Contents
- What do children want to learn?
- How can the curriculum change to fit children’s needs?
- AI, VR and more: future-proofing children’s education
Recent years have propelled education into an entirely new era. As advocates of technology-enabled education at GoSudent, we’re excited by the progress and new opportunities these advancements and innovations unlock, to allow children to unlock their full potential.
It takes a village to raise a child, and governments, parents, teachers and education companies all play a vital role in shaping the future of education.
We’ve addressed these new advancements and more in the GoStudent Future of Education Report 2024, diving into the current challenges facing the education system and exploring the ways we can collectively contribute to solving future problems, ensuring a successful path forward for our children.
Continue reading for the key highlights.
What do children want to learn?
This year our report found that children are eager to learn about many diverse topics, not just the core subjects within their school curriculum! The key four areas children want to learn more about are:
- Technology Development
- The Climate Crisis and Sustainability
- Mindfulness
- Creativity
Technology Development
Generation Z and Alpha are growing up in a time of rapid technological innovation, from virtual reality, to artificial intelligence, and not to mention the metaverse! These generations are history’s first true digital natives, it’s already second nature to use these digital tools. 8 in 10 children state they already use digital apps to support learning, while 7 in 10 enjoy learning with AI.
But even basic technology like a computer is still not universally available in all schools, and there is a clear technology gap across Europe, still only 7 in 10 children use a computer at school in the UK.
Why is this a problem? Children who fail to develop digital literacy skills today are at risk of falling behind their peers and will experience alienation in tomorrow’s job market, with technology already being a fundamental skill at the forefront of the job requirements today - Research from the European Commission shows that as many as 90% of professional jobs require a basic level of digital knowledge.
The Climate Crisis and Sustainability
It’s very encouraging to see that as well as life skills (such as problem-solving) children also express interest in topics that will support them in navigating the world tomorrow.
Last year, in the GoStudent Future of Education Report 2023, parents named sustainability as their top priority topic to be taught in schools - with 81% ranking it ahead of current affairs, mindfulness, personal finance and technology development.
Today, parents and children in Europe continue to place sustainability and climate education among the most important topics to learn in order to be ready for the future. Incorporating this into the curriculum as an official subject can equip children to think of solutions for the climate challenges ahead.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness and mental health is part of the discourse around education that has increased in recent years, with increasing awareness around how we can best support our children during their formative years.
The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (HBSC) from 2022 reported that, across Europe (AT, DE, ES, FR, IT & England), 32% of 15-year-old children declare feeling low more than once a week.
Wellness and mental health support are among the top 5 topics both parents and children would like to be taught at school. 3 in 4 parents agree that a child’s emotional wellbeing is closely tied to their academic performance.
In the context of school, young people worldwide report they commonly face stress from academic pressure. In 2023, a review of 52 studies highlighted that there is a clear connection between academic pressure and mental health issues, especially around exams, which can be a big source of anxiety.
Creativity
Our report shows that children are eager to embrace different learning techniques, including developing their creativity in the classroom, in order to be ready for their future.
How the curriculum can support this is crucial, but there are also lots of things you can do at home to foster a creative environment, from Easter arts and crafts which can be done during the holidays to cooking ideas and DIY activities like an inspiration board.
2. How can the curriculum change to fit children’s needs?
In addition to a more holistic curriculum, there is a growing demand from children, parents and teachers for a more personalised response to children’s learning needs, with learning plans tailored to each child’s individual style.
Today, over 8 in 10 parents in Europe believe teachers should have the flexibility to adapt their teaching methods to suit the needs of different students.
This aligns with the GoStudent whitepaper ‘The End Of School As You Know It: Education in 2050’ which predicts that curricula will become more bespoke in the future, grouping children based on interests, learning pace and ambitions.
So, what does personalised learning look like?
With 84% of parents believing that personalised learning plans are essential for their children’s academic success, now is the perfect time to learn about them!
Personalised learning is teaching in a more tailored and individualised way, with custom learning plans for each student’s strengths, needs, skills and interests.
Having a curriculum that enables children to learn in a way that aligns with their specific learning needs would be the ideal solution, ensuring that all children have the chance to succeed.
A well-rounded education
More generally, parents just want their child to receive a well-rounded education, with 91% of parents in the UK agreeing the curriculum should include both academic subjects and extracurricular activities such as sports clubs, music or volunteering.
Similarly, parents and teachers also want to integrate real-world connections into subjects, to make sure they’re both practical and tangible. This could be teaching students how to manage their finances alongside a maths lesson, or including personal nutrition and health information in science classes.
3. AI, VR and more: future-proofing children’s education
Back in 2023, we found that 44% of children in Europe imagined that education could be improved by Artificial Intelligence in 2050. Today, over half of children in Europe already want to learn with AI, and 60% of parents agree it is a highly effective learning tool.
Learning more about AI and how it works could help children in the future, with careers likely to use the technology in lots of different ways - some of which may not have even been invented yet. In fact, when we published our report last year, ChatGPT didn’t even exist - so look how far we’ve come in just one year!
Just as with AI, the world of Virtual Reality has also seen a lot of interest and will certainly shape the future of education. Children have bold aspirations for VR, with as many as 51% believing that by 2050, learning will be done in a virtual classroom with avatar teachers - a significant increase from just 33% in 2023.
At GoStudent, we’ve begun this revolution by working with Immerse and Meta to bring GoStudent VR: our newest immersive language experience using VR technology.
The future of education is exciting, and children, parents and teachers see it! There are lots of ways to help your child, prepare for their future, whether it starts at home or in school.
If you would like to read our report in more detail, you can download it by clicking the link here.
Want to support your child today? Book a free trial lesson with us to learn more about how we can unlock your child’s full potential.
