Family and school social capital, school burnout and academic achievement: a multilevel longitudinal analysis among Finnish pupils

Abstract

Research on the associations between family and school social capital, school burnout and academic achievement in adolescence is scarce and the results are inconclusive. We examined if family and school social capital at the age of 13 predicts lower school burnout and better academic achievement when graduating at the age of 16. Using data from 4467 Finnish adolescents from 117 schools and 444 classes a three-level multilevel analysis was executed. School social capital, the positive and supportive relationships between students and teachers, predicted lower school burnout and better academic achievement among students. Classmates’ family social capital had also significance for students’ academic achievement. Our results suggest that building school social capital is an important aspect of school health and education policies and practices.

Keywords

• Adolescents
• social capital
• school burnout
• academic achievement
• multilevel design
• longitudinal study