Teachers still no. 1 but TikTok closing in as kids reach for trendy apps to learn new skills: McCrindle

A controversial video-sharing app has emerged as one of the most popular platforms used daily by students, pushing parents out of the top three go-to sources.

It’s official: parents have fallen behind TikTok as a source of knowledge for their kids but, for now, teachers retain the top spot.

McCrindle Research has released its latest snapshot of the Australian education sector which investigates classroom changes and trends.

It found the resources high school and tertiary students are using to teach themselves new skills are reflective of an increasingly digitally-integrated lifestyle.

While teachers still top the list, with 50 per cent of high students reporting they engage with their teachers at least daily to learn new skills, this is closely followed by websites (48 per cent).

“The influence of peers and social media in shaping the students of today is significant

with TikTok (42 per cent) the third most engaged-with platform by students to teach themselves new skills,” the report’s authors found.

“The very visual and engaging digital platform of TikTok comes in above parents (39 per cent) and other social media sites like YouTube (37 per cent) and Instagram (36 per cent), as well as the more traditional format of books (19 per cent).”

Female students are even more likely than their male classmates to use TikTok daily to learn new skills, while males are more likely to use YouTube.

At Concordia College, Thomas, year 8, Clay Watkins (middle school leader), Hannah year 12 and Emily year 8, discussing whether books or TikTok is a good source of knowledge. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

But McCrindle’s director of advisory Ashley Fell said the trend to reach for the controversial video-sharing app shouldn’t overly concern parents.

“I think it’s great to see that teachers are still no. 1; obviously they are qualified, certified professionals and it’s great this generation is still going, ‘Oh, we value teachers to give us new skills’,” she said.

“I don’t think parents need to be too concerned that TikTok comes above them because

obviously parents can’t be experts in everything.”

The key is helping equip young people to recognise what’s helpful and what isn’t, Ms Fell said.

“Anyone can upload anything on this user-generated site … the challenge (is) to (promote) critical thinking,” she said.

“We need to be making sure we teach them to question the validity and credibility of (those they are watching) … encouraging healthy scepticism and having conversations about what kids are doing on these platforms.”

More than 1000 students were interviewed for the Equipping Students to Thrive in New World of Work report with 70 per cent saying they believed schools were doing a good job equipping them with critical thinking skills while 84 per cent agreed their education was “equipping them to thrive in life”.

Concordia College middle school leader Clay Watkins said the findings reinforce “the critical need to provide students with the skills and dispositions to use digital sources, including social media effectively”.

“(In particular), providing them with the skills to move beyond ‘fake news’, to be able to discern the accuracy, relevance, reliability and quality of information and how to use the information and platforms safely and ethically,” he said.