Parents' work burnout and adolescents' school burnout: Are they shared?

School burnout trends and sociodemographic factors in Finland 2006-2019

PURPOSE

To identify the changes of school burnout for Finnish adolescents in lower (grades 8-9) and upper secondary schools (grades 10-11) during years 2006-2019; and to examine the associations of personal-(gender, family socioeconomic, and immigrant status) and school-related (school level, urban-rural area) sociodemographic demands and resources in school burnout.

METHODS

We used nationally representative data on 949,347 students in secondary school in Finland between 2006 and 2019. Generalized Linear Models were used to assess the effects of year, gender, school level, parental education, unemployment, immigrant status, and urban-rural area and the interactions of year, gender, and school level with each of the remaining sociodemographic variables on school burnout.

RESULTS

School burnout increased among girls and slightly declined among boys. The increase intensified in girls and the decline in boys stagnated after 2011. The educational level of the parents had a constant protective impact over time, the gradient for boys slightly larger compared to girls. Urban areas contributed to the trend of increasing school burnout among girls but not among boys. Parental unemployment and immigration background were associated with the increasing trend of school burnout over time, although somewhat mitigated by parental education.

CONCLUSION

The results showed the trends in school burnout are often gendered and appeared to worsen aligned with the school budget cuts after 2011. In addition to considering school burnout related to lower parental education and urbanization, it is important to support those students in families experiencing unemployment and/or immigration, especially when concurring with lower parental education.

What Types of Educational Practices Impact School Burnout Levels in Adolescents?

This study explores the relationship between educational practices perceived by high school students and their level of burnout, as defined by emotional exhaustion, cynicism and inadequacy. A total of 287 adolescents (146 girls) aged between 14 and 19 years old (M = 16.08, SD = 1.01) and recruited from a public high school in French-speaking Switzerland completed a questionnaire regarding perceived educational practices and school burnout. Results from path analysis showed that the three dimensions of burnout were negatively associated with certain teacher- and school-related educational practices. More precisely, support for struggling students (ß = −0.24, p < 0.001) as well as teaching time (ß = −0.16, p < 0.05) were predictors of exhaustion (R² = 0.27). Teachers’ instructional behavior (ß = −0.22, p < 0.01) and teacher motivation (ß = −0.31, p < 0.001) were predictors of cynicism (R² = 0.20) and application of rules (ß = −0.21, p < 0.01) predicted inadequacy (R² = 0.09). These educational practices should be of particular interest when it comes to strengthening the protective role of schools and teachers against school burnout in adolescents.

Students' academic and emotional adjustment during the transition from primary to secondary school: A cross-lagged study

The current study examined several indicators of students' academic and emotional adjustment during the transition from primary (i.e., grade 6) to secondary school (i.e., grades 7 and 9). Specifically, the study investigated how students' engagement, achievement, and burnout, as well as student-teacher conflict, evolve together over time. A total of 356 adolescents (57.3% boys) filled out questionnaires about their burnout and their behavioral and cognitive engagement. Students' achievement was measured using standardized test scores. Conflict in the teacher-student relationship was assessed using teacher ratings. Cross-lagged models revealed bi-directional associations between behavioral and cognitive engagement. More teacher conflict related to less behavioral engagement, whereas higher achievement predicted more cognitive engagement one and two school years later. The results underscore that, despite the interrelatedness of behavioral and cognitive engagement during the transition from primary to secondary school, both show unique contextual and personal correlates.

The role of parental affection and psychological control in adolescent athletes' symptoms of school and sport burnout during the transition to upper secondary school

INTRODUCTION

The transition from compulsory school to upper secondary school is a challenging period for adolescents. Especially challenging it can be for adolescents who aim to integrate two domains of achievement, such as an athletic career and academic education. The pressure from two intertwined achievement domains may make student-athletes vulnerable to symptoms of burnout. The study examined the role of mothers' and fathers' affection and psychological control as possible risk or protective factors in the symptoms of school and sport burnout among 15-16 year olds adolescent athletes in Finland.

METHODS

The adolescents' (n = 391) burnout symptoms in the two domains were measured using questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of the first grade of upper secondary school. Mothers (n = 258) and fathers (n = 191) filled in questionnaires concerning their parenting behaviors at the beginning of the school year.

RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS

The results showed that the athletes' symptoms of both school and sport burnout increased across the school year. Maternal affection buffered against the increase of school burnout, but only when not combined with simultaneous psychologically controlling mothering.

Academic expectations and well-being from school to work during the economic downturn

Academic well-being and expectations change in educational transitions during economic downturn.