The Extent and Effect of School Burnout on Adolescents

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this study is to compare the extent and effect of school burnout on adolescents in high and low-income schools. Methods/Materials The study was conducted utilizing multiple measures. Following the receival of a signed parental and participant consent form, students were screened for symptoms of school burnout. Once selected, parents and participants received a copy of the interview questions that were synthesized by the researcher, Ms. Jessica G. Bushman. Participants were interviewed in a 30-60 minute span of time, either by telephone or at a mutually agreeable time and neutral location. Upon completion of the interview, the participants later had an opportunity to participate in member checking of the interview transcript. In addition, Fifteen Title 1 schools, designated by the California Department of Education, were contacted. No schools responded allowing their students to participate. Past and present teachers, faculty, and staff at low-income schools were then contacted by email, online surveys, and in person. The data was then coded for anonymity and sorted into groups to reflect the most prominent findings and correlations. Results Students from low-income schools would not directly participate. Causes, symptoms, and student coping mechanisms, differed between high and low-income schools. Suggested interventions in high-income schools are based on improving the structure and organization, while suggested interventions in low-income schools are based on establishing structure and organization. Conclusions/Discussion Results help fill the gap in knowledge about the lack of research about school burnout in low-income schools. Moreover, the interventions may aid schools in intervening or preventing school burnout. Further research needs to be done on the subject looking at absenteeism, sickness-related absences, non-academic burnout at low-income schools, etc.

Competition history

CSEF 2018 Behavioral & Social Sciences · Entry S0405

Resources

CSEF project summary

Related projects

CSEF · 2017