Abstract
Background
Teacher leadership refers to the strategies used by teachers to influence academic administrators, faculty colleagues, and other educational decision-makers to promote processes that enhance student growth and institutional development. It has been proposed in the literature that teacher leadership may be an important process that influences students’ academic burnout. However, teacher leadership has received less attention from researchers than other potential causes of student burnout. Previous research has focused mainly on the perspectives of principals (i.e., academic leaders) and teachers. Few studies have reported the perspectives of students, treated teacher leadership as an independent variable, or conducted in-depth research on the relationships between this factor and students’ professional commitment and academic burnout. This study explores the relationships among teacher leadership and medical students’ professional commitment and academic burnout as well as the mediating role of professional commitment in this context.
Methods
A questionnaire was completed by 568 medical students at one medical school. The questionnaire consisted of three validated and widely used data collection instruments: the Teacher Leadership Scale, the College Student Academic Burnout Scale, and the Professional Commitment Scale.
Results
Teacher leadership was significantly correlated with reduced academic burnout, mediated by professional commitment. Both teacher leadership and professional commitment were significantly negatively correlated with academic burnout among medical students, while teacher leadership was significantly positively correlated with professional commitment.
Conclusions
Teacher leadership was significantly correlated with reduced academic burnout, mediated by professional commitment. Enhancing teacher leadership and fostering professional commitment could mitigate burnout among medical students.
Keywords: Medical students, Teacher leadership, Professional commitment, Academic burnout, Mediating effect
Background
Most scholars believe that academic burnout occurs when students are unable to resolve the pressures of long-term study effectively, resulting in a loss of interest, motivation, and confidence in their studies [1]. Students continue to engage in the learning process despite this lack of enthusiasm, thus leading to a state of both physical and mental exhaustion as well as low academic efficacy, academic burnout is considered to be a negative psychological reaction to the burden and stress of academic work [2]. Yang et al. argued that in the Chinese cultural context, academic burnout manifests as a loss of interest in studying combined with an inability to disengage from academic responsibilities [3].
Lian et al. defined professional commitment among college students in terms of positive attitudes and behaviors, in which context students identify with their chosen major and are willing to invest the corresponding effort [4]. Previous studies have highlighted the impact of professional commitment on academic burnout among college students. Wang Bohua reported that professional commitment is significantly negatively correlated with academic burnout, whereas self-efficacy in learning was positively correlated with professional commitment [5]. Zhao et al. also demonstrated a significant negative correlation between professional commitment and academic burnout among medical students [6].
Teacher leadership refers to the process through which teachers influence principals, colleagues, and other organizational members through their words and actions, thereby promoting student growth and school development [7]. Such leadership also represents a form of influence by teachers who participate in decision-making and professional development in schools [8]. The themes of research on teacher leadership generally include teacher professionalism, teacher development, school principals, distributed leadership, school management, educational reform, research reviews, and teacher guidance. Teacher leadership in the field of medical education has been an emerging topic, with significant research highlighting its impact on both institutional development and student outcomes.The concept of teacher leadership in medical education focuses on empowering educators to influence curricula, shape educational practices, and contribute to the broader medical community’s development. The study found that teacher leadership facilitated curriculum innovation, increased faculty engagement in decision-making, and promoted interprofessional collaboration, which contributed to improved educational outcomes for students [9]. A paper by Chen et al.emphasized how teacher leadership models in medical education enhance the professional development of educators. By encouraging faculty members to take on leadership roles, the study highlighted an increase in the overall quality of medical education, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation [10].
Medical students often endure high-stress environments, long study hours, and emotionally demanding content such as exposure to traumatic medical conditions, cadavers, and patient death [11]. Unlike other academic fields, where the pressure may be related to grades or exams, medical students are confronted with a constant need to process complex, life-and-death situations. This contributes to both emotional exhaustion and a reduced sense of achievement, which are core components of burnout. Teacher leadership, as an important factor that may influences medical students’ academic burnout, has received less attention from researchers, and previous research has focused mainly on principals and teachers; few studies have initially adopted the perspective of medical students, treated teacher leadership as an independent variable, and conducted in-depth research on the relationships between this factor and students’ professional commitment and academic burnout [12]. This study introduces teacher leadership into the analysis of the factors influencing professional commitment and academic burnout on medical students with the goal of filling this research gap. Second, previous studies have focused mainly on the impact of professional commitment on academic burnout, and little attention has been given to the mediating role of professional commitment in the relationship between teacher leadership and academic burnout [13]. This study incorporates professional commitment into research on the influence of teacher leadership on academic burnout and examines its mediating role in this context, thereby contributing novel insights that can improve previous theories and help expand the research on academic burnout.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationships among teacher leadership, professional commitment, and academic burnout among medical students as well as to explore the mediating role of professional commitment in the relationship between teacher leadership and academic burnout. This study aims to provide a theoretical basis for efforts to reform professional teaching and talent development programs in medical schools.
Methods
Research respondents
We selected 15 classes from the 45 classes at one commen medical university at random through the university administration, and distributed the link to the survey questionnaire on Wenjuanxing platform to students, who filled out the questionnaire voluntarily. A total of 600 questionnaires were collected, of which 568 were valid, yielding an effective response rate of 94.67%. There are not specific factors that might influence the generalizability of the findings.
These respondents participated in this study anonymously and voluntarily, and were informed of the risks and benefits of participation. It was clearly stated that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time without any consequences.
Research instruments
The questionnaire used in this study included three scales: teacher leadership style, student academic burnout, and college student professional commitment. All questionnaires were administered in Chinese. The questionnaire featured a total of 76 items, which were scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = uncertain, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree). The score ranges in the scales were as follow: 1-2.33 (low); 2.34–3.66 (moderate); 3.67-5 (high) [4]. Since the questionnaire included English-language scales, a double back translation technique was used before the questionnaire was administered to ensure the consistency of the two versions in different languages [14]. Specifically, one translator translated the scales from English to Chinese. After the Chinese translation had been completed, another translator translated the Chinese versions of the scales back into English. Finally, two additional validators compared the versions of the scales in these two languages.
Teacher leadership questionnaire
The “Teacher Leadership Style Scale” developed by Tsai was used in this research [15]. This scale consists of three dimensions: charismatic leadership (14 items), pragmatic leadership (11 items), and ideological leadership (4 items). Charismatic leadership refers to a vision that is future-oriented and emotionally inspiring, thereby attracting followers. Ideological leadership unites group members through a shared system of beliefs. In contrast to charismatic and ideological leadership, pragmatic leadership focuses on solving current problems to motivate group members.
The Cronbach’s α coefficient for the scale was 0.97, and the factor loading of each item was higher than 0.5, thus indicating that the scale exhibited good reliability and validity [15].
Student academic burnout scale
This scale was developed by Lian et al. [4] based on the burnout scale developed by Maslach [16]. It includes three dimensions—emotional exhaustion (8 items), low sense of achievement (6 items), and inappropriate behavior (6 items)—that are associated with a total of 20 items. Some of the items are reverse-scored. Higher scores on this scale indicate higher levels of academic burnout.
The Cronbach’s α coefficient for this scale was 0.865, and the correlation coefficients between factors were all greater than 0.7 (P < 0.001), thus indicating that the scale exhibited good internal consistency reliability and structural validity [4].
College student professional commitment scale
This scale was developed by Lian et al. [6] and consists of 27 items across four dimensions: affective commitment (9 items), normative commitment (5 items), continuance commitment (6 items), and ideal commitment (7 items). Notably, each dimension measures different aspects of professional commitment.
Higher scores on the scale indicate a stronger sense of overall learning belonging on the part of individuals.
The researchers conducted an internal consistency reliability test for this scale and obtained a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.927 for the overall scale. The correlation coefficients among the factors were all greater than 0.7, thus indicating that the scale exhibited good internal consistency reliability and structural validity [6].
Data processing
In this analysis, all tests were conducted using SPSS 26 software.
The skewness and kurtosis of the data are between − 1.96 and 1.96, indicating a normal distribution. The variable trends were described using the M ± SD method.
To explore the relationships among the variables, Pearson correlation and regression analysis were used to test these relationships.
The results of the mediation effect test using Process will include two parts: the first part is the results of the mediation effect test using the distributed regression method, and the second part is the results of the mediation effect test using Bootstrap random sampling.
The distributed regression method for determining whether a mediation effect exists involves three steps:
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①
Testing the main effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable: y = c*x + e1.
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②
Testing whether the coefficient of the independent variable on the mediator is significant: m = a*x + e2.
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③
Testing the relationship between the independent variable and the mediator, along with their effects on the dependent variable: y = c′*x + b*m + e3.
Based on the results of these three steps, the mediation effect is judged. The first step is a prerequisite for testing. If it is not significant, the test stops. If it is significant, further tests are performed on coefficients a, b and c′. If all three coefficients are significant, it indicates a partial mediation effect. If coefficients a and b are significant but c′is not, it indicates a full mediation effect. If both coefficients a and b are not significant, there is no mediation effect. If any of the coefficients are not significant, further tests using Sobel-t or Bootstrap random sampling are required.
In the statistical analysis methods above, significance testing is conducted with a 95% confidence level as the minimum standard. A significance level of P < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.
The significance of the Bootstrap random sampling test results is determined by whether the 95% confidence interval includes 0. If the confidence interval includes 0, it indicates that the positive and negative effects cancel each other out and approach 0, so the relationship is not significant. Therefore, if the 95% confidence interval does not include 0, it can be concluded that the relationship is significant.
Results
Demographic characteristic
The sample included 206 male students (36.3%) and 362 female students (63.7%). In terms of grade distribution, the undergraduate medical education in China is divided into five academic years. In the following descriptions, it will refer to the first academic year, second academic year, third academic year, fourth academic year, and fifth academic year. the sample included 299 students in the earlier years of undergraduate education (i.e., the first year and second year), accounting for 52.6% of the total; 197 students in the later years of undergraduate education (the third year, fourth year and fifth-year students), accounting for 34.7% of the total; and 72 graduate students (in their first, second, and third years of graduate education), accounting for 12.7% of the total. In terms of residential distribution, the sample included 178 students from urban areas, accounting for 31.3% of the total, and 390 students from rural areas, accounting for 68.7% of the total.
Description of the main variables
As displayed in Table 1, the overall mean student academic burnout score was 2.862 (on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), which reflects a moderate (low: 1-2.33; moderate: 2.34–3.66; high: 3.67-5) level of burnout. The sample included 251 students (44.19%) who obtained scores ≥ 3. This finding suggests that, on average, students experienced a moderate amount of burnout. The mean level of professional commitment was 3.488, moderate, implying that students generally exhibited a reasonable level of commitment to their professional or academic goals. The mean level of teacher leadership was 3.752, indicating that teacher leadership was perceived by students to be relatively high in this analysis. This finding indicates that teachers were viewed as effective leaders by this sample of medical students.
Table 1.
Description of the overall situation of each variable (n = 568)
| Variable | Min–max | Mean ± SD |
|---|---|---|
| Academic burnout | 1–5 | 2.862 ± 0.546 |
| Emotional exhaustion | 1–5 | 2.879 ± 0.683 |
| Inappropriate behavior | 1–5 | 2.931 ± 0.665 |
| Low sense of achievement | 1–5 | 2.771 ± 0.597 |
| Professional commitment | 1–5 | 3.488 ± 0.549 |
| Affective commitment | 1–5 | 3.453 ± 0.621 |
| Normative commitment | 1–5 | 3.354 ± 0.681 |
| Continuance commitment | 1–5 | 3.902 ± 0.643 |
| Ideal commitment | 1–5 | 3.350 ± 0.612 |
| Teacher leadership | 1–5 | 3.752 ± 0.570 |
| Charismatic leadership | 1–5 | 3.774 ± 0.618 |
| Ideological leadership | 1–5 | 3.482 ± 0.641 |
| Pragmatic leadership | 1–5 | 3.821 ± 0.623 |
Correlation analysis
Correlation analysis is an important method for exploring the relationships among variables. In this study, Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlations among variables. The analysis began by conducting a correlation analysis of the overall scales, which was followed by a correlation analysis of the sub dimensions of each scale.
Pearson correlation analysis among the three variables
According to the results of the analysis presented in Table 2, professional commitment was statistically significantly negatively correlated (r=-0.608, P < 0.01) with academic burnout. This finding indicated that professional commitment was statistically significantly negatively related to academic burnout. The correlation between teacher leadership and academic burnout was also statistically significant and negative (r=-0.306, P < 0.01), thus indicating that teacher leadership was statistically significantly negatively related to academic burnout. In addition, teacher leadership was statistically significantly positively correlated (r = 0.520, P < 0.01) with professional commitment, thus indicating that teacher leadership was statistically significantly positively related to professional commitment. According to the range of correlation coefficients, the three variables exhibited moderate correlations with one another.
Table 2.
The overall Pearson correlation analysis of the scales
| Variable | Academic burnout | Professional commitment | Teacher leadership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic burnout | 1 | ||
| Professional commitment | −0.608** | 1 | |
| Teacher leadership | −0.306** | 0.520** | 1 |
Notes: ** Significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed), thus indicating significant correlations
Pearson correlation analysis of the secondary dimensions of the three variables
To analyze the correlations among the three variables in further detail, Pearson analysis was used to explore the secondary dimensions of the three variables. Teacher leadership contains three secondary dimensions, professional commitment includes four secondary dimensions and academic burnout features three dimensions. According to the results of the analysis presented in Table 3, the secondary dimensions of the three scales included in this analysis exhibited significant correlations. The specific test results revealed that among all pairwise variable correlations, no significant correlation was observed between the ideological leadership dimension and the emotional exhaustion dimension (r=-0.018, P > 0.05). However, with the exception of the relationship between the ideological leadership dimension and the emotional exhaustion dimension, the correlations among all the other secondary dimensions of the three variables were statistically significant.
Table 3.
Pearson correlation analysis of the secondary dimensions of each scale
| Variable | Emotional exhaustion | Misbehavior | Low achievement | Affective commitment | Normative commitment | Continuance commitment | Ideal commitment | Charismatic leadership | Ideological leadership | Pragmatic leadership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emotional exhaustion | 1 | |||||||||
| Inappropriate behavior | 0.639** | 1 | ||||||||
| Low sense of achievement | 0.453** | 0.526** | 1 | |||||||
| Affective commitment | −0.519** | −0.561** | −0.635** | 1 | ||||||
| Normative commitment | −0.367** | −0.459** | −0.578** | 0.801** | 1 | |||||
| Continuance commitment | −0.339** | −0.322** | −0.390** | 0.665** | 0.581** | 1 | ||||
| Ideal commitment | −0.316** | −0.265** | −0.328** | 0.568** | 0.635** | 0.489** | 1 | |||
| Charismatic leadership | −0.254** | −0.268** | −0.313** | 0.498** | 0.449** | 0.564** | 0.267** | 1 | ||
| Ideological leadership | −0.018 | −0.117** | −0.123** | 0.191** | 0.220** | 0.275** | 0.104* | 0.495** | 1 | |
| Pragmatic leadership | −0.225** | −0.240** | −0.269** | 0.462** | 0.420** | 0.580** | 0.297** | 0.867** | 0.563** | 1 |
Notes: * Significant at the 0.05 level (two-tailed)
** Significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed)
Multiple regression analysis
To determine which dimension of teacher leadership played a significant role in predicting students’ professional commitment and academic burnout as well as which aspect of student professional commitment was important with regard to predicting their academic burnout, we employed multiple regression techniques to perform a thorough exploration of the causal relationships among these constructs. The results are presented in Table 4.
Table 4.
Multiple regression
| Relationship | β value | t value | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relationship between teacher leadership and professional commitment | |||
| Charismatic leadership ⟶ Professional commitment | 0.324 | 4.553 | 0.000 |
| Ideological leadership ⟶ Professional commitment | −0.088 | −2.061 | 0.040 |
| Pragmatic leadership ⟶ Professional commitment | 0.278 | 3.709 | 0.000 |
| Relationship between Teacher leadership and Academic burnout | |||
| Charismatic leadership ⟶ Academic burnout | −0.316 | −3.970 | 0.000 |
| Ideological leadership ⟶ Academic burnout | 0.107 | 2.224 | 0.027 |
| Pragmatic leadership ⟶ Academic burnout | −0.075 | −0.895 | 0.371 |
| Relationship between Professional commitment and Academic burnout | |||
| Affective commitment ⟶ Academic burnout | −0.704 | −12.311 | 0.000 |
| Normative commitment ⟶ Academic burnout | −0.026 | −0.462 | 0.644 |
| Continuance commitment ⟶ Academic burnout | 0.055 | 1.302 | 0.193 |
| Ideal commitment ⟶ Academic burnout | 0.026 | 0.638 | 0.524 |
The results of the multiple regression revealed that with regard to teacher leadership, charismatic leadership had a statistically significant positive effect on professional commitment (β = 0.324, P < 0.001), ideological leadership had a statistically significant negative effect on professional commitment (β=-0.088, P < 0.05), and pragmatic leadership had a statistically significant positive effect on professional commitment (β = 0.278, P < 0.001). Charismatic leadership also had a statistically significant negative effect on academic burnout (β=-0.316, P < 0.001), while ideological leadership had a statistically significant positive effect on academic burnout (β = 0.107, P < 0.05). However, no significant relationship was observed between pragmatic leadership and academic burnout (β=-0.075, P = 0.371). In terms of the different dimensions of professional commitment, affective commitment had a statistically significant negative effect on academic burnout (β=-0.704, P < 0.001), while normative commitment, continuance commitment, and ideal commitment did not have a statistically significant relationship with academic burnout.
The mediating effect of professional commitment
In this test, based on the theoretical model previously proposed, the independent variable was teacher leadership, the dependent variable was academic burnout, and the mediating variable was professional commitment. This analysis focused mainly on the impact of teacher leadership on academic burnout and explores whether professional commitment played a mediating role in this relationship as well as the kind of mediating effect in question.
Therefore, before conducting the mediation test, it was first necessary to examine the main effect relationship (i.e., the independent impact of the independent variable on the dependent variable).
According to the results of the mediation test regarding professional commitment, which were presented in Table 5, the first step involved testing the independent impact of teacher leadership on academic burnout, i.e., the main effect test. According to the results of this test, teacher leadership had a negative impact on academic burnout, with β=-0.293 and P < 0.001, thus indicating that the higher the level of teacher leadership was, the weaker the students’ sense of academic burnout. The coefficient c was significant in this step; thus, it is possible to proceed with subsequent steps of the testing process.
Table 5.
Test of the mediating effects in the professional commitment distribution regression model
| Verification steps | Dependent variable | Independent variable | R-sq | F | β | t |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. (y = c*x + e1) | Academic burnout | Teacher leadership | 0.093 | 58.264*** | −0.293 | −7.633*** |
| 2. (m = a*x + e2) | Professional commitment | Teacher leadership | 0.270 | 209.241*** | 0.500 | 14.465*** |
| 3. (y = c’x + b*m + e3) | Academic burnout | Teacher leadership | 0.370 | 165.795*** | 0.014 | 0.364 |
| Professional commitment | −0.612 | −15.745*** |
Notes:
* Significant at the 0.05 level (two-tailed)
** Significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed)
***Significant at the 0.001 level (two-tailed)
In the second step, the impact of teacher leadership on professional commitment was tested, specifically with regard to whether coefficient a was significant. According to the results of this test, β = 0.5, P < 0.001, thus indicating that teacher leadership had a positive impact on professional commitment. Accordingly, the higher the level of teacher leadership was, the higher the students’ levels of professional commitment. Therefore, coefficient a was significant.
In the third step of testing, the simultaneous effects of teacher leadership and professional commitment on academic burnout were examined, specifically with regard to whether coefficients b and c’ were significant. According to the results of this test, in the third step, the impact of teacher leadership on academic burnout was not significant, with β = 0.014 and P > 0.05. Therefore, coefficient c’ were not significant. On the other hand, professional commitment had a significant negative impact on academic burnout, with β=-0.612 and P < 0.001. Hence, coefficient b was significant.
According to the results of the test conducted using the integrated distribution regression method, coefficients c, a, and b were significant, whereas coefficient c’ was not significant. Therefore, professional commitment played a mediating role in the model and had a complete mediating effect.
During the process of analyzing these mediating effects, a random bootstrap sampling method was used. According to the results presented in Table 6, the indirect effect of professional commitment was − 0.306, with a 95% confidence interval [-0.370, -0.244] that did not include 0. Therefore, the mediating effect of professional commitment was significant. The test results regarding the direct and total effects revealed that the 95% confidence interval of the total effect did not include 0, while the 95% confidence interval of the direct effect included 0. Thus, the direct effect was not significant in this test. Therefore, professional commitment acted as a complete mediator in the model. These findings are consistent with the results of the previous stepwise regression test.
Table 6.
Bootstrap mediating effect test for professional commitment
| Effect relationship | Effect value | LLCI | ULCI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indirect effect | −0.306 | −0.370 | −0.244 |
| Direct effect | 0.014 | −0.060 | 0.087 |
| Total effect | −0.293 | −0.368 | −0.217 |
Discussion
The status of teacher leadership, professional commitment, and academic burnout
The study highlighted the relatively high level of teacher leadership in medical schools, as evidenced by a mean score of 3.752. This suggests that students perceive their teachers as demonstrating effective leadership qualities. Notably, pragmatic leadership was associated with the highest score among different leadership styles, followed by charismatic and ideological leadership. Pragmatic leadership is highly adaptable, allowing leaders to adjust their strategies based on changing conditions, and focus on achieving specific goals. This adaptability was identified as a key characteristic of effective leadership in complex environments [17]. Other studies also support the effectiveness of pragmatic leadership. For example, Hochschild et al.found that leaders who can respond effectively to shifting challenges tend to improve organizational performance and promote a positive learning environment. This is especially important in medical education, where changes in technology, curriculum, and clinical practice require continuous adaptation [18, 19].
This study indicates that the overall mean score with regard to student learning burnout was 2.862, thus suggesting a moderate level of learning burnout among medical students. Inappropriate behavior obtained the highest score, thus indicating that students engaged in negative external behaviors during the learning process, such as arriving late to class, skipping classes, or displaying low motivation with regard to studying. These behaviors are often indicative of a deeper issue—learning burnout. Research supports the idea that students who display disengagement and negative external behaviors tend to experience higher levels of academic burnout. García et al. found that students often exhibit low motivation and external disruptive behaviors, which serve as indicators of burnout [20]. Martínez et al. further confirm this by demonstrating that disengaged behaviors, including skipping classes and demonstrating low academic motivation, are among the strongest predictors of burnout [11]. These behaviors often arise when students feel overwhelmed or disconnected from their academic environment, which is particularly concerning in high-stress fields such as medicine. Leiter & Maslach emphasize that when students feel overwhelmed, alienated, or disconnected from the learning experience, they are more likely to disengage and display external negative behaviors [21].
The mean level of professional commitment revealed in this study was 3.488, i.e. Although the level of professional commitment among medical college students is not particularly low, the current outlook is still not optimistic. Cntinuance commitment obtained the highest scores, normative commitment and ideal commitment obtained the lowest scores, and affective commitment was found to be at an intermediate level. Possible reasons for these findings include the following: many students choose medical-related majors in the process of applying for university because of their personal interest, and the school provides a narrative regarding the major’s history and job prospects to students after admission, thus offering students a full understanding of the discipline and enhancing its attractiveness [22]. Medical students typically invest many years in education, including substantial financial costs. The sunk cost fallacy may also play a role. Sears and Hennessey note that when students perceive high levels of effort invested, they may feel compelled to continue to avoid “wasting” their prior investments. This aligns with the higher levels of continuance commitment seen in this study [23]. At present, the employment situation for medical majors is good, and the profession is associated with high levels of social recognition; thus, medical students obtain higher scores on the continuance commitment dimension [24].
The relationships among teacher leadership, professional commitment, and academic burnout
Teacher leadership and professional commitment are significantly negatively correlated with learning burnout, and teacher leadership is significantly positively correlated with professional commitment. The specific test results reveal that the correlation between ideological leadership and emotional exhaustion is not significant across all pairs of variables associated with the three scales. Charismatic leadership style and ideological leadership style differentially affect burnout. The reasons maybe as follow: charismatic leadership, with its focus on inspiration, emotional support, and flexibility, serves as a buffer against burnout. In contrast, ideological leadership, with its emphasis on conformity and rigid expectations, may exacerbate stress and contribute to higher levels of burnout. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing leadership practices in medical education that promote student resilience and well-being.This finding indicates that teacher leadership is an important factor with regard to medical students’ learning burnout. The results of this study are similar with the results reported in previous research. Positive correlation between teacher leadership and professional commitment, demonstrating that teacher leadership roles increase commitment levels, which in turn can lower burnout risks [25]. Effective teacher leadership can reduce burnout levels among educators by promoting professional engagement and emotional well-being [26]. Another study highlights the role of leadership in mitigating emotional exhaustion, noting that teacher leadership practices can buffer against burnout by fostering a supportive professional environment [27].Teachers are the most direct guides for students’ learning and should exercise leadership in the contexts of education, teaching, and scientific research. They should actively enhance their teaching abilities, help students grow and develop, assist students in the process of overcoming learning difficulties, instill correct attitudes toward learning in students, and cultivate good study habits among medical students to mitigate the students’ learning burnout.
The full mediating effect of professional commitment on the relationship between teacher leadership and academic burnout
The results of the analysis conducted for this research reveal that teacher leadership can impact academic burnout directly. Teacher leadership can also influence academic burnout indirectly through professional commitment, thus indicating that higher levels of teacher leadership and professional commitment are associated with lower levels of academic burnout [13]. The conclusions of this study are consistent with the results of previous research [28]. Professional commitment fully mediates the relationship between teacher leadership and academic burnout, thus suggesting that teacher leadership can alleviate medical students’ learning fatigue by enhancing their professional commitment.
When students perceive high levels of teacher leadership and the power of role models, they develop a strong desire to follow their teachers, willingly engage in deep communication and dialog with those teachers, and can overcome difficulties and conflicts encountered during the learning process more effectively. A harmonious relationship between students and teachers can promote students’ love for a specific subject and directly enhance medical students’ professional commitment. When students have a passion for their chosen profession, their attitudes toward learning become more serious, and their motivation to learn becomes stronger, ultimately alleviating academic burnout [29].
Therefore, medical schools can enhance teacher leadership while simultaneously meeting students’ needs in terms of career development planning. This approach can help students develop a deep emotional connection with their field of study, strengthen their motivation and confidence in professional learning, and foster enthusiasm and belief in their ability to achieve their career goals in the future [30].
Research limitation
Although this study provides valuable insights into the relationships among teacher leadership, professional commitment, and academic burnout among medical students, its limitations that should be acknowledged. Firstly, this study is confined to a single medical college, which limits the generalizability of the findings. To enhance generalizability, future studies should replicate the current analysis across multiple medical schools with diverse student populations from different regions or countries. Secondly, this study relied on self-reported data, which may introduce biases, such as social desirability and recall bias. Future research should incorporate mixed-method approaches, such as interviews or focus groups, to triangulate self-reported data and capture more nuanced perspectives. Thirdly, this study uses a cross-sectional design, which limits its ability to infer causality or observe changes over time. Future studies could adopt a longitudinal design to explore how teacher leadership and professional commitment influence academic burnout over different stages of medical education. Lastly, this study focuses on exploring the relationships among the three variables, without considering the inclusion of confounding variables. Future research should incorporate confounding variables to make the findings on academic burnout more reasonable, in-depth, and scientifically grounded.
Implications
The findings from this study suggest that teacher leadership plays a critical role in reducing academic burnout among medical students, primarily through its positive impact on professional commitment. Given these results, several implications can be drawn for both schools and teachers:
Schools should focus on developing and enhancing teacher leadership capabilities, not just among principals, but also among faculty members. By empowering teachers to take on leadership roles, schools can create an environment where teachers’ influence goes beyond traditional instruction. Schools can organize professional development programs and training focusing on leadership skills, collaboration, and mentoring. Teacher leadership has been shown to positively influence students’ academic engagement and emotional well-being, leading to lower levels of burnout [31].
Medical schools should create an academic environment where the emphasis is on the holistic development of students. Given the mediating role of professional commitment in reducing burnout, schools can create structures that encourage engagement, involvement in decision-making, and opportunities for students to build their professional identities. A supportive school environment where teacher leadership is prominent can foster stronger student engagement, which reduces the likelihood of burnout [32].
Teachers should view their roles as more than just instructors but also as leaders who can guide, inspire, and support students beyond academic content. By fostering a sense of leadership in the classroom, teachers can create a positive impact on students’ professional commitment, thus reducing their likelihood of experiencing academic burnout. Teacher leadership has been associated with increased student motivation and engagement, which in turn reduces academic stress [33]. Additionally, students who perceive their teachers as leaders report higher levels of commitment to their studies and greater resilience to academic pressures [34].
Teachers can encourage students to develop professional identities by emphasizing the importance of professional values, responsibility, and commitment to their future careers. This can be done through regular discussions on the relevance of their education to their future careers, role-modeling professional behavior, and engaging in career development activities with students. When teachers actively engage in professional role-modeling, it enhances students’ professional identity and commitment to their studies, reducing burnout [35]. Furthermore, students with a strong sense of professional commitment are less likely to experience academic burnout, as they view their education as an essential part of their long-term career goals [36].
Conclusions
This survey of medical students at a certain medical college revealed that teacher leadership was at an appropriate level, as were students’ professional commitment and academic burnout. Both teacher leadership and professional commitment had significant predictive effects on academic burnout, and professional commitment fully mediated the relationship between teacher leadership and academic burnout. Therefore, enhancing the teacher leadership of medical college teachers and promoting students’ professional commitment can effectively alleviate academic burnout among students and promote a positive academic atmosphere in medical colleges.
Acknowledgements
Not applicable.
Author contributions
Xie Dandan wrote the main manuscript text and Wang Dongdong and Wang Qiumei prepared the surveys and figures. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
Funding
Not applicable.
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy-related or ethical restrictions.
Declarations
Ethical approval and consent to participate
The study passed a medical ethics review, and the entire process of the project was supervised by the Medical Ethics Committee of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, which complies with the relevant regulations concerning medical ethics stipulated by the state and Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities. The ethics review number is (2023061201). The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities. Written informed consent was obtained from the participants. This study complied with the relevant regulations concerning medical ethics stipulated by the state and Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities.
Consent for publication
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects to publish the information/image(s) included in this research in an online open-access publication.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Footnotes
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy-related or ethical restrictions.