Some 88 per cent of teachers believe student attention spans have decreased, according to a global survey of over 3,000 educators carried out by Cambridge International.

Furthermore, of the 3,021 teachers surveyed, 72 per cent said this is manifesting in students having difficulty focusing on complex topics, 64 per cent believe students struggle to complete longer assignments and 61 per cent think less independent learning is taking place (see below).

The report, Navigating the future: Preparing learners to thrive in a changing world, found that technology is often seen as the cause, with 71 per cent of teachers saying students spend too much time on screens, and 70 per cent saying students are distracted by its use.

However, when asked to pick the single greatest challenge from technology, the top concern was that students are too reliant on technology, and that it has reduced their critical thinking and creativity.

Interestingly, the report also surveyed 3,840 students who shared these concerns, with 66 per cent admitting they are easily distracted by technology, 59 per cent are concerned by their screen time use and 58 per cent say they are too reliant on technology.

In response to this, 81 per cent of teachers said helping students develop subject knowledge is the most important step to help them in their education - a sentiment 73 per cent of students agreed with.

Rod Smith, group managing director at Cambridge International, said he thought this was one of the key insights in the report as it proves the role of teachers is still seen as central to ensuring strong outcomes for young people.

“Artificial intelligence is incredibly helpful to improve your productivity and how quickly you can access information, but what it doesn’t do is deep subject knowledge and help establish information that is in your long-term memory,” he said.

“[But] with subject knowledge you can…develop ideas and articulate them to others, so I think if we look at the attention span issue as well, you can see how important subject knowledge remains.”

Self-management skills important to all

Linked to this, the report found self-management skills, including the ability to manage uncertainty, coping skills, adaptability and flexibility, were identified as important by both teachers (74 per cent) and students (69 per cent).

Smith said this also spoke to the importance of teachers in ensuring students are prepared for the future world and whatever careers young people may enter.

“It feels like that is something that’s becoming more important…about how you are managing your time, managing distractions, how you are actively focusing on the things you value,” said Smith.

However, 23 per cent of teachers said this was the hardest skill to teach when asked to select one area, while 19 per cent of students said it is the hardest set of skills to learn - something Smith suggested means some schools are probably more advanced in this area than others.

“I think this [shows] some teachers and schools are really leaning into this and feeling this is really where they’re adding value to education,” he said.

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