University students’ interest and burnout profiles and their relation to approaches to learning and achievement

Abstract

School burnout has been studied extensively in schools but its relation to learning and studying processes at the university level is still an under-researched topic. The purpose of this study is to explore burnout and study interest profiles among university students and how these profiles differ according to approaches to learning, academic achievement and gender. The data were gathered from 538 first-year life science students. Five profiles combining students' interest and relevance and school burnout components were found. The results showed that students representing the Exhausted and inefficacious and Burned-out not interested profiles scored higher on surface approaches to learning than students who experienced less burnout. In addition, burnout profiles differed according to the credits earned and study success. There were also differences in the gender distribution of the profiles, as women were overrepresented in the burnout and exhausted profile.