School Alienation and Academic Achievement: The Role of Learned Helplessness and Mastery Orientation

School alienation is a complex phenomenon that has recently attracted considerable attention from psychologists because of the negative consequences that may result from it, such as poor academic performance, learning difficulties, school disengagement, behavioral problems, and withdrawal from the educational system, which interfere with students’ well-being and academic achievement. However, the behaviors engaged in (i.e., mastery or helplessness) by students who experience feelings of school alienation and the associated impact on their academic performance have been overlooked in research. For this reason, the aim of this study was to investigate the roles played by mastery orientation and learned helplessness in the relationship between school alienation and academic achievement. The study sample consisted of 1,316 Italian students, 504 male (38.3%) and 812 female (61.7%). All participants ranged from age 13 to 20 years, with an average age of 16.27 (SD 1.45). The results highlighted the roles of mastery orientation and learned helplessness in the relationship between students’ perceptions of school alienation and academic achievement. The findings contribute to the literature on school alienation, highlighting the potential implications for schools.