Self-Efficacy and Study Burnout Among IT Students: Challenges and Potentials

There is a risk of student dropout in the field of engineering, particularly in the domain of information technology. To find novel pedagogical and technological solutions to prevent student attrition, we must better understand student experiences regarding their learning and studying processes. This study was conducted within the introduction of a new engineering degree program at the University of Jyväskylä and focused on first-year students. The research questions are: How do IT students experience study burnout at the beginning of their studies? What kind of self-efficacy beliefs do IT students have at the beginning of their studies? How are the self-efficacy beliefs of IT students associated with their levels of study burnout at the beginning of their studies? Student experiences were gathered through a validated survey that measured student self-efficacy beliefs and their experiences regarding study burnout. The results indicate that most students have high self-efficacy beliefs but, at the same time, a few of them experience quite a high study workload stress at the beginning of their studies. Studying the development of the student experiences over time provides an understanding of the relations between the experiences of study burnout and self-efficacy. This knowledge may support the development of novel pedagogical and technological solutions so that students may be provided timely guidance, leading to improved student well-being and ultimately to decreased dropouts in the field of engineering.