Culture Post: 8 in 10 Parents Fear Their Children Are Bored at School

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Children should be having much more fun in school, according to eight in 10 parents. A recent survey of 1,000 parents with school-aged kids (K–12) found that 80 percent say their children either dislike school or are bored at school.

More than half the poll (57%) attributed this sentiment to challenging material that makes their kids feel like they’re falling behind. Another 52 percent say a lack of hands-on projects that foster collaboration and interaction also contribute.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of LEGO Education, the survey shows that hands-on learning is at the forefront of parents’ minds.

Seventy-four percent of parents recognize the value of STEAM (short for science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) for the future, and a whopping 70 percent say their child is interested in exploring a STEAM career. However, three in four parents have also observed their kids getting excited about learning in elementary school, only to lose interest once they hit middle school.

Additionally, the survey polled 1,000 teachers to discover how they’re bolstering students’ excitement in the classroom. Nine in 10 (91%) are already bringing hands-on learning into the classroom.

Regardless of the grade they teach, 87 percent noted an improvement in student engagement when incorporating purposeful play, such as hands-on STEAM activities.

Boosting students’ confidence and curiosity in the classroom can be key. Teachers have found the most effective ways to do so are with hands-on projects (70%) and having students work together with others (70%), along with the opportunity to make mistakes without judgment (63%). The freedom to make mistakes was the top choice among high school teachers (68%).

Source: StudyFinds
https://www.studyfinds.org/children-bored-school-steam/

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