New education survey

Are Austria’s pupils losing interest in AI?

What will teaching look like in the future? That's what a study by tutoring company GoStudent set out to find out.(Bild: Art Gallery - stock.adobe.com)

Rarely has education had to adapt to new circumstances as quickly as in the last five years. A study shows how pupils, parents and teachers see the future, with some exciting and controversial results. Meanwhile, education researcher Florian Müller is critical.

Corona, artificial intelligence, teacher shortages and much more have posed challenges for the Austrian school system in recent years. This makes the results of the annual GoStudent Education Report 2024 all the more exciting. 

The Viennese tutoring company surveyed 5581 parents and their children (aged 10 to 16) in six European countries and conducted interviews with 60 teachers "to gain a comprehensive insight into the education of today and tomorrow", as GoStudent puts it.

Education researcher takes a critical view of the study
The "Krone" picked out the most interesting aspects of the report and spoke to education researcher Florian Müller from the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, who takes a critical view of the results.

"I question the representativeness of the study and I also miss the interpretation of the results," says the researcher. According to the education report, 66% of Austrian parents consider AI to be a highly effective educational tool - the highest percentage in a European comparison. Very striking results for Müller: "What do parents understand by artificial intelligence?" In general, the study shows assessments by pupils and parents rather than education experts, which reduces its significance.

Austria's parents are enthusiastic about AI in the education sector(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

Meanwhile, 73 percent of children in Austria feel confident in dealing with new technologies.(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

"In contrast to parents, Austrian children tend to focus more on topics such as mental health, sustainability and finance, with these topics at the top of their priority list for the curriculum," GoStudent explains to the Krone. In comparison, pupils in Austria show little interest in learning with virtual reality: "Only 47 percent prefer learning with AI."

A finding that is not directly negative for the educational researcher: "This may also indicate that pupils are skeptical and critical of the new technologies." This would also explain why 73% of pupils now feel confident in using them - in 2023 it was still 51%.

Austria and Germany in comparison(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

Meaningful teaching increases motivation to learn
Müller considers the content of lessons to be particularly important: "If pupils feel that what they are learning is meaningful, their motivation also increases," says the teaching and learning expert. The education system faces the challenge of designing lessons in such a way that they are as well prepared as possible for real life after school.

"It is also very pleasing that young Austrians want to engage with climate education and mental health," says Müller, looking at the topic rankings. It has long been proven that well-being is linked to academic performance and therefore also to motivation to learn. 

In conclusion, Müller advises against using the GoStudent study to make general statements: "There is too little background for that and important questions are completely missing." Nevertheless, it does at least reveal trends that pupils and parents can expect in the education sector.