88% of teachers report shorter attention spans, study finds

Teachers worldwide believe student attention spans are declining, with 88% reporting they have shortened, according to a global study published by Cambridge International.

The research, Navigating the future: Preparing learners to thrive in a changing world, draws on the views of 3,021 teachers and 3,840 students across 150 countries, as well as insights from education and policy experts. It found that while digital technology supports learning, both teachers and students voiced concerns about distraction and over-reliance on devices.

The report also identified self-management skills as critical for the future but the hardest to teach and learn. Communication skills, including empathy and social awareness, were viewed as essential for success, though 61% of teachers said fear of judgement was a major barrier to developing them.

Rod Smith, group managing director for international education at Cambridge, said: “This research gives us a deeper understanding of how students and teachers are experiencing change. What strikes me most is the clarity with which it highlights a simple truth: never has the role of schools and teachers been more important.”

Findings suggested subject knowledge remains vital for progression through education but is seen as less valuable beyond it, described as a short-term “currency” rather than a lifelong asset. Fewer than half of students said they felt prepared for their next step in education (48%) or their future beyond it (45%), though teachers expressed more confidence in their pupils’ readiness.

Michael Stevenson, senior consultant at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), added: “If young people are to flourish, they need a way to develop purpose, intent and agency. That’s the role of education – and that’s why education needs to change.”

The report set out five priorities for action: fostering stronger self-management, reframing subject knowledge in the context of artificial intelligence, making skills more visible to students, building oracy and interpersonal skills, and strengthening the school’s role in creating purposeful connections.

Cambridge said it has already begun initiatives in response, including a new skills profile tool, teacher resources on executive function, an expanded wellbeing curriculum for students aged 14 and over, and a permanent student consultative forum.

Dr Iwan Syahril, global education advisor and former director general at Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, said: “The findings already offer powerful signals for what education must confront and design for. With deeper multi-stakeholder integration and a bold, future-oriented lens, this work has the potential to influence global practice at scale.”