Why it is important to engage students in school activities? Examining the mediation effect of student school engagement on the relationships between student alienation and school burnout

Student engagement and burnout have become the latest focus of attention among researchers and practitioners. This is because both are seen as the main factors connected with the meaningful and purposeful educational activities that lead to high learning outcomes and better physical and mental health. Specifically, burnout decreases, and engagements heightened these characteristics. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationships between alienation, engagement and burnout in an educational context. Additionally, the mediation role of school engagement on the association between alienation and burnout was tested. The study was conducted among 109 early adolescents, aged 13–15 years (NFemale=52). ESSBS (Elementary Student School Burnout Scale), PAI (Alienation Inventory – Short Form) and SSEM (Student School Engagement Scale) were used to measure the levels of burnout, alienation and engagement, respectively. The results indicated that higher alienation was associated with lower engagement and with higher school burnout. Student engagement, productivity and belonging significantly mediated the links between alienation total score, normlessness, powerlessness and school burnout. The path analysis revealed that normlessness significantly predicted student engagement (-.44) and school burnout (-.20). The model explained 31% of the variances for school engagement, and 46% of the variances for school burnout. In conclusion, alienated students – especially those suffering from normlessness – feel disconnected and overwhelmed by school duties. In addition, to diminish the risk of alienation and burnout in a school context of students, educational practitioners should include school engagement (especially belonging and productivity) improvement as one of the most significant protective factors.