Abstract:

Engagement predicts positive school outcomes and continuation in post-secondary education as engagement includes three dimensions: dedication (school-related sense of significance, energy, willingness to exert high effort in schoolwork), and absorption (full concentration and the feeling of flow) (Salmela-Aro & Upadaya, 2012). It is acknowledged that engagement declines over the school years (Fredricks et al., 2004). Prolonged learning experiences without the support of engagement can lead to feelings of exhaustion (Thoman et al., 2011). Burnout includes encounters of stress that stem from school-related aspects, including feelings of exhaustion, cynicism, and a sense of inadequacy (Salmela-Aro et al., 2009). Recent results in Estonia highlight that in middle school many students experience burnout (Vinter, 2021). Thus, the aim of this study was to explore profiles of engagement among last year primary school students and their experiences of burnout.

The following research questions were set:
1) Which engagement groups appear among the students?
2) What are different groups’ experiences with burnout?

Questionnaire was used to collect data in March - May 2020. In total 940 students from the last year of primary school participated in the study (Mean age = 12.4 years). There were six engagement statements based on The Schoolwork Engagement Inventory (Salmela-Aro & Upadaya, 2012) and seven statements about burnout based on the School Burnout Inventory (Salmela-Aro et al., 2009). Data was analysed in SPSS 25. Engagement groups were found with cluster analysis in which all engagement statements were used. A four-cluster solution was deemed as the best fit on the basis of hierarchical clustering and then K-Means clustering. An overview of the mean responses and standard deviations was found with One-way ANOVA. Statistical differences of the mean scores were checked with Post-Hoc analysis using Tukey correction (alpha level of .05). The four groups and their perception of experiencing burnout: hesitating/somewhat disagree (39.04%), slightly disengaged/undecided (25.11%), slightly engaged/disagree (20.74%), and disengaged/undecided (15.11%).

Among the last year primary school students in Estonia, two engagement groups appeared that referred to disengagement, one group of hesitating students, and one group of slightly engaged students. Students who experienced hesitation over their engagement and students who were slightly engaged reported an overall disagreement to burnout experiences. The slightly disengaged and disengaged students remained undecided about their burnout which indicates that sometimes they might experience it and sometimes not.

References:
[1] Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of educational research, 74(1), 59-109.
[2] Salmela-Aro, K., Kiuru, N., Leskinen, E., & Nurmi, J. E. (2009). School burnout inventory (SBI) reliability and validity. European journal of psychological assessment, 25(1), 48-57.
[3] Salmela-Aro, K., & Upadaya, K. (2012). The schoolwork engagement inventory. European journal of psychological assessment, 28, 60-67.
[4] Thoman, D. B., Smith, J. L., & Silvia, P. J. (2011). The resource replenishment function of interest. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(6), 592-599.
[5] Vinter, K. (2021). Examining academic burnout: profiles and coping patterns among Estonian middle school students. Educational Studies, 47(1), 1-18.

Keywords:

Schoolwork engagement, school burnout, primary school.