Connecting with Generation Z: Approaches in Nursing Education1,2

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2018.03.008Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Gen Z students, born between the mid-1990s and 2012, are entering higher education.

  • Gen Z brings distinctive generational attributes that will impact education.

  • Teaching–learning design strategies and approaches must be offered to support Gen Z.

  • Faculty must consider classroom, clinical, and other changes to help Gen Z students.

Abstract

Generation Z, a unique and truly digital native generation, is now entering college and the workplace. This article identifies generational influences and distinctive characteristics of this group, which may challenge nurse educators and require changes in teaching–learning design strategies and approaches. Specific educational suggestions and ways to support members of Generation Z in higher education and the workplace are offered.

Introduction

Nursing literature frequently describes the attributes and characteristics of Millennial students, the generation born in the early 1980s through the mid-1990s (Seemiller and Grace, 2016, Shatto and Erwin, 2016). Faculty often turn to this information as a guide to direct teaching and learning approaches or to provide suggestions for how to interact and effectively lead this generation of students. However, a new generation of students, Generation Z, born between the mid-1990s and ending around 2012 (Seemiller and Grace, 2016, Shatto and Erwin, 2016, Turner, 2015, Twenge, 2017) are entering nursing programs and the workplace. This emerging generation brings some of the same characteristics as Millennials, the previous generation of students, but they also possess some differences. Generation Z students have a unique combination of attitudes, beliefs, social norms, and behaviors that will impact education and practice for many years. Nurse educators must understand how this new generation of learners think, what they are concerned with and care about, and how they prefer to interact so that they can determine how to most effectively engage and guide these students and nurses (Seemiller and Grace, 2016, Shatto and Erwin, 2016, Turner, 2015, Twenge, 2017).

The dates used to define a generation are somewhat arbitrary (Twenge, 2017). Usually common economic, social, and cultural conditions and contextual factors define a generation and influence the generational culture (Rickes, 2016, Seemiller and Grace, 2016). Generation Z is influenced by technology related events, such as the public availability of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s, the explosion of handheld technologies, including smartphones, cyber attacks, and cyber bullying. They have also been impacted by the attacks and aftermath of September 11, public violence, an increase in unemployment, the economy crash, and the world at war (Seemiller and Grace, 2016, Shatto and Erwin, 2016, Shatto and Erwin, 2017, Twenge, 2017). These factors, along with being raised by skeptical Generation X parents (Wiedmer, 2015), have created a new cautious generation. The purpose of this article is to describe common attributes of Generation Z, discuss how Generation Z characteristics influence nursing education programs and nursing workplace practices, and offer possible supportive teaching–learning design strategies that can be used by educators to replace some current approaches that are not attractive to the Generation Z student.

Section snippets

Attributes of Generation Z

Who exactly is Generation Z? Literature regarding this generation is still emerging (Twenge, 2017), and some authors disagree on the exact dates defining this generation; however, in general, Generation Z includes those born beginning in 1995. Coincidentally, this date aligns with the approximate time when the World Wide Web became publicly available. Ending dates for this generation are usually reported through the early 2010s (Seemiller and Grace, 2016, Twenge, 2017). Generation Z represents

Teaching–Learning Suggestions to Support Generation Z

Traditionally, nursing programs schedule classroom and clinical time in very structured ways. Even though some faculty are incorporating some active learning strategies, higher education is still typically dominated by a rigid curriculum that employs teacher-centered, passive teaching–learning strategies, such as lecture and textbook reading, to convey information (Rickes, 2016, Shatto and Erwin, 2016). Students are often expected to complete large amounts of readings, class content may be

Generation Z and the Nursing Workplace

In addition to supporting Generation Z students, nurse educators will also be engaging with Generation Z nurses in the workplace. When considering Generation Z characteristics, several workplace recommendations are presented. First, Generation Z's cautious, concerned nature means that they are not sure they will succeed and may take fewer risks than previous generations (Twenge, 2017). Generation Z nurses want a stable job and may be more loyal and demonstrate a better work ethic than their

Conclusion

In examining the literature, nine characteristics of Generation Z were identified: (a) high consumers of technology and cravers of the digital world; (b) pragmatic; (c) underdeveloped social and relationship skills; (d) cautious and concerned with emotional, physical, and financial safety; (e) individualistic; (f) increased risk for isolation, anxiety, insecurity, and depression; (g) lack of attention span, desiring convenience and immediacy; (h) open-minded, diverse, and comfortable with

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