academic performance (AP) is still not explicitly illustrated. The current study aimed to examine the moderator role of PTSD on the relationship between TE and AP, and then to investigate whether this moderator role is influenced by gender.

Participants and Methods

A sample of Chinese students (n=235) who had experienced the major earthquake of Wenchuan was chosen. PTSD and TE were measured by the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) and an earthquake-related experience questionnaire, respectively. AP was collected from their up-to-date general examination. Data for 221 participants (53.4% female; mean age=14.03 years, SD=0.824) were finally included in the analysis. Parsimonious latent-variable interaction analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were adopted to examine the moderator role of PTSD.

Results

The average IES-R score was 27.57 (SD=13.265, range 0–67). The average score for earthquake exposure was 5.86 (SD=2.069, range 1–12). The results showed that both TE and the interaction term of PTSD*TE had significant negative correlations with AP, while PTSD was not associated with AP. Subsequent hierarchical regression analysis found that the relationship of the interaction term and AP was only significant in female students, and a simple slope plot showed a distinct pattern of the moderating effect of PTSD in both genders.

Conclusion

This study supported that PTSD moderated the connection between TE and AP in middle school students who had undergone a major earthquake trauma, which was influenced by gender. Students who experienced major trauma with drastic exposure history and manifested PTSD symptoms need specified intervention to avoid further deterioration in performance in school.

The Role of Students' Self-Regulated Learning, Grit, and Resilience in Second Language Learning

It has been established that grit has a fundamental role in the learning and teaching process since gritty learners are more likely to take part in classroom activities and they are also motivated to deal with challenges in difficult circumstances. In addition, to guard against these hardships as well as self-control in responding to unpredicted circumstances, a similar construct arouses in positive psychology called resilience that describes perseverance and emphasizes people's abilities. Besides, language learners' engagement and performance in the foreign or second language classroom can be improved through self-regulated learning (SRL) which is viewed as one of the most inspected issues in learning and psychology. A present review has been conducted to scrutinize the relationship between language learners' SRL and learners' resilience and grit based on their positive theoretical relationship with educational success. Consequently, the issue of educator training and administrative training is illuminated through several aspects.

How Information-Seeking Behavior, Essential Technologies, and Resilience Enhance the Academic Performance of Students

This study explores how the scholarly accomplishments of students might increment due to specific fundamental causes. The academic performance of the student was prioritized as a dependent variable, and the independent indicators chosen were “information seeking, IT ability, reading/writing capacity, and resilience.” At the same time, age, gender, marital status, and family income were included in the control variables. The research subject samples were limited to (N = 288) postgraduate students from three mega universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. Forward regression analysis was performed in this research to decide the impact of the indicators. The results indicate that information seeking affects academic performance positively and significantly. Essentially, the study revealed that information technology (IT) skills make a fundamentally positive and significant impact on academic performance. Reading and writing influenced academic performance considerably. In addition, resilience affected academic performance emphatically and essentially. Further, this research also noted the relationships between information-seeking behaviors, IT ability, reading/writing capacities, and resilience capabilities and the academic performance of students. These variables have a positive impact on the academic performance of students.

The Influence of Teachers on Motivation and Academic Stress and Their Effect on the Learning Strategies of University Students

Students often experience the university period as a very stressful time. The teacher is a key figure who can cushion this stressful experience for the student. This study therefore aims to analyse the influence of teachers from the Self-Determination Theory perspective on academic stress, motivation, critical thinking, metacognitive strategies and academic performance in university students. The study involved 2456 university students with an average age of 22.51 years. A structural equation model was created to analyse the causal relationships between the variables. The results showed that the psychological controlling of the teacher positively predicted academic stress while autonomy support negatively predicted academic stress. Academic stress negatively predicted motivation, metacognitive strategies, critical thinking and academic performance. Academic motivation positively predicted metacognitive strategies and critical thinking. Finally, metacognitive strategies and critical thinking positively predicted academic performance. These results highlight the importance of the role that the teacher adopts during classes and the protective factor of academic motivation in the presence of stress.