Effects of mindful awareness intervention folk-dance intervention and combined intervention on academic burnout in left-behind children in rural China

Objectives This study examined the comparative effectiveness of three distinct interventions—a folk-dance intervention, a mindful awareness intervention, and a combined intervention integrating both strategies—in alleviating academic burnout among a sample of rural Chinese left-behind children. Methods A total of 100 rural left-behind children (54 boys, 46 girls; age = 10.4 ± 0.9) were randomly assigned to four groups: mindful awareness training, folk-dance intervention, combined intervention, and control. Each group received four sessions per week for 12 weeks. Academic burnout was assessed at three time points: baseline (T 0 ), post-intervention (T 1 ) and 6-week follow-up (T 2 ). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA with Bonferroni correction. Results Significant group differences were observed in total academic burnout. A repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a significant Group × Time interaction, F (6, 192) = 43.89, p < 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.57, indicating that changes in academic burnout differed across groups over time. A significant main effect of Time was also found, F (2, 192) = 303.44, p < 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.76. Across the intervention period, all treatment groups showed significant reductions in burnout scores compared with the control group. Among the interventions, the combined dance-mindful awareness group demonstrated the largest and most sustained reduction in burnout, showing the lowest burnout levels at follow-up. Similar patterns were observed for the subdimensions of burnout, including physical exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, learning attitude, and reduced learning efficacy (all p < 0.001). Conclusion These findings suggest that the integration of folk-dance and mindful awareness produces stronger and more sustained reductions in academic burnout than either approach alone, providing a culturally sensitive and evidence-based intervention strategy for addressing academic burnout among left-behind children.