Gen Z

"Baby Boomers changed politics, Gen X changed family, Gen Y changed work, and Gen Z will change education." When Penelope Trunk wrote this on her blog last month, it caught my attention, and since that time a string of articles has been written supporting this theory about just how Gen Z will lead this shift. Last week Viacom and the Associated Press teamed up to release a new study evaluating how the education system is meeting the needs of today's 18-24 year-olds. While respondents skewed a bit older than members of Gen Z, we can already tell the tide is changing.

Looking at high school and college age students as "core consumers of education," the Young Adult Perspectives on American Education study found that this age cohort are generally optimistic that high schools and colleges can prepare them for the workforce, but they feel these educational institutions aren't adapting quickly enough to meet their changing needs. The result? More and more 18-24 year-olds are taking a less traditional approach to higher education through a combination of self-directed curricula, internships and self-teaching. Today's young people are more accustomed to figuring out what they like to do, and then with an almost innate entrepreneurial spirit -- figure out how to do it. They are rewriting the rules within the classroom and beyond, and the implications are not only impacting our education system, but will have a profound impact on the future workforce.

According to the study, today's young people are taking longer to graduate because they feel that, by combining school with work and internships, they stand a greater chance of finding a desirable job. Not surprisingly, they are also relying more on their own social networks of family and friends and less on community or religious institutions and high school counselors when it comes to making education decisions.

Earlier this month, Cynthia Gibson and Nicholas Longo released their new book, From Command to Community: A New Approach to Leadership Education in Colleges and Universities. In it, Cindy and Nick challenge the traditional notion of learning that is focused on the individual, in favor of a more collective leadership built on any number of individual actions that collectively contribute to the greater good. Fueled by technology, globalization and demographic shifts, the book calls on institutions to start thinking differently about leadership, and challenges institutions to create new opportunities for young people to apply their leadership in organizations and communities across the country.

Members of Gen Y who recently entered (or have "attempted" to enter the workforce) have found that despite their best efforts to do everything right in preparing, it hasn't helped them get a job -- and to further exacerbate things, they are finding themselves in huge debt without the ability to pay it back. My hope is that through a combination of new collaborative styles of leadership and new curricula that emphasizes teams and breaks down the hierarchical structures, that Gen Z will be even better positioned to take on the great challenges of their time and ours.

While it's clear that Gen Z will be taking matters into their own hands by finding new ways to get an education, how do you think "external" and environmental factors are impacting them? Are educators paying attention to this shift, and will they adapt accordingly? Only time will tell, but something tells me Gen Z won't wait for anyone else to figure it out before they do.