UC Students Post-Earthquake:

Burnout, Academic Performance and Employability

Dr. Joana KuntzDr. Katharina Näswall

Sonja RaeDepartment of Psychology, UC

New Zealand Tertiary Community Engagement Summit, 2013

Background and Variables

Background

• Protracted effects of burnout (e.g., organisations)• Role of Institutional and Social Support in recovery• Perceived employability • Perceptions of university life

Variables

• Support: Institutional Support; Social Support (Peers, Family)• Work Overload• Burnout (Emotional Exhaustion and Disengagement)• Perceived Employability (Marketability and Efficacy) and related• Academic Performance (GPA)

Correlations

Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. Inst. Support I. 3.68 .56

2. Inst. Support E. 3.45 .62 .56**

3. Peer Support 3.62 .69 .30** .35**

4. Family Support 4.17 .67 .26** .27** .41**

5. Work Overload 3.20 .61 -.07 -.18** -.06 -.06

6. Burnout Exhaustion 3.08 .67 -.13* -.27** -.13* -.17** .57**

7. Burnout Disengage 2.57 .69 -.13* -.26** -.20** -.25** .38** .62**

8. Employable Market. 3.23 .71 .18** .34** .29** .15* .07 -.18** -.15*

9. Employable Efficacy 3.51 .79 .12* .19** .22** .21** -.04 -.25** -.32** .60**

10. Community Sense 3.61 .81 .24** .35** .50** .30** .04 -.17** -.18** .36** .19**

Employability - Regressions

Variable EmployabilityMarketability

b

EmployabilityJob Seeker Efficacy

b

Inst. Support Immediate-.06 .03

Inst. Support Extended .33** .09

Family Support-.03 .10

Peer Support .21** .11

Work Overload .33** .23**

Burnout Exhaustion -.27** -.19*

Burnout Disengagement .01 -.26**

Other Employability Factors

My job prospects are largely determined by …

CHCH Economy NZ Economy Global Economy0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Strongly DisagreeDisagreeNeither Agree Nor DisagreeAgreeStrongly Agree

Academic Performance

Undergraduate Students (Mean GPA)

2011 – GPA100= 5.65

2012 – GPA200= 5.43

2013 – GPA300= 5.96

Postgraduate Students (Mean GPA)

2010 – GPA100= 5.78

2011 – GPA200= 6.16

2012 – GPA300= 6.44

2013 – GPA_PG= 6.88

• Steady, significant GPA increase for PG students, and significant GPA decrease in 2012 for UG students.

• Over time, higher feelings of disengagement with academic work and the university were associated with decreased academic performance.

Student Expectations

Expectations o

f Uni L

ife N

ot Met

Expectations A

cademic

Path N

ot Fulfillin

g

Overall Expecta

tion of UC N

ot Met

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Strongly DisagreeDisagreeNeither Agree Nor DisagreeAgreeStrongly Agree

Qualitative data analysis … in progress

Quality of University Support after the earthquakes

(e.g., workload management)

Positive and negative aspects of the students’

experience at UC

Perceived employability and job prospects