The rise of AI requires students to develop stronger data skills

 

As AI renews focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and core academic skills, 84% of parents and educators agree that schools should integrate data education across the K-12 curriculum

 As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes education and the workforce, a majority of parents and educators believe it’s essential for students to develop data literacy skills, according to a new survey released today by Data Science 4 Everyone and Mathematica. 

The survey of more than 1,300 parents, teachers, school leaders, and state and local education officials found widespread agreement that it’s crucial for data literacy to be a central part of learning for K-12 students. Key findings include:

• 88% of respondents believe all students should be data literate before graduating high school

• 84% of respondents said data literacy and data science should be integrated across multiple subjects, not just math or computer science

• 76% of respondents believe AI has made data education more important than ever

Parents and educators were also asked about which skills are most important for students to be “AI-ready.” The majority of respondents prioritized problem-solving, critical thinking and strong foundations in core academic subjects (math, science, English) over more technical skills such as computer programming or writing effective prompts for AI tools.

Drawing on the survey findings, DS4E and Mathematica identify several implications for educators, school and district leaders, and policymakers. These include expanding opportunities for students to develop data and AI-related competencies, prioritizing durable skills for an evolving technological landscape, integrating data literacy across all subjects, and connecting data literacy to civic participation. 

“These survey results make it clear that parents and educators are hyper-aware of the need to ensure every student has the opportunity to develop data literacy skills before entering the real world,” said Zarek Drozda, Director of Data Science 4 Everyone. “AI is playing an increasingly large role in how we learn, work and participate in our society. It’s up to education leaders and policymakers to provide the next generations with the durable skills needed to engage with AI tools thoughtfully, evaluate AI-generated information critically, and make informed decisions in their personal and professional lives.”

“One of the clearest findings from this survey is the gap between the importance parents and educators place on data literacy and the opportunities they believe students have to develop those skills," said Kara Conroy, Senior Researcher at Mathematica. "That gap highlights the need for continued investment in curriculum, instructional resources, and professional learning so that schools and educators can better support students as they learn to evaluate information, reason with data, and engage responsibly with AI.”

This survey included 1,333 respondents, including parents, teachers, school administrators, and state and local education agency staff. Data were collected between February and March 2026. The full report, “What Students Need to Thrive in a Data- and AI-Driven World: Perspectives from Parents and Educators,” is available here. 

Unsocial kids may be happier than you think

 

The child who plays alone during recess may be perfectly content doing so, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

Beliefs about belonging and community create safe space to play solo, new study suggests.

The research found that some elementary school children who appear unsociable actually just prefer being solo, as long as they know they belong in a broader social setting. These children knew their peers would still invite them to play even if they opted out from time to time. That knowledge acted as a buffer against potential feelings of loneliness.

Children who said they didn’t think fitting in was important felt unhappy with their relationships with peers. It could be that they didn’t see a reason to maintain social connections, often turning down invites to play. As a result, those invites likely stopped coming. And then they began feeling left out and lonely.

It’s important to remind children they can fit in with their peers but not to force them into social interaction if they don’t feel like it, the researchers said.

“There are things we do because we know what’s good for us,” said Michele Lease, co-author of the study and a professor in UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education’s department of educational psychology. “We go exercise. We eat our vegetables. We know it’s important. We might not want to do it, but we do it because it’s good for us.

“Social interaction is the same way. Turning down invitations, like avoiding exercise, leads to poorer outcomes.”

Kids who seem like loners to others may become self-fulfilled prophecy

The researchers analyzed answers from 473 fourth and fifth graders from multiple Georgia elementary schools. They were asked to identify classmates who prefer to play alone even though they get along well with others. The children also self-reported how highly they valued belonging. And they were asked about the quality of their relationships both one-on-one with friends and within a larger group setting such as a  classroom.

The researchers found kids who were identified by their peers as “not social” were often dissatisfied with their position in the class. These children were unhappy that they often sat alone at lunch or weren’t approached first for reading groups.

These withdrawn children were still able to maintain successful individual friendships, however. Although that is a positive, navigating group dynamics is an important skill during childhood, the researchers said.

“By fourth and fifth grade, peer groups are more established, children have developed stronger social skills, and they have more experience interacting with one another,” said Rachael Pfanz, corresponding author of the study and a doctoral graduate from the college. Pfanz is also now an elementary school psychologist. “At that point, they are better able to recognize who is regularly playing alone and who is becoming isolated.”

Feelings of belonging allow kids to turn down invites

Children who didn’t think fitting in was important were more likely to be dissatisfied with others at both a friendship and class level. The researchers speculated that they turn down more invitations and become withdrawn, which translates into even more isolation from their peers.

The kids who did value belonging but stayed off on their own felt just fine. They were happy with their peers on both an individual and group level.

The researchers suggested this may be because these children accept enough social invitations to feel included but are also comfortable declining invitations when they don’t feel like playing, knowing they’ll have other opportunities in the future.

“These kids prefer to be alone and do their own thing rather than playing with their peers, but they still have that other flip side of getting along well with others,” Pfanz said. “They will not always reject social invitations like the other group, though. If they’re invited, they will sometimes participate and socialize with others. That higher importance of belonging drives them to engage in more social invitations when maybe they wouldn’t want to, and that suits them well.”

Maybe don’t ask them to go join the big soccer game … That’s a little overwhelming.

Rachael Pfanz, Mary Frances Early College of Education Ph.D. graduate

Teachers and parents should consider these findings when organizing group activities or before pushing a solo kid into a social situation they don’t want to participate in, the researchers said. Nudging a child toward a small, like-minded group of kids or encouraging them to accept invites occasionally can still go a long way in flexing a kid’s social muscles.

“Maybe don’t ask them to go join the big soccer game right away on the playground. That’s a little overwhelming if they’re already preferring to play alone,” Pfanz said. “Instead, encourage those solo kids to go join a small group that has similar behaviors and see how that goes.”

The study was published in The Elementary School Journal. Co-authors include Michael Barger, an associate professor in the department of educational psychology; Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett, senior associate dean for academic programs and professor in the department of educational psychology; and Mihyun Kim, a doctoral student in the department of educational psychology.

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Journal

The Elementary School Journal

DOI

10.1086/742021 

Genetic Effects on Parents' and Teachers' College Encouragement

 Parents’ and teachers’ expectations and aspirations are critical drivers of educational outcomes, yet what causally shapes these expectations remains unclear. 

Using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, this study estimates the direct genetic effects of 18 polygenic indices on college encouragement, net of parental genetic background. 

The genetic propensity for educational attainment and mathematical ability predict stronger expectations of college attendance, while smoking behavior predicts weaker expectations. 

Teachers’ encouragement accounts for roughly a quarter of the genetic effects on educational attainment for cognitive traits, but not for psychiatric traits. 

Genetic effects on expectations are amplified among high-SES parents and first-born children. Thus, genetic influences on educational expectations are narrow in trait scope and uneven across families, with encouragement serving as one channel linking genetic differences to educational inequality.

The more children’s peers use AI, the more parents would be willing to pay for it

 

Many parents have mixed feelings about the unrestricted use of artificial intelligence (AI) for schoolwork. They are concerned about the potential impact on their child’s ability to learn but also don’t want them to be left behind if other young people are using AI. A new study involving the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence shows just how much this social pressure is influencing demand. The study entitled “Social Dynamics of AI Adoption in Parents’ Educational Decisions” has been published in the academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

For the study, Professor Christopher Roth from the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne worked alongside Professors Leonardo Bursztyn and Alex Imas, doctoral candidate Aaron Leonard (University of Chicago) and Assistant Professor Rafael Jiménez-Durán (Bocconi University) to conduct several experiments involving around 2,000 parents from the US, Canada, and the UK. They all had at least one child between the ages of 13 and 18. Parents indicated the maximum amount they would be willing to pay for a three-month premium subscription to an unrestricted AI tool that their child could use for schoolwork.

They were presented with four scenarios in which 20, 40, 60 or 80 per cent of other young people were already using AI to help them with their homework. For every ten-percentage-point increase in the assumed usage, the average willingness to pay rose by 1.83 US dollars. Between the 20 per cent and 80 per cent scenarios, parents’ willingness to pay for the AI subscription rose by more than 60 per cent; this equates to around eleven US dollars. Around 20 per cent of parents cited concerns that their children might otherwise fall behind as the reason for their decision.

In addition to information about the short-term benefits of AI, some of the parents were also given information about the long-term risks. They referred to another field study in which pupils were given access to GPT-4 whilst completing a number of maths exercises. In subsequent maths tests without AI, they obtained scores that were just under 20 per cent lower than those of pupils who had practised without using it.

Although this information did change parents’ attitudes towards the technology, it had virtually no effect on their willingness to pay. Instead, support for school-wide rules or bans rose from 44 per cent to 57 per cent.

“Our study suggests that social pressure can accelerate the spread of new technologies even before their long-term consequences are fully understood,” explains Roth. “Whilst risk information influences parents’ assessments, it does not affect their individual willingness to pay to provide their children with better AI models.”

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2533193123 

Nutrition strategies for concussion management

Nutrition strategies for concussion management are being implemented by dietitians to support Australia’s elite collision sport athletes, new Griffith University research has found.

Lead author Dr Nathan Delang interviewed 14 Accredited Sports Dietitians who work across professional AFL, Rugby League, and Rugby Union teams to explore their practices and perspectives relating to concussion management.

“Concussion is so common in contemporary professional collision sports, typically once every three games, so it’s important to ensure optimal support is provided for athletes,” Dr Delang said.

“Most sports dietitians provided nutrition support either before and/or after concussion, with fish oil and creatine monohydrate the most commonly recommended supplements.

“Fish oil and creatine might support concussion recovery through several mechanisms from mitigating excessive neuroinflammation through to enhancing the availability of energy for supporting brain recovery and returning to exercise.

“All dietitians reported a food-first approach as central to recovery with a focus on energy intake, hydration, and healthy eating patterns to help athletes maintain their pre-injury nutrition status.”

Alongside fish oil and creatine, other supplements in use by professional teams included vitamin B2, tart cherry extract, curcumin, and vitamin D.

Professor Ben Desbrow from Griffith’s School of Allied Health, Sport and Social Work said while Australians sports dietitians were already using nutrition as part of concussion care, the practice was advancing faster than the evidence base.

“Practitioners are confident with familiar products, such as creatine, which are often already in use as a physical performance aid,” he said.

“However, they want stronger evidence so they can confidently tailor nutrition advice for complex concussion cases.

“We need stronger clinical research and formal guidelines to support safe, consistent and equitable care for athletes.”

The paper ‘Concussion and nutrition in professional-level collision sports: Perspectives from Australian Sports Dietitians’ has been published in The Journal of Nutrition. 

Strong childhood friendships could be the antidote to lifelong social media harms

 The key to protecting children from social media’s harmful effects may lie not in restrictions alone, but in equipping them with robust real-world friendship skills from an early age.

This is the argument put forward by counsellor and winner of global awards in education and business, a counsellor Madhavi Nawana Parker in her new book, The Friendship Blueprint, who says: “It’s urgent that we act now to nurture our children’s social intelligence and protect their future.”

As Australian legislation to ban social media access for children under 16 takes effect, educators are highlighting how early intervention in social and emotional learning could provide a crucial buffer against its well-documented risks to mental health and self-worth.

The importance of friendship

As the social media ban is enforced, Nawana Parker, who is CEO of Positive Minds Australia and has worked in Australian schools for almost three decades, suggests that restriction alone may not be sufficient.

Instead, Nawana Parker argues that children who develop strong face-to-face relationship skills are better equipped to navigate digital spaces healthily when they eventually gain access.

She suggests teaching children emotional regulation – the ability to notice, understand, and manage feelings – forms the foundation of both healthy friendships and responsible digital citizenship. This means that children who learn these skills early are less likely to base their identity and self-worth on online validation, and instead seek comfort and gain confidence from their friends.

“Delaying device use gives brain more time to develop social skills,” Nawana Parker explains.

“It is my belief, rooted deep in both research and lived experience, that our ability to connect with others is not just nice-to-have, but an essential ingredient for well-being, meaning, and success. In a world that can sometimes feel hurried, uncertain, or even a little lonely, the power of friendship is more important than ever.

“I’ve witnessed countless young people transform, finding confidence, self-awareness, and hope as they overcome loneliness and discover authentic connection.”

Relationship skills as the foundation

At the heart of Nawana Parker’s argument is that the skills needed to build and maintain friendships will not only help children be kinder to each other and navigate disagreements more peacefully, but will also improve their long-term self-worth.

Nawana Parker suggests there is a critical developmental window – even though emotional intelligence continues to develop well into adulthood, the foundations are laid in childhood through real-world social experiences.

The key skills she suggests children need to learn are self-awareness, communication skills, empathy and perspective taking, conflict resolution, inclusion and co-operation.

“Strong friendships depend on emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills,” Nawana Parker explains. “These competencies help children stay connected to friends, even during disagreements or challenging times.”

Research cited in the book demonstrates that peer relationships significantly influence children’s values, behaviour and sense of belonging. Children who miss out on these formative interactions may be particularly vulnerable when they later encounter the curated, often toxic environment of social media.

Nawana Parker asks: “Would you rather have 500 followers who scroll past your posts, or two friends who notice when you are unusually quiet? The answer reveals what we all know deep down: that authentic friendship is not measured in cursory clicks, but in genuine care.”

Emotional resilience

As well as providing children with connection and confidence, friendships can also teach children how to repair relationships when things go wrong, Nawana Parker explains.

Building and repairing friendships teaches children critical lifelong skills such as conflict resolution and empathy, and how to respectfully communicate differing opinions – key skills for the online world.

“How can adults help children avoid friendship roadblocks? At this age, emotions often override logic, making it hard to process social upsets calmly. Children need support to manage these challenges. Emotional intelligence and healthy boundaries develop over time.

“When handled with self-awareness, compassion, and respect, these moments help build communication, empathy, compromise, and trust,” she explains.

Nawana Parker suggests that the conflicts and disagreements in childhood help children to develop empathy, learn to self-regulate and refine their communication skills – foundations which will help to determine how they engage with digital platforms later in life.

“Going through everyday misunderstandings, occasionally feeling left out, and experiencing changes in friendship dynamics provide perfect opportunities (with our support and guidance) to develop these skills. While these experiences are all painful, and we certainly don’t want them to happen more than the joyful and mutually respectful interactions, early childhood is practice for the very real ups and downs of human relationships,” she explains.

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DOI

10.4324/9781003617570 

Firearm carrying accelerates suicide risk among high school students

Researchers link the behavior to soaring suicide rates among Black and Hispanic youth

Self-reports from more than 23,000 high school students in 15 states for a school-based survey administered by the Centers for Disease Control reveal a strong association between firearm carrying and the risk of suicide by any method, according to a new study by Michael A. Lindsey of New York University and other mental health experts.

Published today in JAMA Network Open, the study finds that adolescents who acknowledged carrying a firearm within the previous 30 days were nearly four – or 3.72 – times as likely as non-carriers to have attempted suicide within the prior 12 months.

The “acquired capability” that comes with carrying a firearm— “including habituation to fear and fearlessness about death” —can be lethal for a teenager, given the typically rapid transition from suicidal thoughts to attempts, which for most individuals can be one hour, the study noted.

“Among adolescents, gun carrying may represent both increased access to lethal means during acute crisis and heightened capability for suicide, accelerating the transition from ideation to attempts," according to the study, which was led by Lindsey, a widely cited scholar on youth suicidality and child and adolescent mental health who is the dean of the NYU Silver School of Social Work and the Paulette Goddard Professor of Social Work.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among high school adolescents (after accidental death), with firearms serving as the primary means of suicide among youth since 2020. However, prior researchers have focused on the risks of suicidality posed by youth access to guns in the home, rather than firearm carrying.

The current study found that more than 35 percent of non-Hispanic Black gun carriers indicated they attempted suicide during the 12 months before they were surveyed, having carried a gun three months prior to their survey response. That compared with 30 percent of Hispanic gun-carrying youth, and 21 percent of White gun-carrying youth. “Given that firearm suicide rates among Black youth have increased by 245% since 2014, these findings take on special urgency,” said Lindsey.

Nationally, youth suicide declined starting in 1981, only to reverse course as of 2015, most rapidly among Black and Latinx youth. White youth, who for decades experienced the highest suicide rates among racial groups, have seen a 6% decrease in suicides since the start of 2015.

Lindsey worked closely with adolescent mental health specialists at NYU, UC Berkeley, and Harvard in analyzing the 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Combined Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). The classroom-level survey, done every two years, monitors and compiles data on high-priority health risk behaviors and trends among high school students nationwide.

Among the findings of Lindsey and his coinvestigators is that heightened risk of a suicide attempt is not only strongly linked with firearm carrying but is independent of a gun-carrying adolescent’s grade, race, ethnicity, or sex.

The researchers looked into whether states with strict gun laws reduced suicides and suicide attempts, but a clear picture was not readily determinable. Using Everytown for Gun Safety’s 2023 measure of the strength of firearm laws state-by-state, the researchers found only that stronger laws appeared to be “modestly protective” for youth, which aligns with past research.

No matter how, or in what state, teenagers may procure a gun, toting it with them signals “a salient marker of risk,” with a higher chance that a troubled adolescent will feel emboldened to cut their life short by any means (not necessarily with a firearm), the researchers wrote.

“Gun carrying may confer suicide risk not primarily as the method of attempt, but because it: (1) provides immediate access to lethal means during acute crises; (2) serves as an indicator of broader risk-taking and externalizing behaviors; and (3) signals heightened exposure to violence and trauma,” according to the study.

They pointed to a “robustness of the association across demographic groups and policy environments” as evidence of the personal danger represented by firearm carrying among teenagers.

Describing multilevel suicide-prevention measures, the study recommended that mental health practitioners incorporate assessments of gun carrying into routine suicide risk screenings in pediatric and school-based settings, alongside lethal-means counseling for families in firearm-owning households, an evidence-based suicide prevention strategy.

The study also recommended comprehensive firearm legislation to prevent child access to firearms, safe storage, and age restrictions, with a particular emphasis on keeping adolescents from accessing firearms. Addressing youth suicide also requires measures to reduce racially/ethnically marginalized adolescents’ exposure to violence, economic precarity, and unequal access to mental health care.

Along with Lindsey, the research investigation was conducted by Jasmin Brooks Stephens of UC Berkeley, Department of Psychology; Brittney Singletary of NYU Silver; Taylor McGuire of Harvard, Department of Psychology; and John Dixon of the NOXID Group.

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Journal

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.26924