A recent report shows a significant increase in AI use among students and teachers during the 2023-24 school year, with 70% of high school students and 67% of teachers using generative AI. However, two-thirds of teachers have not received guidance on handling AI-related plagiarism, although 39% use detection software.
Laird, E., Dwyer, M., & Woelfe, K. (2025). Out of step: Students, teachers in stride with edtech threats while parents are left behind. Center for Democracy & Technology.
A recent report reveals that while more than 70% of parents believe their children are learning a lot, less than half of high-school students agree. The report highlights that students become more disengaged as they age, with only 29% of 12th graders saying they love school compared to 74% of third graders.
Fewer than one-third of middle and high schoolers said they felt that what they learned was relevant to life outside the classroom, that their classmates persevered “when the work gets hard,” or that they had any say over what happened to them during the school day.
Older students were also more likely to report a sense of disconnection from their learning environments, with less than half saying they felt like they were part of a community or that adults respected their suggestions. Overall, only 36% of respondents from grades 6–12 said they were able to develop their own ideas at school.
Winthrop, R., Shoukry, Y., & Nitkin, D. (2025). The disengagement gap: Why student engagement isn't what parents expect. Brookings Institute.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-disengagement-gap/
Video content is ubiquitous in students' lives, and a recent report highlights its effects on adolescents. The report emphasizes the importance of teaching students to be savvy consumers of digital media, noting that while video can be educational, it can also spread misinformation.
APA recommendations for healthy teen video viewing. (2024). American Psychological Association . https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/apa-adolescent-video-consumption-recommendations.pdf
A study by the American Institutes for Research reveals that gender stereotypes in STEM form as early as age 6, with children perceiving boys as better at computer science and engineering. This belief becomes more entrenched among girls over time, potentially deterring them from pursuing STEM careers.
Miller, D., & Tanenbaum, C. (2024). Analyzing the research on gender stereotypes in STEM. American Institutes for Research. https://www.air.org/project/analyzing-research-gender-stereotypes-stem
The Pew Research report reveals that YouTube, TikTok and Instagram are the most popular platforms among teens, with YouTube being used regularly by 90% of surveyed teens. Instagram and WhatsApp are seeing increased usage, while Facebook and X, the original giants of social media, have experienced significant declines in popularity among this demographic.
Faverio, M., & Sidoti, O. (2024). Teens, social media and technology. Pew Research Center.
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/12/12/teens-social-media-and-technology-2024/
A recent study examined self-censorship of controversial topics in collection development. Articles can be accessed for free at www.ala.org/aasl/slr.
In the recently published “To Add or Not to Add: An Examination of Self‐Censoring Behaviors among School Librarians,” Jennifer Moore and Alissa Tudor present a study examining collection development and self-censorship amongst school librarians. The researchers collected data via surveys, and examined which controversial or frequently challenged topics school librarians chose not to collect. This research found that amongst controversial topics, there were high amounts of self-censorship around books that dealt with sexual content, abortion, and self-harm. Respondents who had never experienced book challenges in their school libraries expressed reluctance to include books that involved sexual content and LGBTQ themes or content
Moore, J., & Tudor, A. (2024). To Add or not to add: An examination of self‐censoring behaviors among school librarians. School Library Research.
A recent study of public libraries support the idea that libraries function as a health space in multiple ways including providing important health and social programming and services to patrons. They help meet patron’s health information needs by leveraging the expertise of community partners and incorporating valuable input from patrons in programming decisions. However, the capacity of libraries to carry out these health initiatives varies, in particular due to limited staff expertise in health-related topics and structural issues (e.g., funding).
Fleary, S. et al. (2024). A Study on How Libraries Operate as Health Spaces in the United States. Journal of Community Health. DOI: 10.1007/s10900-024-01403-z
