K-12 Schools Struggle to Engage Gen Z Students

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As parents and children prepare for the start of a new school year, a survey from the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup finds that the experiences young people in the U.S. have in their middle and high school classrooms are closely tied to their confidence and optimism about their future -- but many schools are struggling to engage their students.

The online survey was conducted April 26-May 9, 2024, with 4,157 12- to 27-year-old children and young adults, including 2,317 who are enrolled in a K-12 school, using the probability-based Gallup Panel. This is the latest in the Voices of Gen Z study, a multiyear research effort to understand the educational and life experiences of this generation.

Between 25% and 54% of students say they are not having eight engaging experiences in school, such as feeling that what they are learning is important or interesting. Less than half of students say their schoolwork positively challenges them (49%) or aligns with what they do best (46%).

One-third or less of students strongly agree they are having each of these engaging experiences, and nearly half (46%) do not strongly agree they are having any of them.

The extent to which Gen Z K-12 students feel engaged in the classroom is an important factor in their overall wellbeing and outlook for the future. The 25% of students who report the highest ratings on these engagement items are more than twice as likely as students who report the lowest 25% of ratings to be thriving in their lives (76% vs. 32%, respectively) and are more than four times as likely to strongly agree they have a great future ahead of them (61% vs. 15%).

Students who do not plan to pursue a degree after high school are also notably less likely than college-bound students to feel motivated by, interested in or excited about what they are learning in school. They are also significantly less likely to feel their schoolwork gives them the opportunity to do what they do best.

What would it take to get Gen Z more engaged in the classroom? According to the students themselves, the teacher plays a big role: Six in 10 say that when they are most excited about or interested in what they are learning, it is because their teacher made the material interesting and exciting for them. The same percentage mention that the subject matter was something they wanted to learn more about. Nearly half of Gen Z K-12 students (46%) also say opportunities to engage with the material in a hands-on way drive their interest, and about one in three (35%) most enjoy what they are learning when they can connect it to the real world.

Gen Z Feels Optimistic About the Future -- but Not Prepared for It

One of the key findings from the first year of the Voices of Gen Z study was the contrast between the optimism young people had for the future and the relatively low levels of confidence they expressed about their readiness for it. One year later, the gap remains: While nearly eight in 10 Gen Zers (79%) agree they have a great future ahead of them, about half (51%) agree that they feel prepared for that future.

Optimism is largely consistent across age and gender. Black Gen Zers are more likely than their peers to feel they have a great future ahead of them; however, this group remains among the least likely segments of Gen Z to feel prepared for the future. Meanwhile, though not uniquely optimistic, 25- to 27-year-olds, Asian and White Gen Zers, and Gen Z men and boys are most likely to feel prepared for the future.

Gen Z students who do not plan to pursue a degree after high school are less likely than their college-bound peers to agree they feel optimistic about the future. About two-thirds of those who do not plan to attend college (68%) believe they have a great future ahead of them, compared with more than eight in 10 students planning to pursue an associate (81%) or bachelor’s degree (86%). These non-college-bound students are also less likely to agree they feel prepared for their future (40%) than those hoping to earn an associate degree (45%) or bachelor’s degree (54%).

Due to the relationship between school engagement and Gen Z’s future outlook, the dampened optimism non-college-bound students feel may be a reflection of the consistently lower levels of engagement they report at school, as well as a belief that what they are learning may not be relevant to their postgraduation lives.

Bottom Line

The extent to which Gen Z K-12 students feel hopeful about and prepared for their future is linked to how engaged they feel in the classroom. Unfortunately, fewer than two in 10 students strongly agree that what they are learning in class feels important, interesting, challenging or aligned with their natural talents. This disconnect is especially high among students who do not want to attend college, and previous Gallup research finds that engagement declines as students advance along their K-12 journeys.

Gen Z students suggest several strategies teachers and schools could use that might help increase their engagement: Learning from teachers who are themselves highly engaged with the material and finding opportunities to apply what they are learning in a hands-on, relevant way are two such strategies. Finding ways to implement these and other strategies for all students, including those who do not plan to pursue further education after high school, might not only increase student engagement in the present but also better prepare those students for success in adulthood.

Learn more about how the Walton Family Foundation Voices of Gen Z survey works.

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Learn more about how the Gallup Panel works.