Survey: Most Young Kids Are Learning STEM at School

A large majority of students age 10 and younger are being taught STEM at school, and parents can't seem to get enough of it. A survey of 1,000 parents of students aged 10 and younger found that 78% reported that their kids are learning STEM-based curricula at least weekly. And 73% of parents want schools to adopt more STEM learning.

The findings were part of a fall 2021 parent survey administered by ed tech company codeSpark, which offers a game-based educational tool focused on STEM for grades K–5. The tool, codeSpark Academy, is free for public schools in North America.

Almost two-thirds of parents participating in the survey (64%) also said they believe there's a direct correlation between STEM learning in the classroom and later career success.

The survey also asked parents about student gaming habits and screen time. According to the survey, 70% of children 10 and under spend "at least" three to five hours per week "on apps and online games." And nearly half in that age range are comfortable using apps and online games by themselves.

As far as screen time goes, 76% of screen time occurs in the home. And 65% of parents said the pandemic "significantly" impacted the amount of time their kids spend in front of a screen.

Some other findings from the survey included:

  • 75% of kids use an educational platform at home, versus 70% at school;
  • 40% of parents said that using ed tech platforms at home "helps advance success in the classroom for their children";
  • 50% of parents surveyed said they want to invest in ed tech at home; and
  • Of all game categories, students 10 and under interact most with "ed tech-based games" (with a 30% plurality).

The findings were not released in a report accessible to the public. Further information about codeSpark can be found at codespark.com.

Related article: "Many Parents Say Tech Barriers Hindered Academic Success in the Last Year."

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • glowing neural network-like structure and balanced scale

    California AI Regulation Bill Moves to Assembly Vote with Key Amendments

    California’s Senate Bill 1047 (SB 1047), the "Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act" has cleared the Assembly Appropriations Committee with some significant amendments.

  • landscape photo with an AI rubber stamp on top

    California AI Watermarking Bill Supported by OpenAI

    OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, is backing a California bill that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content in the form of a digital "watermark." The proposed legislation, known as the "California Digital Content Provenance Standards" (AB 3211), aims to ensure transparency in digital media by identifying content created through artificial intelligence. This requirement would apply to a broad range of AI-generated material, from harmless memes to deepfakes that could be used to spread misinformation about political candidates.

  • illustration of a teacher in a classroom using AI technology

    Survey: Top Teacher Uses of AI in the Classroom

    A new report from Cambium Learning Group outlines the top ways educators are using artificial intelligence to manage their classrooms and support student learning.

  • A glowing blue shield at the center, surrounded by digital lines and red dots

    Cohesity Integrates CrowdStrike Threat Intelligence into Data Protection Platform

    Data security provider Cohesity has added CrowdStrike threat intelligence to its flagship data protection platform.