Investigating learning burnout and academic performance among management students: a longitudinal study in English courses

BMC Psychol. 2024 Apr 22;12(1):219. doi: 10.1186/s40359-024-01725-6.

Abstract

This study aims to move away from the cross-sectional approach related to burnout and conduct a longitudinal study to explore the factors influencing learning burnout among management students. The study primarily adopts a questionnaire survey, with students majoring in business management. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) are used to analyze the data and validate the hypotheses. The findings are: (1) There is a significant negative relationship between English anxiety and self-efficacy and a significant positive relationship between past English learning performance and self-efficacy. (2) The changes in self-efficacy are negatively related to the changes in burnout, while the changes in workload are positively related to the changes in burnout. Additionally, there is a positive relationship between English anxiety and learning burnout. (3) There is a significant negative relationship between English learning performance and burnout. The direct impact of self-efficacy on English learning performance is not supported, but it has an indirect effect through the mediating role of burnout. The study proposes strategies to improve student outcomes and well-being: (1) making English courses more engaging to boost performance and confidence, reducing learning burnout; (2) encouraging and supporting students to enhance self-efficacy and motivation; (3) assigning tasks seen as useful and interesting to lessen perceived workload and emotional exhaustion; (4) and considering English anxiety in admissions to decrease learning burnout, especially as schools gain more autonomy in their policies.

Keywords: Anxiety; Burnout; Performance; Self-efficacy; Workload.

MeSH terms

  • Academic Performance* / psychology
  • Academic Performance* / statistics & numerical data
  • Adult
  • Anxiety / psychology
  • Burnout, Professional* / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Learning
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Self Efficacy*
  • Students* / psychology
  • Students* / statistics & numerical data
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Workload / psychology
  • Young Adult