Positives and negatives of Gen Alpha revealed by parents, teachers

With attention spans shorter than Gen Z and a preference for pictures over words, the next generation will provide plenty of challenges for old school parents and teachers, research reveals.

Gen Alpha, those born after 2010, are reported as having a shorter attention span than the previous generation but there are areas in which they excel, according to their teachers. Picture:

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A survey of parents and educators has revealed the nation’s youngest residents, many of whom are now in primary school, are very different than any who have come before them.

Dubbed Generation Alpha, those born since 2010 are reported as having shorter attention spans than their older siblings and schoolmates but as being more confident and persistent.

The findings are part of the newly released Future of Education 2020 report in which the responses of more than 1000 parents and 400 educators – mainly teachers – were analysed by social research agency McCrindle Research.

McCrindle’s Ashley Fell said the results provide fascinating insights into a generation whose search engine of choice is YouTube over Google.

“This generation is very visual in their learning and education,” the social researcher said.

“They are used to information being presented in a visual way – why would you want to read something, when you can watch it?

“They are used to flicking past things that don’t engage them, so they have shorter attention spans.

“They are living in a time of message saturation, so as educators and leaders we have to work harder to get messages across … they relate to a more hands-on, kinaesthetic and collaborative style of learning.”

Ms Fell said the key characteristics of Gen Alpha were shared across the globe with kids here very similar to children aged under 10 elsewhere in the world.

“They are being shaped in a more global world where there is a focus on global trends and shifts, more so than local,” Ms Fell said.

Interestingly, educators reported Alpha students were more likely to persist with problems and embrace challenges than their older Gen Z peers, who range in age from 11 to 25.

“When faced with a challenge, educators believe Gen Alpha is more likely to persist (64 per cent), while Gen Z is more likely to give up (52 per cent),” Ms Fell said.

“While educators also think Gen Alpha is more likely to ask for help (79 per cent) while Gen Z will struggle in silence (69 per cent).

“When failure occurs, educators believe Gen Z is more likely to see it as a personal deficiency (68 per cent) while Gen Alpha is equally likely to see it as a personal deficiency (50 per cent) or an opportunity to learn (50 per cent).”

The biggest tension facing educators and parents is managing screen time with 91 per cent of parents and 95 per cent of educators agreeing children spend too much time on their screens.

There are also concerns children are growing up faster than they need to.

“Almost half of educators (48 per cent), and one in five parents (20 per cent), believe up-ageing is a barrier for this generation to thrive,” Ms Fell said.

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“Consistent with this, almost nine in ten parents (87 per cent) and educators (90 per cent) are concerned that children are losing their innocence too soon.”

Wellbeing, too, emerged as a both a priority and challenge in 2020 for students of all ages.

“Parents and teachers agreed the number one barrier for students to thrive – this relates most to Gen Z – is increased mental health pressures with the concept of student wellbeing raised by 49 per cent of parents and 74 per cent of teachers,” Ms Fell said.

On a positive note, according to the survey, parents are generally pleased with their child’s school.

“We found 88 per cent of parents are satisfied with their child’s school experience … and (they) are four times as likely to believe the school their child attends will be better, rather than worse, in the future,” she said.