Are Gen Z Values the New Disruptor for Future Educational Institutions?

Abstract

Do educational organizations need to go beyond the self-imposed dichotomies of preparing students for either career or direct them towards their passions, guide them towards professional success or goad them towards a balance that will keep them happy? Whether models of teaching/learning would have to evolve through disruption or perish in future? That is the motivation for our study which seeks to understand in depth, the values of post-millennial higher education students and suggest consequently a broad contour of academic structure that might accommodate their preferences. We purposely select a sample cohort of brightest Generation Z students of an eminent technological university who can articulate freely their deepest feelings and perceptions about their hopes and fears. Through qualitative research tools we obtain their rich inputs to propose a model of teaching /learning based upon four superordinate Generation Z values (viz. instrumental – career & passions; terminal – success & happiness) in the context of higher education. Finally, we propose a framework for change of educational organizations in terms of their curriculum, pedagogy and culture.