A new study reveals key areas of opportunity for addressing the most pressing issue facing educators today: student engagement. The Education Insights Report by Discovery Education captures prevailing attitudes and beliefs from superintendents, teachers, parents, and students. Survey data was collected by The Harris Poll, an industry-leading research organization, on behalf of worldwide edtech leader Discovery Education in August 2024. It included 1,524 responses from K-12 students, parents of K-12 students, and K-12 teachers and superintendents.

“While The Education Insights Report by Discovery Education found that students, parents, teachers, and superintendents have a generally positive outlook about the current state of education, it also found there are hurdles to overcome,” said Brian Shaw, Discovery Education’s Chief Executive Officer. “Educators have concerns about keeping students engaged, and students feel uncertain about their preparedness for the future. Discovery Education’s goal with this research is to spotlight opportunities for improvement so that all stakeholders can collaborate to solve these challenges and create brighter futures for all learners.”

Additional findings of The Education Insights Report by Discovery Education found:

• Curiosity is important to everyone. There is broad agreement on the importance of curiosity in learning, with more than 90% of stakeholders surveyed agreeing that curiosity is central to learning. However, 82% of students and 75% of teachers believe there are not enough opportunities to be curious in today’s classrooms.
• Students want to learn more life skills. 88% of district leaders, teachers, parents, and students rate life skills as very important, but only 57% of students believe their schools adequately teach the life skills needed for future success.
• Teachers see promise in adaptive learning. 93% of teachers believe adaptive learning resources would help students learn more effectively and 75% of students say learning at their own pace would increase the likelihood of their engaging with lessons, feeling empowered in school, and more prepared for the future.
• Time is of the essence. 94% of teachers surveyed reported that they are seeking classroom tools that will give them time back to focus on students.
• AI tools from education experts are more trusted. When it comes to Artificial Intelligence, 72% of teachers and parents, as well as 85% of superintendents surveyed, believe AI-powered customized learning materials are more trustworthy when built by experts in education. In addition, 84% of teachers and 90% of superintendents believe that as teachers receive more training on how to use AI, it will become a more trusted tool in education.

A complete copy of The Education Insights Report by Discovery Education can be downloaded here.

On Thursday, October 24 at 2:00 PM Eastern, Discovery Education is hosting a special, town hall-style webinar during which education leaders from across the nation will share their thoughts and insights on this report and its findings. Among the topics explored will be:

• Student motivation and engagement 
• Student curiosity and exploration  
• Workforce readiness and real-world application 
• Learning resources and educator mindsets

Click here for more details and to register for this event.

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning solutions visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.