Preparing learners to thrive in a changing world
Self-management skills
Self-management skills are hard to teach and learn, but both teachers and students see them as critical for students’ futures.
A central focus of our research is to understand what it feels like to be a student facing a rapidly changing world. We recognise that an external emphasis on all that is changing in the world can make the future feel uncertain, so we set out to explore how this shapes students’ behaviours and habits and to explore their attitudes to the different types of change they might need to navigate. By listening to how students themselves feel, we can better reflect on how to support them to face the future with confidence and a sense of agency.
Self-management – a set of skills that enable students to recognise and manage their thoughts, feelings and actions – deserves particular emphasis in preparing students to thrive in a changing world. In both the qualitative interviews and the quantitative survey, self-management skills emerged as a priority for education. We heard how teachers struggle with students becoming distracted and that they often perceive their students to be uncomfortable with change. The concept of distraction also echoed through our conversations with students, and several spoke of the need for discipline to manage the distraction created by their electronic devices.
Self-management can provide a solution to these challenges, but teachers and students say that these skills are difficult to teach and to learn. Additionally we need to recognise that self-management is personal and will be different for each individual.
"I think metacognition is the most important part - being able to plan and think and understand why your thinking is wrong."
Student, United States of America
"The finding that self-management skills are perceived as both highly important and highly difficult, by both students and teachers, should be treated as a strategic priority."
Dr Iwan Syahril, Global Education Advisor and former Director General of the Ministry of Education, Indonesia
Findings
Managing distractions
When asked what worries they have about how their use of technology might affect their future, students’ most common worries are getting distracted easily (66%), excessive screen time (59%) and an over-reliance on technology (58%).
Question: Thinking about your use of technology, what worries do you have, if any, about how this might affect your future? Students were first asked to select all that apply and then to select the greatest worry.
Can't see this chart? Download it here↗.
Teachers also express concern about how students’ use of digital technology might impact their futures. Over a third (34%) of teachers select over-reliance on technology as the greatest challenge that technology might pose in preparing students for the future. Digital distractions and reduced attention span are also a common concern, with nearly one in five teachers (18%) selecting this as the greatest challenge.
Question: Which of the following, if any, do you view as challenges technology poses in preparing students for the future? Teachers were first asked to select all that apply and then to select the greatest challenge.
Can't see this chart? Download it here↗.
Notably, screen time is a commonly selected challenge, reported by well over two-thirds (71%) of teachers, but it is only seen as the greatest challenge by 11%. This points to a need to support students to manage distractions and use screen time effectively.
In qualitative interviews, some students describe how they implement effective self-management strategies, such as turning off or putting timers on their devices, when they need to study. Others speak about how all-consuming their devices can be.
"I think I’m currently in a really bad relationship with my phone because I feel kind of addicted to my phone and my iPad. And sometimes I will stay up really, really late, like until morning."
Student, China
"An exercise I do with myself when I’m studying for an important exam and I need to be attentive, I close off all of my electronics, I put my phone on do not disturb and I just put a one- or two-hour timer. This will basically help me to be attentive as I’m not focusing on any electronics at that time and I don’t have anything to distract me."
Student, United Arab Emirates
When asked to consider any changes in their students’ attention spans, the vast majority (88%) of teachers perceive that this is getting shorter. Of those, almost three-quarters (72%) report that this impacts their students’ ability to sustain focus on complex topics, an important aspect of self-management.
Question: Thinking about students' attention span today, how do you think this is changing? Teachers were asked to select one from the following options:
- Students’ attention span is getting shorter
- Students’ attention span isn’t changing
- Students’ attention span is getting longer
- Not sure
- Don’t know.
88% of teachers believe students' attention span is getting shorter
Question: You mentioned you think students' attention span is getting shorter, what impact is this having, if any, on their learning?
Increased difficulty in sustaining focus on complex topics
Challenges in completing longer assignments
Less independent learning
More classroom disruptions
More repetition of instructions
More repetition of instructions
Reduced depth of discussion
Need for more frequent task changes
Other (please specify)
Other (please specify)
"In the past, people had to rely on reading books to get new information. But nowadays, since technology has developed, they get quick access to information by watching like a short video or listening instead of actually reading a whole book. So people are used to getting quick information. So they lack the patience to concentrate for longer than one minute in, in a video or actually reading a whole book to get the information they want."
Student, Thailand
"Before COVID, I would say my attention span was fairly decent – but with classes going online during quarantine that did affect my attention span. The classes were shorter, and I was going for a long time sitting in front of a screen in my own home in my own comfortable zone. It made me be less attentive to the class and to what teachers are saying or what's happening around me. It was an adjustment again when we came back to school."
Student, United Arab Emirates
While technology can be a challenge, it is also part of the solution, and it is widely embraced by teachers and students to support learning and effective self-management. Over 90% of teachers feel that technology helps them to plan and deliver lessons and allows them to explore innovative teaching practices. These are valuable efficiencies at a time when teachers are facing competing demands and experiencing pressure to engage – or as one teacher put it, to ‘entertain’ – their students amid challenges with student attention spans and increased distractions.
"Being a teacher is more like a locksmith who has to figure out every student and their needs. You have to keep them engaged and interested in the subject."
Teacher, Pakistan
Question: In which of the following ways does technology support your teaching? Please select yes or no.
Yes, technology helps me plan and deliver my lessons
Yes, technology allows me to explore innovative teaching practice
Yes, technology helps me engage students in the lesson content
Attitudes to change
The survey explored students’ attitudes towards different kinds of change – everyday changes such as seating arrangements, short-term changes such as temporary teacher replacements, major life changes such as transitioning to the next educational stage, and existential changes at a global level, such as climate change.
Among students, there is a considerable range of feelings towards the different kinds of change: for each kind, over a third of students report feeling comfortable (a rating of at least 4 out of 5), with a smaller proportion of students reporting a sense of discomfort (a rating of 1 or 2 out of 5).
Question: Thinking about the change happening in the world around you, how do you generally feel about these different types of change? Please answer on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is ‘strongly uncomfortable’ and 5 is ‘strongly comfortable’.
Can't see this chart? Download it here↗.
Interestingly, teachers think that their students embrace change more than students’ responses suggest that they do, particularly when thinking about short-term change and life change.
Half of teachers (50%) say their students embrace short-term change (a rating of 4 or 5) yet only 40% of students say they are comfortable with this type of change. The gap is even wider for life changes: well over half of teachers (56%) believe that their students ‘embrace’ life changes (a rating of 4 or 5), whereas fewer than 4 in 10 students (39%) report feeling comfortable with this level of change.
Question: Thinking about the change happening in the world around you, how do your students generally respond to these different types of change? Please answer on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is ‘strongly reluctant’ and 5 is ‘strongly embrace’.
Can't see this chart? Download it here↗.
When asked ‘What, if any, worries do you have about change?’ very few students (4%) say they have none. In fact, a large majority of students report multiple concerns.
Question: Do any of the following worry you about change? Learners were first asked to select all that apply and as a follow-up which of the options they selected is their greatest worry.
Can't see this chart? Download it here↗.
Fear of the unknown, lack of control and decision-making difficulties are the most commonly reported worries – they are each mentioned by around half of all students.
It is clear that many students are concerned about both uncertainty and a perceived lack of agency – challenges that self-management skills can address.
When asked what is their greatest worry about change, students give a broad range of responses. The most commonly selected option, by a significant margin, is again ‘fear of the unknown’.
Although most teachers believe that their students ‘embrace’ or ‘strongly embrace’ life changes, some teachers also reflect on the challenges students face.
"I think it is difficult to prepare students for the realisation that they will have to learn throughout their lives, adapt to change, and be ready to grow and change, and seek out new opportunities."
Teacher, Latvia
"I think Covid was a kind of change overload for students. And now they just want things to stay the same for once, and not to go back to that kind of chaos."
Teacher, United States of America
Supporting students to manage and adapt to uncertainty is an important part of self-management.
"I do feel very positive about my students and the futures that they can create. But there are so many things that make being their age really challenging, that I never dealt with, and that my students that I taught 10 years ago did not deal with."
Teacher, United States of America
In line with our survey findings, some of the students we spoke to in one-to-one interviews demonstrate a positive attitude towards change, and appreciate the way their life experiences have given them greater confidence.
"I used to be scared of change, but then I moved to another country. That was definitely very scary for me. After living that experience, I am not afraid anymore. So, change doesn't scare me. I really like change."
Student, United States of America
"For me as a person who has moved schools a few times and changed curriculum, adaptability is pretty important. I have to change my mindset to suit different environments, and the more I change the more adaptable I become."
Student, Portugal
Analysis
"We've historically just hoped that young people will develop executive functioning skills and habits – like time management, organisation, goal-setting - as they make their way through their schooling experience or life, but we can't afford to make that mistake any longer."
Mitch Weathers, High School Teacher and creator and founder of Organized Binder
Self-management skills are widely recognised as essential for students’ long-term success, yet there is a perception that they are challenging to teach and to learn. This difficulty may stem, in part, from the open-ended nature of these skills which include focus, organisation and adaptability, and can be hard to quantify or assess. Without clear benchmarks, it can be difficult for both teachers and students to know when progress has been made or what the next steps should be. Additionally, these skills are holistic, cutting across all areas of the curriculum rather than aligning neatly with specific subjects or assessment criteria. As a result, they can be neglected or underrepresented in lesson plans and teaching materials.
Students’ attitudes towards change also reveal important insights. Many young people experience school as a structured environment, which may not adequately prepare them for the uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity of the wider world.
Some of the experts we consulted highlighted the growing influence of global events on students’ outlook, suggesting that increased exposure to unsettling news is likely having an adverse influence on their sense of agency and optimism about the future.
"Young people have so much more awareness of what’s going on in the world through access to social media. What they see makes them more fearful than hopeful about our world and their future. This is different from older generations, and I don’t think we are responding to that in an educational sense. We should be doing more to help them to navigate the fear they feel."
Alison Bellwood, Executive Director of Education, Project Everyone
"I see young people who are concerned about society. They have ideas, they know about the issues, but feel it’s not their job to fix it and they don’t feel they have the power to make change. But if everyone thinks they have no power then who’s going to change the world? It’s very complicated."
Wencong Chai, Director of Admissions, University of Sydney
This underscores a vital role for education in encouraging a sense of optimism and agency.
"What happens when you associate fear of change with widespread pessimism? I think that's the kind of double condition in which the younger generation is now living. We need to think about the competencies we can build back that would counteract this and give young people the ability to develop intent, purpose and agency."
Michael Stevenson, Senior Consultant OECD High Performing Systems for Tomorrow
"I'm 17, so I use my phone a lot. I'm on a lot of social media websites, so I'm mostly getting a lot of individual experiences and opinions and insights. And then my brain is just going to try and generalize that that like, oh, I'm pretty sure a good chunk of people think like this, or I'm sure a good chunk of people disagree with this. And so, that probably leads me to being a little bit more pessimistic."
Student, Pakistan
Some experts we spoke to reflect on how the challenging aspects of learning – the times when students need to step out of their comfort zone to learn – are not setbacks, but opportunities that support growth and self-belief, leading to agency.
"Agency […] is key to building hope. Things can be changed because we are adaptable. We can do hard things because we’ve tried hard things and made it through. Struggle in learning is not a sign of weakness, but a sign that growth is happening."
Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop in The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better (2025)
"Learning is never ever a linear process. It’s repetitive, it’s iterative, it’s something that you fail, and you try it again. For me the essence of learning is that it’s also building the character of the learner, showing they are capable of doing the challenging stuff and not only doing small and pleasant things, and staying in their comfort zone."
Lasse Leponiemi, Co-founder and Chair, HundrED Foundation
Alongside this, experts remind that young people must have the opportunity to process the impact of what they are learning.
"We need to tend to the learners’ emotional process while they are learning. We should think about building active hope by giving space for young people to acknowledge more positive futures but at the same time we mustn’t deny the complex situation we are in. In building this active hope we need to make sure that young people’s emotions are heard and understood, that we tolerate uncertainty and don’t dismiss the views. Crises like climate change aren’t on children to solve – we should be giving them examples of powerful adults that are taking action."
Dr Gareth Morgan, Clinical Psychologist/Senior Clinical Tutor, and Honorary Associate Professor, University of Leicester
It is also important to help students recognise the self-management skills they are developing. For example, independent or group study demands discipline, motivation and strategic planning. Making these processes visible and explicit can help demystify self-management, making it more achievable.
"We don’t give young people extended periods of time to focus to follow through on a project to make links across disciplines, to fail, to learn from mistakes, to resolve their own conflicts, which takes time."
Professor Hilary Cremin, Professor of Education and Head of Faculty, University of Cambridge
"Self-management and leadership can only be developed if students have real opportunities to experience them. That means adults sometimes giving up control of the classroom or school environment to allow young people to be exposed more often to situations in which those abilities are required."
Alex Beard, Senior Director, Global Learning Lab at Teach for All
One expert noted that young people’s awareness of the importance of self-management reflects their awareness that thriving in uncertain times relies on strength of character.
"I think the responses show that young people themselves understand that [thriving in the future] is about personal qualities and how best to cope with change in a very uncertain world"
Professor Miles Berry, Professor of Computer Education, University of Roehampton
Equally important is the need to create opportunities for students to strengthen executive functioning skills, particularly attention, focus and emotional control. Concerns persist about the impact of digital devices on students’ ability to concentrate, with information overload potentially overwhelming those who have not yet developed the skills to filter and prioritise effectively. While schools can set boundaries for device use, lasting change requires collaboration with parents and carers to ensure consistent habits across home and school environments.
"Increased distraction and decreased attention spans are part of a continuing and evolving trend that is not likely to go away anytime soon. The attention economy has been exacerbated by the consumerisation of AI and that is a real challenge for young people."
Professor Rose Luckin, Founder and CEO, Educate Ventures
"If you can’t keep your focus you can’t deliver anything more than simple memory."
Dr David Good, Director of Research - Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge
Educators face a critical choice: whether to compete for students’ attention or to nurture their capacity to sustain it. In a world where many professions still demand engagement with complex information, helping students build these foundational skills is not just beneficial, it is essential.
How you can get started
In the ‘How you can get started’ sections of this report we highlight the Cambridge resources and support available now, or coming soon, that can help teachers and school leaders start putting what they have learned into practice.
- We have behaviour for learning resources focusing on developing positive behaviours for learning, and resources exploring how metacognitive skills can enhance learners’ ability to self-regulate. Go to the learner resources section within this report for more information and links to these resources.
- Recognising and controlling feelings, as well as thoughts and actions, is an important part of self-management. The Cambridge Wellbeing Check↗ (for ages 7 to 19) gives students the chance to explore and share with teachers how well they are feeling, and how well they feel they are doing (whether they feel they are fulfilling their potential). This classroom assessment helps teachers to spot students who need more support with their wellbeing.
- Our Wellbeing curriculum for primary↗ and lower secondary↗ students provides many opportunities for students to learn self-management skills and covers physical as well as mental wellbeing. This could help with the challenges reported by both students and teachers around the distractions of technology and overuse of phones and other devices. It is important that we equip students with the tools they need early on, and our Wellbeing curriculum provides a solid foundation upon which to build more advanced self-management skills.
- We are auditing our programmes and qualifications, starting with our Cambridge International AS & A Levels, to show the skills that students develop implicitly and explicitly as they build their subject knowledge. We have started by looking at complex thinking skills, and will be expanding this so that we can highlight to teachers and students how different subjects support the development of wider skills, including self-management skills such as metacognitive, decision-making and problem-solving skills. This will increase awareness among teachers and students of what these skills look like in practice, and in turn, may increase self-confidence among students.