Associations between Profiles of Self-Esteem and Achievement Goals and the Protection of Self-Worth in University Students

Back from Burnout: An Educator's Journey Toward Attitude Adjustment

ABSTRACT

Healthy and supportive engagement between faculty and students is imperative for positive learning experiences. Multiple factors can impede engagement, including faculty burnout. After 30 years of teaching nursing, the author faced burnout. Based on student comments and Scripture, suggestions are made about character and teaching attributes that can positively adjust educator attitudes to enhance student learning.

Social Achievement Goals in Chinese Undergraduates: Associations With Self-Esteem and Symptoms of Social Anxiety and Depression

The pursuit of relationship goals is critical to the wellbeing of young adults. This study investigated different achievement goals toward social competence as potential predictors of social anxiety and depression symptoms. It proposed that self-esteem may function as a mediator on the pathway from endorsing social achievement goals to undergraduates' concurrent and longitudinal social anxiety and depression symptoms. Social achievement goal theory proposes three types of goals: social mastery goals (striving to improve one's social competence), social performance-approach goals (striving to prove one's social competence and win positive evaluation), and social performance-avoid goals (striving to avoid incompetent social behaviors and negative evaluation). One hundred and eighty-five Chinese undergraduates aged from 18 to 23 (50% female) completed this study across two-time points. Path analyses indicated that social mastery (marginally) and performance-approach goals were positively associated with self-esteem, whereas social performance-avoid goals were negatively associated with self-esteem; self-esteem was negatively associated with the concurrent social anxiety and depression symptoms and the longitudinal depression symptoms. The proposed mediation effects of self-esteem on the links from three types of social achievement goals to the concurrent and longitudinal social anxiety and depression symptoms were significant except on the links from social mastery goals and social performance-approach goals to the subsequent social anxiety symptoms. Self-esteem and the baseline social anxiety and depressive symptoms have a chain mediating effect between social achievement goals and the longitudinal symptoms of social anxiety and depression. These findings suggest that the pursuit of social mastery goals and performance-approach goals in initiating and maintaining social relationships boosts undergraduates' self-worth and reduces their concurrent and longitudinal depression experiences. However, the strivings to hide inadequacy and avoid negative evaluation in social contexts impede one's self-worth and increase concurrent and longitudinal social anxiety and depression symptoms. Implications and limitations are discussed.

The Relationship between Self-Esteem and Achievement Goals in University Students: The Mediating and Moderating Role of Defensive Pessimism

Although achievement goals have been the subject of much study about their implications for learning and performance, interest has been less marked in understanding their precursors, particularly those linked to students’ personal characteristics. In this study, we examine the role of a defensive pessimism strategy as a mediator and moderator of the relationships between self-esteem and achievement goals in a sample of 1028 university students. Analysis of mediation and moderation was performed using the PROCESS macro within SPSS. The results showed that defensive pessimism partially mediates and moderates the effect of self-esteem on approach goals (learning and performance). We found no significant mediation or moderation effect for defensive pessimism in the relationship between self-esteem and performance-avoidance goals. These findings suggest that defensive pessimism is an effective strategy to encourage motivational involvement in students with low self-esteem in the academic context.

Burnout, Goal Orientation and Academic Performance in Adolescent Students

During their school years, students can have different experiences and go through various emotional and motivational states that can affect their learning experience and play a key role in their personal and academic development. The goal of this paper is to analyse the relationship between goal orientation, burnout and academic performance. Material and methods: The study comprised a sample of 2652 students aged between 12 and 19 years (m = 14.55; DT = 1.70), both male (n = 1.368; 51.58%) and female (n = 1.284; 48.41%), from 14 secondary schools. The instruments used were the Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ), the Maslach Burnout Inventory—Student Survey (MBI-SS) and academic performance, which was measured using the students’ average school marks. Results: Results indicate a significant relationship between task orientation (and, to a lesser extent, ego orientation), efficacy and academic performance in line with adaptive behaviours. In addition, it was demonstrated that task orientation, efficacy and cynicism (burnout) can be used to predict academic performance in adolescents. Conclusion: It is argued that goal orientation plays a key role in promoting adaptive behaviours in an academic context and in the personal and academic development of adolescent students.