What is the nature of childhood today? On a number of measures, modern children’s lives have clearly improved thanks to better public safety and support for their physical and mental health. New technologies help children to learn, socialise and unwind,and older, better-educated parents are increasingly playing an active role in their children's education. At the same time, we are more connected than ever before, and many children have access to tablets and smartphones before they learn to walk and talk. Twenty-first century children are more likely to be only children, increasingly pushed to do more by “helicopter parents” who hover over their children to protect them from potential harm. In addition to limitless online opportunities, the omnipresent nature of the digital world brings new risks, like cyber-bullying, that follow children from the schoolyard into their homes.This report examines modern childhood, looking specifically at the intersection between emotional well-being and new technologies.It explores how parenting and friendships have changed in the digital age. It examines children as digital citizens, and how best to take advantage of online opportunities while minimising the risks. The volume ends with a look at how to foster digital literacy and resilience, highlighting the role of partnerships, policy and protection.

1. Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
https://doi.org/10.1787/b7f33425-en
Educating 21st Century
Children: Emotional Well-
Being in the Digital Age

2.  What is the nature of childhood
in the 21st century?
 How can we protect and guide
children while still allowing
them to be children, and learn
by making mistakes?
 What does this mean for
teaching and learning?
Central questions

3.  Deliberately multi-disciplinary,
drawing from a number of
different policy and research
traditions.
 Takes a lifespan approach,
looking at childhood (ages 0-18)
as a whole.
Approach

4. 4
Main themes
Physical Health
• Play
• Eating habits
• Alcohol/drug use
• Sleep
Technology
• Digital divide
• Information as power
• Social networks
• Cyber risks
Emotional well-being
• Stress
• Mental health
• Social/emotional skills
• Life satisfaction
Families and peers
• Changing values
• Diverse families
• Ageing parents
• Role of peers

5. 5
Recently published
Modern
Childhood
Digital
technologies
Emotional
well-being
Policies,
partnerships
& protection
21st century
relationships

6. Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
PA R T
O N E
21st century trends in digital
technologies and emotional
well-being
P A R T
F O U R
Policies and partnerships
promoting digital skills,
safety and well-being
PA RT
T W O
Children’s relationships and
support structures – family and
peers in the digital age
Online opportunities and
risks and ensuring child
well-being
P A R T
T H R E E
PA R T
F I V E
The pending agenda:
Knowledge gaps, the future,
and policy options

7. Trends in emotional well-being and
digital technologies
7

8. Emotional well-being is the quality of an individual's emotions and experiences that leads to
unpleasant or pleasant feelings. It is a core component of positive mental health and happiness.
 Childhood & adolescence are key times for development
– “Sensitive periods” where the brain is highly malleable or “plastic” facilitate rapid learning
and growth
– Opportunities and risks for mental health and well-being
 Adverse experiences in childhood have repercussions for emotional well-being in childhood
and later in life
 Almost 50% of adult mental health problems begin by age 14
8
Importance of emotional well-being in childhood
Source: Burns, T. & Gottschalk, F. eds. (2019). Chapter 3. Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-Being in the Digital Age.

9. 9
Emotional well-being: Trends
Decreasing
levels of
Increasing
levels of
No significant change
Suicide
Bullying**
Pressure*
Internalizing
behaviours
(depression, anxiety)
Average life
satisfaction
Somatic
complaint
*no change from 1994-2002
**does not include cyberbullyingSource: Burns, T. & Gottschalk, F. eds. (2019). Chapter 3. Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-Being in the Digital Age.

10. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Fear/anxiety of threats
Low life satisfaction
Loneliness/isolation
Self-harm
SHC
Eating disorders
Low self-esteem
Appearance pressure
Suicide
Relationship stress
Mental illness
School-related anxiety
Bullying (incl. cyber)
Which of the following are challenges in children's emotional well-being in your context?
Of these challenges, which are the three most pressing?
Marked as challenge Marked as most pressing challenge
Overview of priorities and pressing challenges in emotional well-
being across countries and systems
Source: Burns, T. & Gottschalk, F. eds. (2019). Chapter 3. Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-Being in the Digital Age.

11. 11
Digital technologies: Trends
Increased access
Making friends
Children as
content creators
Increased time
spent online
Use in young
children
Instagram,
Snapchat >
Facebook
Rise of IoT and AI
Feeling bad when
not connected
Exposure to risk*
2nd digital divide
*exposure to risk can help build resilience
Source: Burns, T. & Gottschalk, F. eds. (2019). Chapter 2. Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-Being in the Digital Age.

12. Overview of priorities and pressing challenges in digital
technologies across countries and systems
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Revenge Porn
First Digital Divide
Online Predators
Sexting
Security and Privacy
Harmful Content
Internet Addiction/Gaming Disorder
Second Digital Divide
Excessive Use
Cyber-Bullying
Digital Citizenship
Which of the following are challenges in children's use of digital technologies in your
context? Of these challenges, which are the three most pressing?
Marked as a challenge Marked as pressing challenge
Source: Burns, T. & Gottschalk, F. eds. (2019). Chapter 2. Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-Being in the Digital Age.

13. Relationships in the 21st century:
Families and peers
13

14. 14
Families and peers: Traditional parenting styles
Neglectful
Authoritarian
Permissive
Authoritative • Effective communication, praise for good behaviour, discipline for poor behaviour
• Associated with high academic achievement, greater self-esteem and self-efficacy
Parents who are demanding and responsive
• Tend to use power, prohibition and punishment to control children
• Associated with depressive symptoms and negative effects on child mental health
Parents who are demanding yet not responsive
• Accepting, loving and non-punitive with few rules and standards; emphasis on
freedom>responsibility
• Associated with lower academic achievement, and in some cultures higher self-esteem
Parents who are very responsive but not demanding
• Little supervision, no expectations for behaviour, little to no affection and support
• Associated with low levels of academic achievement, aggression, disruption and emotional
problems
Parents who are neither demanding nor responsive

15. 15
Evolution of parenting styles

16. 16
Helicopter parenting around the world

17. 17
Making friends
Traditional friendships
• Do not replace, but supplement “offline”
friendships
• Can increase closeness in traditional
friendships
• Higher heterogeneity in social network (age,
gender, location)
• Reduced need for proximity
• Often based on narrow shared interests
Virtual & mixed-mode friendships
Children befriend
those similar to
them
Homophily
Physical proximity
allows for hanging out
and doing activities
together
Proximity
Children are more
likely to befriend
popular children
Status
Children befriend
those who they feel
socially attracted to
Social attraction
• Demographic characteristics (race, age,
religion, gender) more important than similar
personality
• Social attraction more salient than in online
relationships
• Generally higher quality than purely virtual
friendships

18. Main findings
18

19. 19
Main findings: Promoting digital inclusion
Ensure access
Develop
skills
Digital
citizenship
• National
broadband plans
• School-provided
devices
• ICT infrastructure
• Curriculum development and
expansion
• Teacher education
• Partnerships
• Information campaigns
• Curriculum development and
expansion
• Learning frameworks
• School-based interventions
• Teacher education
• Extracurricular opportunities
• Online resources

20. 20
Main findings: Transversal themes
Disconnect
between
research and
policy
Fragmented
definitions of
key terms
Effective
solutions
require
capacity
Multi-dimensional
challenges require
integrated
solutions
Local,
national,
regional,
international
cooperation

21. 21
Main findings: Building capacity through key partnerships
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Experts in cybersecurity
Programmers
Fitness professionals (e.g. coaches, trainers)
Dieticians/nutrition experts
Community institutions
Law enforcement
Dentists
Guidance counselors
Medical practitioners (e.g. doctors, nurses)
Mental health professionals (e.g. psychologists, therapists)
Parents/families
Required (by recommendations, standards, or law) Present in most schools Present in some schools Not widely established
Source: Burns, T. & Gottschalk, F. eds. (2019). Chapter 13. Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-Being in the Digital Age.

22. 22
Main findings: Building capacity through teacher education
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Emotional well-being of students Digital skills and ability to use technology Use of technology in teaching Assessing online risks to students
Required (by national curriculum, standards or other) Covered in most programmes Covered in some programmes Not widely available
Source: Burns, T. & Gottschalk, F. eds. (2019). Chapter 13. Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-Being in the Digital Age.

23. We need to:
1. Refine our terms and measurements in order to improve analysis and policy; for example,
when we talk about “digital literacy” and “resilience”
2. Address policy fragmentation
3. Acknowledge the importance of culture, tradition and priorities
4. Adequately support our teachers
5. Include the voices of children
6. Acknowledge that education cannot do it alone
7. Insist on alignment between evaluation, assessment and policy planning and design
23
Main findings: 7 key policy messages

24.  Improve data and refine terms
 Create and support networks to foster dialogue and dissemination, and improve
interdisciplinary nature of knowledge base
 Target and fund high quality, rigorous research
– Longitudinal work
– Controlled experiments
– Comparable international indicators
– Utilise big data
– Understand real world implications of research outcomes
24
Main findings: Need for strengthening the knowledge base

25. Thank you!
http://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/21st-century-children.htm