Tackling student burnout must be a priority for college and school staff, academics have warned.
Research from York St John University and the London School of Economics shows that students who suffer from burnout are more likely to achieve worse academic results.
According to the study, student burnout is a significant barrier to academic achievement because it leads to reduced efficacy, exhaustion and cynicism.
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More than 1000,000 students from colleges, universities and secondary schools were surveyed for the research.
Dr Daniel Madigan, a senior lecturer in sport and exercise psychology at York St John university and a co-author of the study, said that preventing burnout should be a high priority for policymakers, schools and teachers.
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He said: “It appears that burnout not only leaves students psychologically and physically withdrawn from their studies but also inhibits their academic performance. Given the substantial pressures that students currently face, the findings are particularly concerning. Preventing burnout should be a high priority for policymakers, schools and teachers when trying to improve student outcomes.”
The correlation between burnout symptoms and academic achievement was consistent across genders and education settings within the study.
Dr Tom Curran, an assistant professor at the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE and co-author of the report, said that “students can be forgiven for feeling a little burned out”.
“Against a background of increasing standardised testing, achievement pressures and competition for high school and college, students can be forgiven for feeling a little burned out,” he added.
“In the context of the current pandemic, it is likely that such feelings are acutely exacerbated. This research is important because it indicates that burnout impinges negatively on academic performance and should, therefore, be carefully considered as students return to the classroom.”
