THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIA AND STUDENT BURNOUT
Review Article
Keywords:
COVID-19, students, university, burnout syndrome
Abstract
This paper analyzes the possibility of increased cases of student burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student burnout is described as a combination of feelings of emotional and physical exhaustion due to studies, decreased interest in academic work, and lower efficacy in completing academic tasks. In order to illustrate this, we use Stevan Hobfoll’s theory of conservation of resources, which suggests that people develop burnout syndrome by gradually losing resources that are important to them (objects, personal characteristics, energy, and conditions). It is assumed that there was a significant lack of these resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating a high probability of student burnout. Finally, preventive measures against the development of student burnout are suggested, focusing mainly on creating spirals of resource gain in opposition to resource strain. If certain measures of resource compensation are not met in the near future, a higher rate of student burnout can be expected and, consequently, lower degrees of motivation and student satisfaction as well as higher dropout rates.
References
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Yang, H.J. (2004). Factors affecting student burnout and academic achievement in multiple enrollment programs in Taiwan’s technical-vocational colleges. Inter- national Journal of Educational Development, 24, 283-301.
Bao, W. (2020). COVID-19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking University. Human Behavior & Emerging Technologies, 2, 113–115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.191
Cao, W., Fang, Z., Hou, G., Han, M., Xu, X., Dong, J., & Zheng, J. (2020). The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry Research, 287, 112934. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934
Čarapina, I., Ševo, J. (2017). Odnos socijalne podrške i sagorijevanja studenata. Školski vjesnik, 66 (1), 9-25. Preuzeto Jula 2020. sa https://hrcak.srce.hr/186825
Elmer, T., Mepham, K., & Stadtfeld, C. (2020). Students under lockdown: Comparisons of students’ social networks and mental health before and during the CO- VID-19 crisis in Switzerland. PLoS ONE,15 (7): e0236337. DOI: https://doi. org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0236337
Hobfoll, S.E. (1989). Conservation of Resources: A New Attempt at Conceptualizing Stress. American Psychologist, 44 (3), 513-524.
Hobfoll, S.E. (2001). The Influence of Culture, Community, and the Nested-Self in the Stress Process: Advancing Conservation of Resources Theory. Applied psychology: An international review, 50(3), 337-421.
Hobfoll, S.E., & Shirom, A. (2001). Conservation of Resources Theory: Applications to Stress and Management in the Workplace. In R.T. Golembiewski (Ed.), Handbook of Organizational Behavior. 57-80. Marcel Dekker.
Kim, B., Jee, S., Lee, J., An, S., & Lee, S. M. (2017). Relationships between social support and student burnout: A meta-analytic approach. Stress and Health,34(1), 127-134. DOI:10.1002/smi.2771
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S.E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 2, 99-113.
Maslach, C., Jackson, S.E., & Leiter, M.P. (2016). Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (Fourth Edition). Menlo Park, CA: Mind Garden, Inc.
Merhi, R., Sánchez-Elvira-Paniagua, A., & Palací, F. J. (2018). The Role of Psychological Strengths, Coping Strategies and Well-Being in the Prediction of Academic Engagement and Burnout in First-Year University Students. Acción Psico- lógica, 15(2), 51–68. DOI:https://doi.org/10.5944/ap.15.2.21831
Mijatović, L., Strižak, N., & Antić, S. (2021). Doživljaj akademskog stresa kod studenata specijalne edukacije i rehabilitacije tokom pandemije Kovid-19. U N.Buha, M.Kovačević (Ur.): Nacionalni naučni skup „Specijalna edukacija i rehabilitacija u uslovima pandemije Covid-19”: Zbornik radova. (str. 103-110). Univerzitet u Beogradu.
N1 RS. (2020, maj 17). Studenti Univerziteta u Novom Sadu: Preispitati odluku o povratku na fakultete. Preuzeto juna 2020, sa https://rs.n1info.com/vesti/ a600364-studenti-univerziteta-u-novom-sadu-preispitati-odluku-o-povrat-ku-na-fakultete/
O radio. (2020, maj 18). Deo studenata traži da se preispita odluka o pokretanju nastave. Preuzeto Juna 2020, sa https://oradio.rs/sr/vesti/drustvo/obrazovanje/ deo-studenata-trazi-da-se-preispita-odluka-o-pokretanju-nastave-9150.html
Pines, A. M., Neal, M. B., Hammer, L. B., & Icekson, T. (2011). Job burnout and couple burnout in dual-earner couples in the sandwiched generation. Social Psychology Quarterly, 74(4), 361-386.
Radio-televizija Vojvodine. (2020, maj 19). Povodom - 19.05.2020. Preuzeto Juna 2020, sahttps://media.rtv.rs/sr_ci/povodom/56269?fbclid=IwAR1iZGuEFbER- MR9ZH6ls-DWUGJMRelj8jmTiVaZDG9KFviV30DxjXevPbBo
RTS. (2020). Studentima dodatni ispitni rok, za zaražene i naknadni rokovi. Preuzeto Jula 2020. sa https://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/%D0%9A%D0%BE-
%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81/story/3134/koronavirus-u-srbiji/4012191/studenti-koronavirus-is- piti-.html
Sahu, P. (2020). Closure of Universities Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (CO- VID-19): Impact on Education and Mental Health of Students and Academic Staff. Cureus 12(4): e7541. doi:10.7759/cureus.7541
Salmela-Aro, K., Kiuru, N., Leskinen, E., & Nurmi, J.E. (2009). School burnout inventory. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25(1), 48–57.
Schaufeli, W.B., & Buunk, B.P. (2003). Burnout: An Overview of 25 Years of Research and Theorizing. In M.J. Schabracq, J.A.M. Winnubst, & C.L. Cooper (Eds.), The handbook of work and health psychology. 383-425. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Schaufeli, W.B., Leiter, M.P., & Maslach, C. (2009). Burnout: 35 years of research and practice. Career Development International, 14(3), 204-220. DOI: 10.1108/13620430910966406
UNSECO. (2020, April 28). Exams and assessments in COVID-19 crisis: Fairness at the center [Vebsajt]. Retrieved June 2020 fromhttps://en.unesco.org/news/ exams-and-assessments-covid-19-crisis-fairness-centre
Vićentić, S., Latas, M., Barišić, J., Matić, M., Pantović Stefanović, M., & Milovano- vić, S. (2015). Burnout in medical students in Serbia – preclinical and clinical differences. Engrami,37 (1), 5-15.
Westman, M., Hobfoll, S.E., Chen, S., Davidson, O.B., & Laski, S. (2005). Organizational stress through the lens of conservation of resources (COR) theory. Exploring Interpersonal Dynamics Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being, 4, 167–220.
World Health Organization. (2019, Maj 28). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. Retrieved March 2020 from https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/burn-out/en/
World Health Organization. (2020, Mart 18). Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak. Retrieved July 2020 from https://www. who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-MentalHealth-2020.1
Yang, H.J. (2004). Factors affecting student burnout and academic achievement in multiple enrollment programs in Taiwan’s technical-vocational colleges. Inter- national Journal of Educational Development, 24, 283-301.
