Burnout, goal orientation and academic performance in adolescent students

Abstract

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.