Development of School Engagement and Burnout across Lower and Upper Secondary Education : Trajectory Profiles and Educational Outcomes

Inter- and intraindividual differences in Finnish adolescents’ developmental trajectories of school engagement and burnout (exhaustion, inadequacy, and cynicism) and their associations with students’ concurrent progression in mathematics performance and educational aspirations were investigated in an accelerated longitudinal study design spanning ages 13–17 (N = 1131, 50.9% girls). Growth mixture modeling analyses identified four distinct trajectory profiles: Positive academic well-being (high and stable engagement, low and stable burnout), Negative academic well-being (low U-shaped engagement, increased burnout), Disengaged (low U-shaped engagement, but also low and stable burnout), and Declining academic well-being (declining but U-shaped engagement, increasing burnout). Most students experienced a positive change in their trajectories after entering upper secondary education. Furthermore, students in the Positive academic well-being group performed better and progressed faster in mathematics and reported higher educational aspirations. Students in the Declining academic well-being group started out with high performance and aspirations, but they progressed at a slower rate in mathematics and lowered their aspirations over time. The Disengaged students’ performance progressed at the slowest rate of all groups, and they had one of the lowest educational aspirations overall. Lastly, students in the Negative academic well-being group performed the lowest in mathematics, and had one of the lowest aspirations for future educational degrees.Peer reviewe

Reciprocal effects of mathematics performance, school engagement and burnout during adolescence

Background. Transitioning into adolescence while simultaneously facing greater academic demands as the level of education increases often entails both academic challenges and general declines in students' school-related well-being. Still, however, relatively little is known about the causal relationship between students’ academic well-being (i.e., school engagement and burnout) and their performance during the adolescent years. Aims. This study examined longitudinal relations between adolescents’ mathematics performance, school engagement, and burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy) across lower secondary education. Sample. Data came from a longitudinal research project, following Finnish lower secondary school (grades 7–9) students (N = 1131) over 4 years (2016–2019). Methods. Students completed standardized mathematics tests and self-report measures of school engagement and burnout at four time points, twice within both 7th and 9th grade. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) was used to examine pathways between engagement, burnout, and mathematics performance over time. Results. Higher mathematics performance increased students’ engagement, and lowered their exhaustion and cynicism over time, whereas both engagement and exhaustion predicted higher performance. Negative relations were also found from inadequacy and cynicism on students’ mathematics performance. Furthermore, school burnout predicted engagement both positively (from exhaustion) and negatively (from cynicism and inadequacy) within and between the school years, whereas engagement only predicted cynicism and inadequacy negatively within 7th grade. Conclusions. Findings suggest that the overall relation between students’ mathematics performance, engagement, and burnout is rather reciprocal, but also, that the relations become more prominent over time, demonstrating the importance of supporting both learning and well-being in school.Background. Transitioning into adolescence while simultaneously facing greater academic demands as the level of education increases often entails both academic challenges and general declines in students' school-related well-being. Still, however, relatively little is known about the causal relationship between students’ academic well-being (i.e., school engagement and burnout) and their performance during the adolescent years. Aims. This study examined longitudinal relations between adolescents’ mathematics performance, school engagement, and burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy) across lower secondary education. Sample. Data came from a longitudinal research project, following Finnish lower secondary school (grades 7–9) students (N = 1131) over 4 years (2016–2019). Methods. Students completed standardized mathematics tests and self-report measures of school engagement and burnout at four time points, twice within both 7th and 9th grade. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) was used to examine pathways between engagement, burnout, and mathematics performance over time. Results. Higher mathematics performance increased students’ engagement, and lowered their exhaustion and cynicism over time, whereas both engagement and exhaustion predicted higher performance. Negative relations were also found from inadequacy and cynicism on students’ mathematics performance. Furthermore, school burnout predicted engagement both positively (from exhaustion) and negatively (from cynicism and inadequacy) within and between the school years, whereas engagement only predicted cynicism and inadequacy negatively within 7th grade. Conclusions. Findings suggest that the overall relation between students’ mathematics performance, engagement, and burnout is rather reciprocal, but also, that the relations become more prominent over time, demonstrating the importance of supporting both learning and well-being in school.Peer reviewe

Academic Well-Being, Mathematics Performance, and Educational Aspirations in Lower Secondary Education : Changes Within a School Year

It has been suggested that both performance and academic well-being play a role in adolescent students' educational attainment and school dropout. In this study, we therefore examined, first, what kinds of academic well-being (i.e., school burnout, schoolwork engagement, and mathematics self-concept) and mathematics performance profiles can be identified among lower secondary school students (N-grade (7) = 583, N-grade 9 = 497); second, how stable these profiles are across one school year during the seventh and ninth grades; and, third, how students with different academic well-being and mathematics performance profiles differ with respect to their educational aspirations. By means of latent profile analyses, three groups of students in seventh grade: thriving (34%), average (51%), and negative academic well-being (15%) and four groups of students in ninth grade: thriving (25%), average (50%), negative academic well-being (18%), and low-performing (7%) with distinct well-being and mathematics performance profiles were identified. Configural frequency analyses revealed that the profiles were relatively stable across one school year; 60% of the students displayed identical profiles over time. The thriving students reported the highest educational aspirations compared to the other groups. In addition, the low-performing students in the ninth grade had the lowest educational aspirations just before the transition to upper secondary school. Practical implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.Peer reviewe

Gendered pathways from academic performance, motivational beliefs, and school burnout to adolescents’ educational and occupational aspirations

This study examined Finnish 9th-graders’ (N = 966) pathways to educational and occupational aspirations considering two academic domains: mathematics and reading. Multi-group structural equation models were conducted to investigate how domain-specific performance and motivational beliefs (self-concept and interest), and more general school burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy) relate to boys' and girls' aspirations. Performance in both domains was related to girls' educational aspirations, but only mathematics was linked to boys' aspirations. Positive within-domain relations from girls' motivational beliefs were also found, but their reading self-concept was negatively linked to their math-related occupational aspirations. For boys, only math-related motivational beliefs were associated with their aspirations. Lastly, school burnout was both directly and indirectly linked to students' aspirations. Overall, the study demonstrated the importance of including several factors when investigating students’ aspired educational degrees and occupational plans and, also, the added value of examining educational and occupational aspirations across academic domains.Peer reviewe

Gendered pathways from academic performance, motivational beliefs, and school burnout to adolescents’ educational and occupational aspirations

This study examined Finnish 9th-graders’ (N = 966) pathways to educational and occupational aspirations considering two academic domains: mathematics and reading. Multi-group structural equation models were conducted to investigate how domain-specific performance and motivational beliefs (self-concept and interest), and more general school burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy) relate to boys' and girls' aspirations. Performance in both domains was related to girls' educational aspirations, but only mathematics was linked to boys' aspirations. Positive within-domain relations from girls' motivational beliefs were also found, but their reading self-concept was negatively linked to their math-related occupational aspirations. For boys, only math-related motivational beliefs were associated with their aspirations. Lastly, school burnout was both directly and indirectly linked to students' aspirations. Overall, the study demonstrated the importance of including several factors when investigating students’ aspired educational degrees and occupational plans and, also, the added value of examining educational and occupational aspirations across academic domains.</p

Development of school engagement and burnout across lower and upper secondary education: Trajectory profiles and educational outcomes

Inter- and intraindividual differences in Finnish adolescents’ developmental trajectories of school engagement and burnout (exhaustion, inadequacy, and cynicism) and their associations with students’ concurrent progression in mathematics performance and educational aspirations were investigated in an accelerated longitudinal study design spanning ages 13–17 (N = 1131, 50.9% girls). Growth mixture modeling analyses identified four distinct trajectory profiles: Positive academic well-being (high and stable engagement, low and stable burnout), Negative academic well-being (low U-shaped engagement, increased burnout), Disengaged (low U-shaped engagement, but also low and stable burnout), and Declining academic well-being (declining but U-shaped engagement, increasing burnout). Most students experienced a positive change in their trajectories after entering upper secondary education. Furthermore, students in the Positive academic well-being group performed better and progressed faster in mathematics and reported higher educational aspirations. Students in the Declining academic well-being group started out with high performance and aspirations, but they progressed at a slower rate in mathematics and lowered their aspirations over time. The Disengaged students’ performance progressed at the slowest rate of all groups, and they had one of the lowest educational aspirations overall. Lastly, students in the Negative academic well-being group performed the lowest in mathematics, and had one of the lowest aspirations for future educational degrees.</p

Using reporters of different misfolded proteins reveals differential strategies in processing protein aggregates

The accumulation of misfolded proteins is a hallmark of aging and many neurodegenerative diseases, making it important to understand how the cellular machinery recognizes and processes such proteins. A key question in this respect is whether misfolded proteins are handled in a similar way regard less of their genetic origin. To approach this question, we compared how three different misfolded proteins, guk1-7,gus1-3, and pro3-1, are handled by the cell. We show that all three are nontoxic, even though highly overexpressed, high-lighting their usefulness in analyzing the cellular response to misfolding in the absence of severe stress. We found significant differences between the aggregation and disaggregation behavior of the misfolded proteins. Specifically, gus1-3 formed some aggregates that did not efficiently recruit the proteindisaggregase Hsp104 and did not colocalize with the other misfolded reporter proteins. Strikingly, while all three misfolded proteins generally coaggregated and colocalized to specific sites in the cell, disaggregation was notably different; the rate of aggregate clearance of pro3-1 was faster than that of the other misfolded proteins, and its clearance rate was nothindered when pro3-1 colocalized with a slowly resolved mis-folded protein. Finally, we observed using super-resolutionlight microscopy as well as immunogold labeling EM in which both showed an even distribution of the different mis-folded proteins within an inclusion, suggesting that misfolding characteristics and remodeling, rather than spatial compart-mentalization, allows for differential clearance of these mis-folding reporters residing in the same inclusion. Taken together, our results highlight how properties of misfolded proteins can significantly affect processing

Using reporters of different misfolded proteins reveals differential strategies in processing protein aggregates

The accumulation of misfolded proteins is a hallmark of aging and many neurodegenerative diseases, making it important to understand how the cellular machinery recognizes and processes such proteins. A key question in this respect is whether misfolded proteins are handled in a similar way regardless of their genetic origin. To approach this question, we compared how three different misfolded proteins, guk1-7, gus1-3, and pro3-1, are handled by the cell. We show that all three are nontoxic, even though highly overexpressed, highlighting their usefulness in analyzing the cellular response to misfolding in the absence of severe stress. We found significant differences between the aggregation and disaggregation behavior of the misfolded proteins. Specifically, gus1-3 formed some aggregates that did not efficiently recruit the protein disaggregase Hsp104 and did not colocalize with the other misfolded reporter proteins. Strikingly, while all three misfolded proteins generally coaggregated and colocalized to specific sites in the cell, disaggregation was notably different; the rate of aggregate clearance of pro3-1 was faster than that of the other misfolded proteins, and its clearance rate was not hindered when pro3-1 colocalized with a slowly resolved misfolded protein. Finally, we observed using super-resolution light microscopy as well as immunogold labeling EM in which both showed an even distribution of the different misfolded proteins within an inclusion, suggesting that misfolding characteristics and remodeling, rather than spatial compartmentalization, allows for differential clearance of these misfolding reporters residing in the same inclusion. Taken together, our results highlight how properties of misfolded proteins can significantly affect processing

Asymmetric Inheritance of Aggregated Proteins and Age Reset in Yeast Are Regulated by Vac17-Dependent Vacuolar Functions

SummaryAge can be reset during mitosis in both yeast and stem cells to generate a young daughter cell from an aged and deteriorated one. This phenomenon requires asymmetry-generating genes (AGGs) that govern the asymmetrical inheritance of aggregated proteins. Using a genome-wide imaging screen to identify AGGs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we discovered a previously unknown role for endocytosis, vacuole fusion, and the myosin-dependent adaptor protein Vac17 in asymmetrical inheritance of misfolded proteins. Overproduction of Vac17 increases deposition of aggregates into cytoprotective vacuole-associated sites, counteracts age-related breakdown of endocytosis and vacuole integrity, and extends replicative lifespan. The link between damage asymmetry and vesicle trafficking can be explained by a direct interaction between aggregates and vesicles. We also show that the protein disaggregase Hsp104 interacts physically with endocytic vesicle-associated proteins, such as the dynamin-like protein, Vps1, which was also shown to be required for Vac17-dependent sequestration of protein aggregates. These data demonstrate that two physiognomies of aging—reduced endocytosis and protein aggregation—are interconnected and regulated by Vac17

Development of Academic Well-Being during Secondary Education : Relations to Performance, Motivational Beliefs, and Aspirations

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the developmental dynamics between academic well-being (school engagement and burnout), academic performance (mathematics and reading tests), and motivational beliefs (domain-specific self-concept and interest) and how these shape adolescent students’ educational and occupational aspirations. The aim was addressed in three empirical studies. Study I (N7th Grade = 583, N9th Grade = 497) focused on the relations between academic well-being, mathematics self concept, and performance among 7th and 9th graders. Study I applied a person-centered approach (latent profile analysis) and investigated the short-term development and stability of academic well-being and performance profiles during one school year (configural frequency analysis), and how students in different profiles differed in their educational aspirations. Study II (N9th Grade = 966) conducted a variable centered approach to investigate overall cross-domain pathways from mathematics and reading performance, motivational beliefs, and school burnout to boys’ and girls’ educational and occupational aspirations (structural equation modeling). Lastly, the third study (Study III, N = 1131) utilized a mixture modeling technique (latent growth modeling and latent profile analyses) and focused on individual differences in students’ long-term developmental trajectories of academic well-being from 7th grade to upper secondary education, and how different developmental profiles of academic well-being were related to students’ concurrent mathematics performance and educational aspirations. Overall, Study I and III revealed four distinct configurations of academic well-being, performance, motivational beliefs, and educational aspirations among the sample. Approximately one third of adolescent students seemed to be highly engaged and valued their studies, did not show signs of school burnout, and they also performed well in school, were confident in their abilities, and held high educational aspirations. They were also likely to continue to thrive in school over time and seemed to be able to handle possible challenges and changes in the educational context as they transitioned through lower- and upper secondary school. However, some students also belonged to a rather opposite profile of academic and emotional functioning in school. Approximately 15% in Study I and 30% in Study III of students were rather disengaged and felt exhausted and inadequate in school, performed low in mathematics, did not believe in their competence, nor did they aspire for high educational degrees. These students continued to show maladaptive patterns of academic well-being throughout the lower-secondary school years and were unlikely to change these patterns. Furthermore, in line with previous person-centered studies, some students showed asynchronous patterns of academic well-being and performance, and these students also seemed to experience slightly more changes in their well-being trajectories over time. In Study I, a group of students was identified, being moderately engaged in their studies but who also showed increased feelings of school burnout. These students performed rather well in school and aspired to relatively high educational degrees. In Study III, a similar but smaller group of students was identified, but whose initially positive academic well-being significantly decreased throughout the lower-secondary school years. The fourth profile identified in the present work was students who showed low/average levels of school engagement but also, no signs of school burnout, despite performing rather poorly in mathematics and expressing low mathematics self-concept. This student profile was relatively stable throughout the adolescent years. Lastly, Study II revealed that performance, motivational beliefs, and school burnout were all related to the educational degrees and occupational choices students aspired to. Nevertheless, girls´ aspirations seemed to be steered by several different factors across academic domains, whereas math-related performance and motivation seemed to be more important for boys. The results also indicated that girls’ math-related occupational aspirations may be negatively affected by their reading self-concept, whereas no negative cross-domain effects between mathematics and reading-related variables were detected among boys. For both genders, higher levels of educational aspirations were related to higher levels of school-related exhaustion, whereas feelings of cynicism and inadequacy in school were related to lower levels of aspirations, demonstrating that resources are needed to, not only support students’ performance but their motivation and well-being as well, to help them to set up desirable goals for themselves. To conclude, one of the most important implications of this work is the realization that students’ show various patterns and trajectories of academic well-being during the adolescent years, and that these are related in meaningful ways to students’ performance and motivational beliefs, and seem to have some impact on their aspired educational degrees and occupational choices for their future as well. Recognizing that both academic performance, motivational beliefs, and aspirations for future education and occupation are related to how students feel, view, and experience school and schoolwork is important to better be able to identify students with varying needs, and effectively consider alternative ways of confronting them. ---------- Syftet med denna avhandling var att undersöka utvecklingsdynamiken mellan akademiskt välbefinnande (skolengagemang och skolrelaterad utmattning), skolprestationer (matematik- och lästest), och motivation (ämnesspecifik självuppfattning och intresse), samt hur dessa formar elevers utbildnings- och yrkesrelaterade målsättningar. Syftet besvaras genom tre empiriska studier. Studie I (NÅk 7 = 583, NÅk 9 = 497) fokuserade på relationen mellan akademiskt välbefinnande, matematisk självuppfattning och skolprestationer band elever i årskurserna 7 och 9. Studien antog en person-fokuserad approach (latent profilanalys) och utredde hur stabila elevers välbefinnande- och prestationsprofiler var under ett läsår (konfigurell frekvensanalys), och hur elever inom olika profiler skiljde sig i de mål de satt upp gällande sin framtida utbildningsnivå. Studie II (NÅk 9 = 966) antog en variabel-fokuserad approach för att undersöka hur skolrelaterad utmattning, skolprestationer och motivation i både matematik och läsning generellt påverkar flickors och pojkars utbildnings- och yrkesrelaterade målsättningar (strukturekvationsmodell). Slutligen, i den tredje studien (Studie III, N = 1131) användes både latent tillväxt- och profilanalys (s.k. growth mixture modell) för att undersöka individuella skillnader i hur elevernas akademiska välbefinnande utvecklades från årskurs 7 till andra stadiets utbildning, samt hur olika utvecklingsprofiler var relaterade till elevers skolprestationer och utbildningsmålsättningar. Resultaten från Studie I och III avslöjade fyra olika konfigurationer av akademiskt välbefinnande, skolprestationer, motivation och utbildningsmålsättningar bland eleverna. Ungefär en tredjedel av ungdomarna var relativt högt engagerade, värderade studierna, visade inga tecken på skolrelaterad utmattning och de presterade bra i skolan, trodde på sina förmågor, och hade höga utbildningsmålsättningar. Det var sannolikt att elever med en sådan positiv profil fortsatte att trivas i skolan under ungdomstiden, och de tycktes klara av eventuella utmaningar och förändringar som förekom i skolkontexten i samband med övergången till andra stadiets utbildning väl. Däremot identifierades även en elevprofil som uppvisade ett ganska motsatt mönster av akademiskt- och emotionell utveckling. Ungefär 15% av eleverna i Studie I och 30% av eleverna i Studie III var relativt oengagerade och kände sig utmattade och otillräckliga i skolan, de hade relativt låga matematikprestationer, en relativt låg självuppfattning och de strävade inte efter en högre utbildning. Dessa elever fortsatte att tillhöra denna negativa profil under årskurserna 7–9, och det var osannolikt att det skedde någon förändring i detta mönster. Vidare, i linje med tidigare person-fokuserade studier, uppvisade några elever även icke-linjära mönster i deras välbefinnande och skolprestationer, och dessa elever tycktes även uppvisa något större förändringar i deras utveckling av akademiskt välbefinnande över tid. I Studie I identifierades en grupp elever med medelhöga nivåer av skolengagemang, men som också uppvisade något förhöjda nivåer av skolrelaterad utmattning. Trots detta presterade dessa elever väldig bra i skolan och strävade efter högre utbildningsnivå. Inom Studie III hittades en liknande, men något mindre grupp elever som inledningsvis uppvisade ett väldigt positivt akademiskt välbefinnande, men vars välbefinnande försämras signifikant under årskurserna 7–9. Den fjärde elevprofilen som kunde identifieras i studierna var elever som uppvisade låga/medelhöga nivåer av skolengagemang, låga skolprestationer, låg självuppfattning och lägre utbildningsmålsättningar, men som trots det inte var utmattade i skolan. Denna elevprofil var relativt stabil under ungdomsåren. Slutligen visade Studie II att skolprestationer, motivation och skolrelaterad utmattning alla är relaterade till elevers utbildnings- och yrkesmålsättningar. Trots det verkade flickornas målsättningar vara styrda av många olika faktorer från både matematik- och läsrelaterade ämnen, medan pojkarnas målsättningar främst formades av deras prestationer och motivation (självuppfattning och intresse) i matematik. Resultaten visade även att flickors matematikrelaterade yrkesmålsättningar eventuellt påverkas negativt av deras självuppfattning i läsning, medan inga negativa associationer mellan skolämnen kunde identifieras bland pojkar. Vidare konstaterades att höga utbildningsmålsättningar var relaterade till högre känslor av utmattning i relation till skolan, medan känslor av otillräcklighet och cyniska inställningar till skolan påverkade elevers målsättningar för framtida utbildning och yrke negativt. Dessa resultat tyder på att det inte är ändamålsenligt att endast stödja elevers prestationer i skolan, men att också fokusera resurser till att stödja elevers välmående och motivation för att hjälpa dem att sätta upp önskvärda mål för dem själva. Sammanfattningsvis kan man konstatera att en av de främsta implikationerna av denna avhandling är insikten i att elever uppvisar varierande mönster och utveckling av akademiskt välbefinnande under ungdomstiden, och att dessa är relaterade till deras skolprestationer och motivation på ett betydande sätt, och att de tycks ha en inverkan på de utbildnings- och yrkesrelaterade mål de strävar efter. Det är viktigt att inse att både skolprestationer, motivation och målsättningar är relaterade till hur elever upplever, känner sig och ser på skola och utbildning för att kunna identifiera elever med varierande behov, och för att effektivt kunna överväga alternativa sätt att möta dessa