Katja Upadyaya

School burnout and engagement in the context of demands–resources model

BACKGROUND A four-wave longitudinal study tested the demands-resources model in the school context. AIM To examine the applicability of the demands-resources to the school context. METHOD Data of 1,709 adolescents were gathered, once during the transition from comprehensive to post-comprehensive education, twice during post-comprehensive education, and once 2 years later. RESULTS The hypotheses were supported, path analysis showing that study demands were related to school burnout a year later, while study resources were related to schoolwork engagement. Self-efficacy was positively related to engagement and negatively to burnout. School burnout predicted schoolwork engagement negatively 1 year later. Engagement was positively related to life satisfaction 2 years later, while burnout was related to depressive symptoms. Finally, burnout mediated the relationship between study demands and mental health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS The demands-resources model can usefully be applied to the school context, including the associations between school-related burnout and engagement among adolescents. The model comprises two processes, the energy-depleting process and the motivational process.

Do Teachers' Perceptions of Children's Math and Reading Related Ability and Effort Predict Children's Self-Concept of Ability in Math and Reading?.

This study investigated to what extent primary school teachers’ perceptions of their students’ ability and effort predict developmental changes in children’s self-concepts of ability in math and reading after controlling for students’ academic performance and general intelligence. Three cohorts (N = 849) of elementary school children and their teachers were followed for four years. Children’s self-concepts and performance ability in math and reading were measured annually during Waves 2–4. Teachers rated the children’s ability and effort at each of the four waves. Domain-specific differences and developmental changes could be identified in the associations between teachers’ perceptions and children’s ability self-concepts. Teachers’ ability perceptions predicted children’s concurrent and subsequent ability self-concepts in math and reading, whereas teachers’ effort perceptions predicted children’s math ability self-concept only at Wave 4. Analyses with multi-sample procedure showed that these models were similar for boys and girls and for children in different cohort groups.

Gender Differences in Aspirations and Attainment: Gender differences in teachers’ perceptions and children’s ability self-concepts

Abstract The aim of the present study is to investigate the associations between primary school teachers’ perceptions of ability and effort and children’s ability self-concepts and performance in math and reading. Moreover, special focus is put on the possible gender differences in teachers’ ability and effort perceptions. The study uses data from the Childhood and Beyond (CAB) Study in which three cohorts of elementary school children and their teachers were followed. The sample includes 849 children (240 second-graders, 246 third-graders, and 363 fifth-graders) and their teachers. Information concerning children’s ability self-concepts and actual performance in math and reading was gathered during the spring term. Teachers rated the children’s ability and effort at the same time. The results show, first, that teachers’ perceptions of ability and effort positively predict children’s ability self-concepts in math and reading. Moreover, gender differences are found in teachers’ perceptions: teachers tend to rate boys as having higher abilities in math than girls, and they tend to rate girls as putting more effort into reading than boys.

Engagement With Studies and Work Trajectories From Postcomprehensive School Education to Higher Education and Work

The present study investigated the developmental trajectories and the possible antecedents (e.g., gender, school track, academic achievement, self-esteem, parental affect, and monitoring) of 17- to 21-year-old young adults’ engagement in their studies and work. The study is part of the longitudinal Finnish Educational Transitions (FinEdu) study involving 804 participants. The results revealed four latent trajectory groups of study and work engagement: high increasing (72%), low increasing (14%), high decreasing (9%), and low stable (5%). High parental affect and high self-esteem among 16-year-old adolescents manifested themselves as an increase in engagement in studies and work during the transition to work or higher education in early adulthood. Moreover, a lower level of parental affect resulted in a decrease in subsequent engagement.

Cross-lagged associations between study and work engagement dimensions during young adulthood

The present four-wave longitudinal study investigated the cross-lagged associations between three study and work engagement dimensions (e.g. energy, absorption, and dedication) over the transition from post-comprehensive studies to higher education or work. Various antecedents (e.g. gender, GPA) and consequences (e.g. satisfaction in life, education and work, well-being, and educational outcomes) of the three engagement dimensions were also examined. The study is part of the longitudinal Finnish Educational Transitions (FinEdu) study, and followed 851 participants from age 17 to 23. The developmental dynamics showed that, in particular, students’ study- and work-related energy predicted feelings of absorption and dedication during their post-comprehensive education and after the transition to higher education or work. Moreover, high dedication in one’s studies or work resulted in high satisfaction in life, studies, and work and increased well-being. No differences related to academic track emerged in the developmental dynamics of study/work engagement.