The relation of academic conscience to academic burnout:The mediating role of academic goal orientation

Academic burnout in students is associated with a reduction in their academic performance.So, knowledge of the factors affecting it is of interest to the experts.  academic burnout is one of these factors that plays an important role in social and occupational education. Conscientiousness can have an impact on the goals and intentions that one considers for himself. It can have various outcomes for individual and collective life. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between academic conscience and academic burnout with the mediation of students' achievement goal orientations.

This research is a correlational study using structural equation modeling. Participants were 250 students from Shiraz University in the academic year2017-2018.They were selected by multi-stage random cluster sampling.Instruments included the academic conscience questionnaire,academic burnout scale,and achievement goal orientation scale.Data analysis was done by using the AMOS software. Also, Bootstrap command was used for studying the mediatory role of academic goal orientation.

The results of the research indicate that academic conscience has positive effects on the achievement goals (performance approach, mastery approach, performance avoidance, mastery avoidance)and a direct negative effect (β = -0.30 ; P = 0.0001) on academic burnout.Also,performance approach and mastery approach goal orientation have negative effect on academic burnout.  However,performance avoidance goal orientation has positive effect on it.Except for the mastery avoidance goal orientation,three other achievement goals could play a mediating role in thr relation of academic conscience and academic burnout.

The results of this study indicate that academic conscience can reduce academic burnout directly and indirectly by approach goals. However, it can increase academic burnout by increasing performance avoidance goal.These results show the importance of academic conscience in achievement goals and  reducing academic burnout among students by strengthening academic approach goals (either mastery or performance)in educational settings.