Low Academic Engagement Research Articles

Unveiling the association between 24-hour movement guidelines and academic engagement in adolescents.

The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between adherence to different possible combinations of the 24-hour movement guidelines and academic engagement in adolescents. The cross-sectional study involved 742 students (median = 15.00; interquartile range = 3.00), aged 12 to 17 years (422 girls; 56.9%). Physical activity, screen time, sleep duration, and academic engagement were measured using self-report measurements. A generalized additive mixed model and a generalized linear mixed model were used to examine the association between adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines and academic engagement. Age, sex, socioeconomic status, body mass index, and school were considered as covariates. Students who met all three guidelines showed the highest levels of academic engagement. Conversely, the lowest levels of academic engagement were observed in those who did not meet any of the guidelines. In addition, students' academic engagement was higher as more 24-hour movement guidelines were met. Our results suggest the importance of jointly promoting 24-hour movement guidelines, as it appears to have greater benefits on adolescent academic outcomes. Not meeting any of the three 24-hour movement guidelines was associated with lower academic engagement. Meeting all three 24-hour movement guidelines was related to higher academic engagement. Previous research has focused on the association between the three 24-hour movement guidelines and academic performance. However, the relationships of these behaviors on academic engagement have been little studied. The results of this study highlight the importance of promoting these three behaviors in adolescent academic outcomes.

Intersectionality of Disabled People through a Disability Studies, Ability-Based Studies, and Intersectional Pedagogy Lens: A Survey and a Scoping Review

Disabled people face many social problems in their lives, as outlined by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These problems often increase when disabled people also belong to another marginalized identity. The first aim of this study was to report on the extent and what intersectionalities are mentioned in academic abstracts in conjunction with disabled people. Various intersectional concepts are used to discuss intersectionality-related issues. The second aim was to ascertain the use of intersectionality-based concepts to discuss the intersectionality of disabled people. The field of intersectional pedagogy emerged to discuss the teaching of intersectionality linked to various marginalized identities. The third aim was to ascertain the coverage of how to teach about the intersectionality of disabled people in the intersectional pedagogy-focused academic literature we covered. Ability judgments are a general cultural reality. Many ability judgment-based concepts have been developed within the disability rights movement, disability studies, and ability-based studies that could be used to discuss the impact of ability judgments on the intersectionality of disabled people and enrich the area of intersectional pedagogy. The fourth aim was to ascertain the use of ability judgment-based concepts to analyze the intersectionality of disabled people. To obtain data for the four aims, we performed a manifest coding and qualitative content analysis of abstracts obtained from SCOPUS, the 70 databases of EBSCO-HOST and Web of Science, and an online survey in which we ascertained the views of undergraduate students on social groups experiencing negative ability-based judgments. As to the 34,830 abstracts that contained the term “intersectionality”; the 259,501 abstracts that contained the phrase “intersection of”; and the 11,653 abstracts that contained the 35 intersectionality-based concepts, the numbers for these abstracts that also contained the disability terms we used for our analysis were 753, 2058, and 274 abstracts, respectively, so 2.16%, 0.79%, and 2.35%, indicating a low academic engagement with the intersectionality of disabled people. We found many different intersectionalities mentioned in conjunction with disabled people, but most were mentioned only once or twice, with the main ones mentioned being race and gender. The literature covered made little use of most of the 52 intersectionality-based concepts we looked at (35 identified before the study and 17 more identified during the analysis). The literature covered also did not link to the area of intersectional pedagogy. Of the 25 ability judgment-based concepts, only the term ableism was used. As to the surveys, most students saw many of the social groups experiencing negative ability judgments, suggesting that the ability judgment-based concepts might be a useful tool to discuss intersectional consequences of ability judgments, such as intersectional conflict. Our data might be useful for intersectionality studies, intersectional pedagogy, disability studies, ability-based studies, and other academic fields that engage with intersectionality or with disability issues. Our study might also be useful for academics covering various topics to engage with the intersectionality of disabled people as part of their inquiries.

ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT IN RELATION TO ACADEMIC RESILIENCE: A STUDY OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

This research has mainly aimed to study the academic engagement and academic resilience of undergraduate students and to determine the relationship between academic engagement of undergraduate students and their academic resilience. The study was confined on a sample of 228 undergraduate students of Nadia and Purba Bardhaman districts of West Bengal (India). The self-developed ‘Academic Engagement Scale’ and ‘Academic Resilience Scale’ were used by the researchers to study the level of academic engagement and academic resilience. The findings of the study revealed that a significant difference has been found between the mean scores of academic engagement of undergraduate students with respect to their locality and programme streams i.e. science & arts; mean scores of academic resilience of undergraduate students with respect to their locality; high and low academic engagement groups of undergraduate students on the measures of their academic resilience levels. But no significant difference has been found between the mean scores of academic engagement of undergraduate students with respect to their gender; and the mean scores of academic resilience with respect to their gender and academic streams i.e. science and arts stream. Further, a significant relationship has been found between the academic engagement of undergraduate students and their academic resilience.

Believing that failure is essential: failure-is-enhancing mindset mediates the relationship of perfectionism and academic engagement

ABSTRACT Objective The present study aimed to (1) to determine how the two dimensions of perfectionism – perfectionistic strivings (PS) and evaluative concerns (EC) are associated with academic engagement and (2) to determine if failure mindset mediates the relationship between perfectionism and academic engagement. Method Four hundred and forty-eight Filipino undergraduate students with an average age of 20.91 SD = 2.37participated in the survey. Results The results indicate that PS is positively linked to academic engagement through failure-is-enhancing beliefs. In contrast, EC is associated with lower academic engagement through a reduced failure-is-enhancing mindset. Conclusion This study provides evidence that believing that failure is essential rather than unhelpful is an important factor in predicting academic engagement among perfectionists. Specifically, it was found that having high PS promotes the belief that failures are important in learning, while the opposite pattern was observed among those high in EC. This supports the view that perfectionism has an adaptive and a maladaptive side.

Relation between Shyness and Music Academic Engagement: The Mediation of Achievement Goals—A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Music discipline that emphasizes expression, performance and collaboration may cause difficulties for shy students who are prone to anxiety about social interaction, which might cause low music academic engagement and achievement. According to Models of Personality and Affect regarding the role of psychological constructs in educational contexts, shyness and academic engagement are the first and third-level variables, respectively. We hypothesized that achievement goals might be the second-level variable between shyness and academic engagement. Two hypotheses were proposed in the study: (1) shyness is negatively related to music academic engagement; (2) the music achievement goals mediate shyness and music academic engagement. The research was conducted in May 2022. A total of 515 college students who major in music were randomly recruited from a public university in Shanxi province, China. A 20 min self-report questionnaire was conducted as the data collection method. The research results revealed the following: (1) shyness was negatively associated with musical academic engagement; (2) the music mastery goals and the music performance avoidance goals (excluding the performance approach goal) partially mediated the association between shyness and music academic engagement in music learning. These findings have implications for the research and practice of music academic engagement of shyness.

Bullying Victimization Due to Racial, Ethnic, Citizenship and/or Religious Status: A Systematic Review

AbstractA resurgent climate of nationalism, racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia in many parts of the world has drawn attention to the risk of bullying victimization among racial, ethnic and/or religious minority youth. However, no attempt has yet been made to synthesize the literature on this topic to derive better understanding and guide future prevention and intervention efforts. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature on individual, school, family, and community -level factors and outcomes associated with racist bullying victimization. Systematic searches of EBSCOhost, Scopus, ASSIA and Web of Science databases identified 73 articles that included quantitative and qualitative analyses on this topic. Overall, this review found that negative stereotypes and discrimination operating in school and community contexts put racial/ethnic minority, immigrant, and refugee youth at an increased risk of racist bullying victimization. The review also found that racist bullying victimization is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes including poor mental health, lower academic engagement, and an increased risk of involvement in delinquent behaviours, especially among older pupils. The review identified several gaps in the research, including the lack of adequate theorization and the infrequent consideration of potential mediators and moderators. Finally, the review outlined future directions, such as the need to study how intergroup processes influence racist bullying victimization.

Reinforcement positif : Teknik untuk Meningkatkan Academic Engagement Siswa pada Pandemi Covid-19

Academic engagement is important for the smooth learning process. However, in fact the involvement of students in the learning process is minimal. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of positive reinforcement to increase student academic engagement. This study is a single case experimental design, with an A-B-A design research involving one student at Global Madani Junior High School who has low academic engagement. The instrument used in this intervention is an academic engagement rating scale based on the research of Schreiner & Louis. Analysis of the data used is statistical analysis and clinical analysis. The results showed a significant increase in academic engagement through positive reinforcement on scores at baseline A1, intervention, and baseline A2. Teachers and counselors can use various kinds of positive reinforcement to make students actively involved in the learning process.

A Longitudinal Process Model Evaluating the Effects of Cooperative Learning on Victimization, Stress, Mental Health, and Academic Engagement in Middle School.

Mental health is a significant concern among young people, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, mental health problems can significantly reduce student performance in school, including both engagement and achievement. Both mental health problems and reduced student performance often arise due to peer victimization, which can include teasing, racial- or gender-based discrimination, and/or physical assault. Stress has been proposed as one mechanism through which victimization influences mental health, and stress can also interfere with academic performance at school, including engagement and achievement. To date, however, no research has evaluated longitudinal associations between victimization and stress, and how these longitudinal patterns may impact adolescent behavior and mental health. In this study, we used data from a 2-year cluster randomized trial of cooperative learning to evaluate an etiological process model that includes (1) longitudinal reciprocal effects between victimization and stress, and (2) the effects of both victimization and stress on student mental health and academic engagement. We hypothesized that victimization and stress would have significant reciprocal effects, and that both would predict greater mental health problems and lower academic engagement. We further hypothesized that cooperative learning would have significant effects on all constructs. We found partial support for this model, whereby stress predicted greater victimization, but victimization did not predict increased stress. While both factors were linked to student outcomes, stress was a more powerful predictor. We also found significant salutary effects of cooperative learning on all constructs. The implications of these results for student behavioral and mental health are discussed.

Online Instructional Scaffolding and Needs Satisfaction in COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from University Students in Ghana

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of education including lecturers and students’ engagements. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of online instructional scaffolding on needs satisfaction as experienced by regular undergraduate students in Ghana. Using the descriptive-quantitative research design, the study surveyed 738 students using an online learning platform (VClass). The students were asked to respond to the adapted online instructional scaffolding scale developed by Cho and Cho (2016) and the needs satisfaction scale developed by Johnston and Finney (2010). The data gathered with the adapted scales were analyzed quantitatively using frequencies and percentages and standard linear regression. The study revealed that the majority of the students experienced low levels of online instructional scaffolding (n=259; 35.1%) and needs satisfaction (n=254; 34.4%). Also, it was found that online instructional scaffolding significantly predicted the need satisfaction of students (?=.45, p=.000). It was concluded that the low levels of online instructional scaffolding and needs satisfaction experienced by students are probable precursors to low academic engagement and commitment. Therefore, there is the need to re-orient both lecturers and students to the benefits of online learning so that they could maximize its usage.

Police discrimination among Black, Latina/x/o, and White adolescents: Examining frequency and relations to academic functioning

IntroductionConcerns regarding police brutality and violence against people of color in the U.S. remain high in the current sociohistorical moment in which the recent murder of George Floyd by a police officer is highly salient. Although the prevalence and consequences of such experiences for Black and Latina/x/o adults have been documented in the literature, there is a limited understanding of youths’ negative experiences with police. MethodsUtilizing a sample of 1378 adolescents (Mage = 16.16 years, SD = 1.12), the current study examined Black, Latina/x/o, and White youths' self-reports of ethnic-racial police discrimination and linked these experiences to youths’ academic engagement and academic grades. ResultsBlack and Latina/x/o youth reported significantly greater experiences of ethnic-racial police discrimination than their White counterparts; nearly 24% of Black youth and 20% of Latina/x/o youth experienced at least one instance of ethnic-racial police discrimination in the last year, compared to only 2.9% of White youth. Differences by gender emerged among Latina/x/o youth. Police discrimination was associated with lower academic engagement and lower academic grades among all youth. ConclusionsFindings demonstrate that the greater prevalence of ethnic-racial police discrimination in the lives of youth of color, relative to their White counterparts, mirroring the experiences of adults. Furthermore, coupled with the significant links with academic adjustment, the current findings demonstrate an additional factor that is likely implicated in the Black and Latina/x/o vs. White academic achievement gap.

Mental Health, Academic Engagement, and Youths’ Nonmedical Use of Stimulants: A Latent Profile Analysis

Background: Nonmedical prescription stimulant (NPS) use is a growing problem in Europe. Poor mental health and lack of academic engagement are potent sources of risk for substance use. Studies suggest that considerable heterogeneity may characterize the risk profiles of NPS users. To understand better the potential profiles of risk that characterize NPS users, we conducted a latent profile analysis (LPA) to document subgroups of users based on their mental health and academic engagement. Methods: A nationally representative, cross sectional survey of Icelandic youth was analyzed. The sample included 584 (5% of the sample) older adolescent students participating in a national study in Iceland who reported lifetime NPS use. Results: Three subgroups of NPS users emerged from our analyses. The largest subgroup (43.1%) we labeled mentally healthy achievers; youth who appear to be academically motivated and have few if any mental health concerns. The second largest group (40.4%), low achievers, resembled a typical profile for drug users in that they reported low or modest academic engagement and moderate levels of mental health concerns. The third group, anxious achievers (16.5%) appears to represent youth who felt academics were very important, had moderate study motivation, and also reported elevated mental health concerns, especially anxiety. Conclusions: LPA revealed considerable heterogeneity among these users. Group membership suggests distinct approaches to prevention to address heterogeneity in motivations for NPS use.

Insomnia is associated with worry, cognitive avoidance and low academic engagement in Argentinian university students during the COVID-19 social isolation

ABSTRACT An increment in mental health problems related to social isolation strategies was evinced in several populations, however few investigations address this problem in students. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between insomnia, worry, coping strategies, and academic engagement in subjects pursuing a university degree in Argentina during the first month of compulsory social isolation against the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-report online questionnaires were administered to 584 participants: Insomnia Severity Index, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Coping Responses Inventory, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students. Demographic data was recorded. Statistics included bivariate and multivariate techniques. Prevalences of 45% for subthreshold insomnia, 23% for moderate insomnia, and 4% for severe insomnia were found. The severe insomnia group presented higher levels of worry and cognitive avoidance strategies. Insomnia was also associated with daytime concerns. The group without insomnia was more vigorous in their academic engagement. Being physically active was associated with lower sleep problems. Insomnia prevalence is high in socially isolated university students. Cognitive avoidance coping strategies are associated with worry, which leads to an alert state that makes sleep difficult. These findings should be taken into account by academic institutions to define their pedagogic strategies.

How does mobile phone dependency impair academic engagement among Chinese left-behind children?

Mobile phone dependency (MPD) and low academic engagement are two common social and psychological problems among left-behind children in rural China. However, the relation between MPD and academic engagement in this population remains unclear, although studies have indicated that technology addiction is associated with increased academic problems. To elucidate the relationship between MPD and academic engagement and its underlying mechanism, this study examined the mediating roles of inattention, academic persistence, and procrastination in the relation between MPD and academic engagement. We recruited 1505 left-behind children to complete self-report questionnaires. A structural equation model was established to examine the multiple mediating effects. The results showed that MPD had three 1-step indirect and negative effects on academic engagement via inattention, academic persistence, and academic procrastination. MPD had three 2-step indirect and negative relationships to academic engagement via inattention to academic persistence, inattention to academic procrastination, and academic persistence to procrastination. MPD also had a 3-step indirect and negative relationship to academic engagement via inattention, academic persistence, and procrastination. These findings suggest that inattention, academic persistence, and academic procrastination mediated the relationship between MPD and academic engagement in left-behind children in rural China and further indicate that MPD can elicit a constellation of academic problems, which, in turn, result in low academic engagement.

الدالة التمييزية بين مرتفعي ومنخفضي الاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت اعتمادًا على أبعاد الهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا (COVID-19) کمتغيرات منبئة لدى طلاب الجامعة في ضوء بعض المتغيرات الديموجرافية

المستخلــص هدف البحث إلى التعرف على الدالة التمييزية بين مرتفعي ومنخفضي الاندماج الأکاديمي للطلاب عبر الانترنت في ضوء أبعاد الهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا، ولتحقيق هذا الهدف أعد الباحث مقياس الهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا ومقياس الاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت، وبعد تطبيق الأداتين على عينة تقنين قوامها 200 طالب وطالبة من طلاب التخصصات العلمية والأدبية بکلية التربية، والتحقق من توافر شروطها السيکومترية، تم تطبيقهما على عينة أساسية قوامها 694 طالبا وطالبة بالتخصصات العلمية والأدبية. ومن النتائج التي توصل إليها البحث: (1) وجود مستوى متوسط من الهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا لدى عينة البحث (2) وجود مستوى متوسط من الاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت، ومستوى منخفض لبعديه:الاندماج الانفعالي، والاندماج المعرفي عبر الانترنت لدى عينة البحث (3) وجود فرق دال إحصائيا بين مرتفعي ومنخفضي الهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا في مستوى الاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت لصالح منخفضي الهزيمة النفسية (4) وجود ارتباط سالب دال إحصائيا بين الهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا والاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت (5) أمکن التنبؤ بالاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت من خلال بعد ضعف الإرادة جراء جائحة کورونا(6) وجود فرق دال إحصائيا بين الطلاب الحاصلين على شهادة الـ ICDL وغير الحاصلين عليها في الاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت لصالح الطلاب الحاصلين عليها (7) عدم وجود تأثير دال إحصائيا للنوع في الهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا والاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت (8) وجود تأثير دال إحصائيا للتخصص في الهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا والاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت (9) وجود تأثير دال إحصائيا لمحل السکن في الهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا وعدم وجود تأثير دال إحصائيا له في الاندماج الأکاديمي (10) وجود دالة تمييزية بين مرتفعي ومنخفضي الاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت هي دالة ضعف الإرادة جراء جائحة کورونا (11) تمايز البنية العاملية للهزيمة النفسية جراء جائحة کورونا والاندماج الأکاديمي عبر الانترنت، وفي ضوء هذه النتائج قدم الباحث مجموعة من التوصيات. The current research aimed to identify the discriminant function between high and low online academic engagement in light of the dimensions of Corona pandemic defeatism (COVID-19), To this aim a researcher made scale for Corona pandemic defeatism and scale of online academic engagement, After administering the two instruments to a sample of (200) students chosen from the scientific and literary majors at the College of Education, and verifying their psychometric conditions, they were applied to a basic sample of 694 students from the same population of the study. The findings revealed that: (1) The research sample has a medium level of Corona pandemic defeatism (COVID-19) (2) The research sample has a medium level of online academic engagement, and a low level of dimensions: emotional and cognitive online engagement (3) There is a statistically significant difference between high and low Corona pandemic defeatism in the level of online academic engagement in favor of low Corona pandemic defeatism (4) There is a statistically significant negative correlation between Corona pandemic defeatism and online academic engagement (5) Online academic engagement can be predicted through the dimension: volition weakness due to the Corona pandemic (6) There is a statistically significant difference between students who obtained ICDL certificate and who did not obtained it in the level of online academic engagement in favor of who obtained it (7) There is no statistically significant effect of gender on: Corona pandemic defeatism, online academic engagement (8) There is statistically significant effect of specialization on: Corona pandemic defeatism, online academic engagement (9) There is statistically significant effect of housing on: Corona pandemic defeatism and no statistically significant effect of it on online academic engagement (10) There is discriminant function between high and low online academic engagement is: volition weakness due to the Corona pandemic (11) differentiation of the dimensional structure of Corona pandemic defeatism and online academic engagement, In light of these findings, the researcher presented a set of recommendations.

Creating a Successful Transition for Working-Class First-Year Students

This study explored differences between working-class and middle/upper-class first-year college students enrolled at large, public research universities. Results from administering the Student Experience in the Research University survey at 11 universities in 2010 (n = 23,331) suggest that working-class first-year students reported a less welcoming campus climate, lower academic engagement, higher academic disengagement, and fewer academic interactions with classmates compared with middle/upper-class students. Recommendations for first-year transition programs and new student orientation practitioners are discussed.

Behavior Support Strategies in Singapore Preschools: Practices and Outcomes

This study evaluated teachers’ use of universal Program-Wide Positive Behavior Support (PW-PBS) practices at a class-wide level, the rate of disruptive behavior, and the level of academic engagement in Singapore preschool general education classrooms. Evaluation was carried out in 32 classrooms using mainly direct observational methods. Findings indicated that while the majority of the teachers taught rules and expectations to children several times throughout the year, used effective error corrections, and allocated more than 70% of class time to academic instructions, none of them had a system for documenting and rewarding appropriate child behavior, or a documented system to address specific behavioral violations. Very few teachers used a continuum of consequences to manage rule violations, and the use of general and behavior-specific praise was low. Furthermore, rates of disruptive behavior were relatively high, which were associated with high rates of reprimands, and one third of the classrooms had low academic engagement levels. Methods of enhancing teacher training in universal practices are discussed.

The Consequences of Friend-Related Stress Across Early Adolescence.

The current study investigated early adolescents' experiences of friend-related stress across middle school and its developmental consequences following the transition to high school. Using a sample of approximately 1,000 middle school students, four unique friend-related stress trajectories were observed across middle school: consistently low friend-related stress (57% of the sample), consistently high friend-related stress (7%), moderate and increasing friend-related stress (22%), and moderate but decreasing friend-related stress (14%). Groups characterized by higher levels of friend-related stress across middle school were linked to subsequent poorer socioemotional well-being, lower academic engagement, and greater involvement in and expectancies around risky behaviors following the transition to high school. Increased friend-related stress across the high school transition was also linked to poorer outcomes, even after taking into account earlier stress trajectories. Gender differences highlighted the particular struggles girls experience both in friend stress and in the links between friend stress and subsequent well-being.

Executive function, dispositional resilience, and cognitive engagement in Latinx children of migrant farmworkers

Children from Latinx migrant farmworker (LMFW) families are one of the most educationally disenfranchised and marginalized student populations in the United States. They experience significant contextual risks and stressors which are linked to poor adjustment as well as lower academic engagement and success. Given that LMFW children are understudied, especially likely to experience substantial adversity, and are a vulnerable student population, it is imperative for researchers to examine factors that contribute to their well-being and school success. In the present study, we assessed whether behavioral tasks of executive function contributed to resilience and academic mastery/efficacy in LMFW children (N = 66, mean age = 12.79, 55% male). Results found associations between executive function tasks and dispositional resilience; however, executive function was not directly associated with academic mastery/efficacy. Dispositional resilience was significantly positively associated with academic mastery/efficacy. These findings suggest that it may be critically important for organizations working with LMFW children to foster and boost children's executive function skills. Additional research mitigating adversity and promoting the academic success and engagement of LMFW children is needed.

BURNOUT AND ENGAGEMENT IN FOURTH-YEAR SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS: WHY WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED

This article focuses on levels of burnout as well as engagement experienced by fourth-year undergraduate social work students attending a South African university. By means of quantitative procedures, data were obtained from 43 final-year social work students who completed a self-administered questionnaire. Respondents presented with above-average levels of exhaustion, professional efficacy, vigour, dedication and absorption, and below average levels of cynicism. Non-parametric procedures revealed significant differences in the levels of burnout related to population group, place of origin and household income status. Recommendations focus on monitoring the wellbeing of students and mobilising support for students who appear more vulnerable to burnout and low academic engagement.

BURNOUT AND ENGAGEMENT IN FOURTH-YEAR SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS: WHY WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED

This article focuses on levels of burnout as well as engagement experienced by fourth-year undergraduate social work students attending a South African university. By means of quantitative procedures, data were obtained from 43 final-year social work students who completed a self-administered questionnaire. Respondents presented with above-average levels of exhaustion, professional efficacy, vigour, dedication and absorption, and below average levels of cynicism. Non-parametric procedures revealed significant differences in the levels of burnout related to population group, place of origin and household income status. Recommendations focus on monitoring the wellbeing of students and mobilising support for students who appear more vulnerable to burnout and low academic engagement.