German high school students’ achievement goal orientation profiles and school burnout

Abstract Understanding the factors influencing students' school burnout, especially potential personal protective factors, is increasingly important for promoting their well-being and academic success. This empirical study examines the relationship between achievement goal orientation profiles, gender and school burnout among 1,117 German high school students in grades 8 to 10 ( M age = 14.56, SD age = 1.06, 56% female) using latent profile analysis. Four dimensions of goal orientations were used to create the profiles: mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and work-avoidance goals. The 3- and 4-class solutions fit the data well, with the 3-class solution (54.4% mastery-oriented, 33.8% ambivalent (all goals high), and 11.8% avoidance-oriented) being statistically cleaner and more economical than the 4-class solution (containing an additional success-oriented profile). The results support the hypothesis that students with a mastery-oriented profile have the lowest levels of burnout symptoms. Students in the avoidance-oriented profile show the highest scores on exhaustion and on cynicism, while having the lowest scores on efficacy, followed by the ambivalent profile. No moderating effect of gender could be found, but gender-specific differences in profile membership were observed. The findings underline the psychological benefits of promoting mastery goals in educational settings, as well as the need for interventions for students exhibiting avoidant behavior – regardless of gender.