” The disruptive occasions of the past 18 months with the pandemic and shifts in discovering methods have opened our cumulative eyes to a number of new facts including about the correlation between equity and trainee empowerment as documented in this brand-new report,” stated Dr. Julie A. Evans, chief researcher and CEO of Project Tomorrow. “With the research in front of us, we can not avert now but must take this opportunity in time to re-think the methods we are approaching learning and particularly how technology can be better utilized to support trainee engagement in learning.”

The report, Empowering and Engaging Student Voice to Create Equity in Education, comes from Project Tomorrow, a nationwide education not-for-profit supporting the application of research-based learning experiences, and Blackboard Inc., a worldwide edtech software and options company. It leverages crucial insights from a study of 50,000 K-12 students, parents, and teachers during the 2020-21 academic year.

Trainees continue to struggle versus relentless educational injustices, and while they report uneasy levels of disengagement, a move towards student-directed learning could help students and teachers alike find a better path toward impactful learning experiences.

Key findings

1. While two-thirds of students grades 6-12 said the leading benefit of virtual learning was finding out at their own speed, less than half of school principals saw it as a crucial benefit.

2. Overall, just half of trainees say theyre engaged. At schools where the bulk of the 6-12 grade population are trainees of color, just 43% concur they are engaged with what they are discovering, 8 points lower than schools where the majority of the trainee population is white (51%).

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Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Marylands distinguished Philip Merrill College of Journalism.