Relationships, education top priorities for Canadian students

News Date: 
Jul 29, 2010
Today's secondary and post-secondary students will be more content with owning a home, having a decent job, and being part of a loving family and network of friends, instead of leading, innovating, or starting their own businesses, according to a new survey. Respondents to the Canada 2020 survey, conducted by Studentawards Inc., believe their top priorities will remain unchanged between today and the year 2020, with getting more education, leading a healthy lifestyle, and living in a safe and secure environment topping both lists. The students' lowest set of priorities include having money and material things, travelling, trying as many new things as possible, and taking care of the environment. The survey revealed that high school and PSE students are risk averse and have a seeming love-hate relationship with media and technology. Studentawards Inc. News Release

You could say this was

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2010-07-29 08:54.
You could say this was surprising, but when you consider the difficulty of owning a home and/or having a decent job after reading so many articles and research on the rising cost of tution coupled with the declining value of undergraduate degrees, it's really no wonder. Leadership, innovation and entrepreneruship are luxuries after a university degree leads you straight to a career as a barista at Starbucks.

So...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2010-07-29 12:03.
I guess you could say that our youth are boring? Or maybe just overly responsible? I have to say I am pleasantly surprised that students don't care as much about money and material things, but worried about the lack of concern for the environment.

The environment is a "given" for this generation

Submitted by Suzanne Tyson (not verified) on Wed, 2010-08-11 14:06.

When stacked up against other priorities, the environment did end up last on their lists today in 2010 and again for 2020. The reason, we think, is that this generation grew up with Reduce Reuse Recycle at school and the green/blue/grey box system for garbage. Asking them if the environment is a priority is like asking them if they text their friends---it is a given. The majority recognized the environment was a big issue, though. Interestingly high school students think the biggest negative influence on society today is substance abuse.

Feel free to visit www.studentawardsinc.com for a look at the Fast Facts (they will be up by Aug 12).