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 (T0), post‐intervention (T1) and 6‐week follow‐up (T2). 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, ηp2 = 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, ηp2 = 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.