The Future of Education

TThe current study stemmed from the educators’ general discovery that, in recent years, higher education students have not demonstrated an adequate reaction to the traditional demands and instructional practices of their teachers. Even educators with extensive experience and recognized pedagogical success are experiencing difficulties in finding their rhythm in teaching, and are attempting, sometimes unsuccessfully, various approaches to facilitate a more efficient interaction with the current generation of students, known as generation Z. Military and civilian teachers in military HEIs share the task of training future military leaders in the specific conditions of the military organization, where the physical, mental, and intellectual challenges of the students are highly demanding. The current study systematically explores the relevant educational characteristics of generation Z students in a military context, and aims to equip teachers with the fundamental scientific background that will subsequently inform innovative and more efficient pedagogical approaches. The exploratory research is grounded in qualitative methodology. The convenience sample consists of 81 military students enrolled in undergraduate level studies at “Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy of Sibiu, an institution that is part of the national higher education system in Romania. The subjects’ participation in the study was carried out anonymously and voluntarily. The research data was collected through a questionnaire distributed online, consisting of open-ended opinion questions, targeting the expectations, interests, concerns, states, and behaviours of the respondents in a military educational context. The coding, organization, and analysis of the data was carried out by the three researchers (SB, CM and ID), as requested by the comparative data analysis methodology and using ATLAS.ti, a specialized qualitative data processing software. The results highlighted a series of particularities and common characteristics of the educational behaviours of generation Z students, in the context of the specific conditions that typify military academic education and training. For a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon under investigation, the findings were discussed in relation to the results of other studies regarding the educational characteristics of generation Z students. The conclusions of the present study will constitute the needs analysis stage that will inform the submission by the Academy of an Erasmus+ application for the funding of an international cooperation project between military and civilian EHEIs, which aims to increase the skills of the teaching staff in partner universities, and beyond, to effectively educate and train the students belonging to generation Z.

Keywords: Generation Z, students’ characteristics, qualitative research, military HEI

References:

1] Bratu, M.L, Cioca, L.I., Nerisanu, R.A., Rotaru. M. & Plesa. R. (2023) The expectations of generation Z regarding the university educational act in Romania: optimizing the didactic process by providing feedback. Front. Psychol. 14:1160046

[2] Cilliers, E.J. (2021). Reflecting on Social Learning Tools to Enhance the Teaching-Learning Experience of Generation Z Learners. Front. Educ. 5:606533