Children could be having much more fun in school, according to eight in 10 parents. A recent survey of 1,000 parents with school-age kids (K–12) found that 80% said their children either dislike school or are bored at school. More than half (57%) attributed this sentiment to challenging material that makes their kids feel like they’re falling behind, and 52% cited a shortage of hands-on projects that foster collaboration and interaction. Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of LEGO Education, the survey also found 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% say their child is interested in exploring a STEAM career. But 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. From parents’ perspective, the biggest roadblocks when moving from one grade to another are staying engaged or focused (52%), dealing with more challenging material (48%) and getting used to new teachers’ expectations (48%). Parents also said their kids sometimes get frustrated when given challenging homework assignments (73%), with many attributing this to kids not understanding what they’re supposed to do (62%) and feeling too intimidated to ask questions (62%). In addition, the survey polled 1,000 teachers to discover how they’re bolstering students’ excitement. Nine in 10 (91%) teachers are already bringing hands-on learning into the classroom.
