The Effect of Students’ Perception of Teachers’ Emotional Support on School Burnout Dimensions: Longitudinal Findings

Abstract

School burnout is linked to relevant adverse consequences for students’ academic careers. Thus, several authors have focused on the internal and external factors that reduce burnout, highlighting the role of teachers’ support. Nonetheless, few studies addressed how students’ perception of teachers’ emotional support protects them from school maladaptive behaviors. The present study aimed to longitudinally investigate in a final sample of 295 Italian high school students (F = 78.6%; M = 15.78, SD = 1.48) the protective role of students’ perception of teachers’ emotional support dimensions on school burnout across a school year. We expected that teachers’ emotional support dimensions had a significant inverse effect on students’ burnout. We preliminarily investigated the study variables’ associations and whether the mean levels of burnout dimensions increased throughout the school year. Correlation analysis supported the associations among the study variables, and repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyses highlighted that the mean levels of school burnout dimensions increased over time. Moreover, hierarchical multiple regression analyses have shown that at the beginning of the school year (T1), the teacher sensitivity dimension significantly and inversely affected emotional exhaustion by the end of the school year (T2). Our findings shed light on the role played by teacher emotional support and give suggestions on which specific facet should have to be improved to shield students from later burnout-related exhaustion.

Between Academic Resilience and Burnout: The Moderating Role of Satisfaction on School Context Relationships

“…Moreover, our findings highlighted that the more students are satisfied on the relations established with teachers, the less they feel burnt out. These results, echoing previous studies [41,43], underlined that students who perceive their learning environment as fulfilling and supportive are less inclined to experience their school path as unfavorable and hostile. Students who have a good relationship with their teachers are also more likely to communicate their difficulties and concerns about school (e.g., [39,42,43]).…”

“…For instance, several authors have posited that students who rate classroom relationships (e.g., their teachers and peers) as positive and fulfilling might experience a sense of involvement. Consequently, a good classroom climate improves their academic achievements, engagement levels, and chances to carry on their studies [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. By contrast, students who experience low or a lack of satisfactory relations with teachers and peers during their academic path are more likely to develop psychological and behavioral problems, both inside and outside of the school context [ 44 , 45 ].…”

Academic Resilience and Engagement in High School Students: The Mediating Role of Perceived Teacher Emotional Support

“…Adolescents spend most of their daily time in the classroom, have to face new and complex school tasks, and deal with different kinds of pressure and expectations [36]. In light of the emotional burden related to overwhelming school demands and the abovementioned evidence, it is not surprising that they are significantly influenced by the emotional support received from significant adults in the school environment [14,37,38].…”

“…Finally, regard for adolescent perspective concerns the degree to which a teacher encourages students’ autonomy, interaction with peers, and whether she/he is attentive to their social needs [ 14 , 41 ]. Students in classrooms with emotionally supportive teachers tend to report high performance and school adjustment [ 36 , 42 , 43 ]. Further studies also highlighted that students who perceived their teachers as emotionally supportive are better motivated and engaged in their studies than their counterparts (e.g., [ 44 ]).…”

Adolescents’ School Burnout: A Comparative Study between Italy and Switzerland

“…School burnout increases among Finnish students during the transition from comprehensive school to senior high school, especially cynicism and inadequacy [14]. Very high levels of inadequacy have been recorded in a Swiss study carried out with 380 adolescents (aged [14][15][16][17][18][19] at the beginning of post-compulsory schooling [5]. Similarly, more senior students were found to be more at risk of burnout in a recent Italian context study than younger ones [13].…”