Editing Millennials (section)

==Education==
=== Global trends ===
From the late 1990s to the late 2010s, education transformed the economic realities of countries worldwide. As the people from developing nations became better educated, they close the gap between them and the developed world. Hence [[Westerners]] lost their relative advantage in education, as the world saw more people with [[high-school]] diplomas than ever before. The number of people with [[Bachelor's degree]] and advanced degrees grew significantly as well. Westerners who only passed secondary school had their income cut in real terms during that same period while those with university degrees had incomes that barely increased on average. The fact that many jobs are suitable for [[remote work]] due to modern technology further eroded the relative advantage of education in the Western world, resulting in a backlash against immigration and [[globalization]].<ref name="Soloman-2018">{{Cite news|last=Soloman|first=Paul|date=31 May 2018|title=Why the new global wealth of educated women spurs backlash| publisher=PBS Newshour |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-the-new-global-wealth-of-educated-women-spurs-backlash| access-date=20 November 2020}}</ref>

As more and more women became educated in the developing world, more leave the rural areas for the cities, enter the work force and compete with men, sparking resentment among men in those countries.<ref name="Soloman-2018" />

For information on public support for higher education (for domestic students) in the OECD in 2011, see chart below.
[[File:Public Expenditure on Tertiary Education (OECD 2011).png|center|800x800px|alt=]]

===In Europe===
In Sweden, universities are tuition-free, as is the case in Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland. However, Swedish students typically graduate very indebted due to the high cost of living in their country, especially in the large cities such as Stockholm. The ratio of debt to expected income after graduation for Swedes was about 80% in 2013. In the U.S., despite incessant talk of student debt reaching epic proportions, that number stood at 60%. Moreover, about seven out of eight Swedes graduate with debt, compared to one half in the U.S. In the 2008–09 academic year, virtually all Swedish students take advantage of state-sponsored financial aid packages from a govern agency known as the [[National Board of Student Aid (Sweden)|Centrala Studiestödsnämnden]] (CSN), which include low-interest loans with long repayment schedules (25 years or until the student turns 60). In Sweden, student aid is based on their own earnings whereas in some other countries, such as Germany or the United States, such aid is premised on parental income as parents are expected to help foot the bill for their children's education. In the 2008–09 academic year, Australia, Austria, Japan, the Netherlands, and New Zealand saw an increase in both the average tuition fees of their public universities for full-time domestic students and the percentage of students taking advantage of state-sponsored student aid compared to 1995. In the United States, there was an increase in the former but not the latter.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/the-high-price-of-a-free-college-education-in-sweden/276428/|title=The High Price of a Free College Education in Sweden|last=Philips|first=Matt|date=31 May 2013|work=The Atlantic|access-date=4 November 2019|department=Global}}</ref>

In 2005, judges in Karlsruhe, Germany, struck down a ban on university fees as unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated the constitutional right of German states to regulate their own higher education systems. This ban was introduced in order to ensure equality of access to higher education regardless of socioeconomic class. Bavarian Science Minister Thomas Goppel told the Associated Press, "Fees will help to preserve the quality of universities." Supporters of fees argued that they would help ease the financial burden on universities and would incentivize students to study more efficiently, despite not covering the full cost of higher education, an average of €8,500 as of 2005. Opponents believed fees would make it more difficult for people to study and graduate on time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-court-lifts-ban-on-student-fees/a-1468971|title=German Court Lifts Ban on Student Fees|date=26 January 2005|work=DW|access-date=4 November 2019|department=Germany}}</ref> Germany also suffered from a brain drain, as many bright researchers moved abroad while relatively few international students were interested in coming to Germany. This has led to the decline of German research institutions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/promoting-brain-gain-for-german-universities/a-1299063|title=Promoting Brain Gain for German Universities|date=16 April 2004|work=DW|access-date=5 November 2019|department=Germany}}</ref>

In the 1990s, due to a combination of financial hardship and the fact that universities elsewhere charged tuition, British universities pressed the government to allow them to take in fees. A nominal tuition fee of £1,000 was introduced in autumn 1998. Because not all parents would be able to pay all the fees in one go, monthly payment options, loans, and grants were made available. Some were concerned that making people pay for higher education may deter applicants. This turned out not to be the case. The number of applications fell by only 3% in 1998, and mainly due to mature students rather than 18-year-olds.<ref name="Hodges-1998">{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/student-choices-first-timers-face-the-test-with-tuition-fees-1153845.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220514/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/student-choices-first-timers-face-the-test-with-tuition-fees-1153845.html |archive-date=14 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Student choices: First timers face the test with tuition fees|last=Hodges|first=Lucy|date=2 April 1998|work=The Independent|access-date=4 November 2019|department=Culture}}</ref>

In 2012, £9,000 worth of student fees were introduced. Despite this, the number of people interested in pursuing higher education grew at a faster rate than the UK population. In 2017, almost half of young people in England had received higher education by the age of 30. Prime Minister Tony Blair introduced the goal of having half of young Britons having a university degree in 1999, though the 2010 deadline was missed.<ref name="Adams-2017" /> What the Prime Minister did not realize, however, is that an oversupply of young people with high levels of education historically precipitated periods of political instability and unrest in various societies, from early modern Western Europe and late Tokugawa Japan to the Soviet Union, modern Iran, and the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Turchin|first=Peter|date=2 July 2008|title=Arise 'cliodynamics'|journal=Nature|volume=454|issue=7200|pages=34–5|doi=10.1038/454034a|pmid=18596791|bibcode=2008Natur.454...34T|s2cid=822431|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Turchin-2010" /> In any case, demand for higher education in the United Kingdom has remained strong throughout the early 21st century, driven by the need for high-skilled workers from both the public and private sectors. There has been, however, a widening gender gap. As of 2017, women were more likely to attend or to have attended university than men, by 55% against 43%, a difference of 12 percentage points.<ref name="Adams-2017">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/sep/28/almost-half-of-all-young-people-in-england-go-on-to-higher-education|title=Almost half of all young people in England go on to higher education|last=Adams|first=Richard|date=28 September 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=28 October 2019|department=Higher Education}}</ref>

=== Oceania ===
In Australia, university tuition fees were introduced in 1989. Regardless, the number of applicants has risen considerably. By the 1990s, students and their families were expected to pay 37% of the cost, up from a quarter in the late 1980s. The most expensive subjects were law, medicine, and dentistry, followed by the natural sciences, and then by the arts and social studies. Under the new funding scheme, the Government of Australia also capped the number of people eligible for higher education, enabling schools to recruits more well-financed (though not necessarily bright) students.<ref name="Hodges-1998" />

===North America ===
According to the Pew Research Center, 53% of American millennials attended or were enrolled in university in 2002. For comparison, the number of young people attending university was 44% in 1986.<ref name="Solman-2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/anxious-about-debt-generation-z-makes-college-choice-a-financial-one|title=Anxious about debt, Generation Z makes college choice a financial one|last=Solman|first=Paul|date=28 March 2019| publisher=PBS Newshour |access-date=12 May 2019}}</ref> By the 2020s, 39% of millennials had at least a bachelor's degree, more than the Baby Boomers at 25%, the Economist reports.<ref>{{Cite news|date=12 September 2020|title=Younger Americans feel their voting weight| publisher=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/09/12/younger-americans-feel-their-voting-weight|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref>

In the United States today, high school students are generally encouraged to attend college or university after graduation while the options of technical school and vocational training are often neglected.<ref name="Krupnick-2017">{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/decades-pushing-bachelors-degrees-u-s-needs-tradespeople|title=After decades of pushing bachelor's degrees, U.S. needs more tradespeople|last=Krupnick|first=Matt|date=29 August 2017|work=PBS Newshour|access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref> Historically, high schools separated students on career tracks, with programs aimed at students bound for higher education and those bound for the workforce. Students with learning disabilities or behavioral issues were often directed towards vocational or technical schools. All this changed in the late 1980s and early 1990s thanks to a major effort in the large cities to provide more abstract academic education to everybody. The mission of high schools became preparing students for college, referred to as "high school to Harvard."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/should-more-kids-skip-college-for-workforce-training|title=Should more kids skip college for workforce training?|date=26 January 2016| publisher=PBS Newshour|access-date=2 October 2019}}</ref> However, this program faltered in the 2010s, as institutions of higher education came under heightened skepticism due to high costs and disappointing results. People became increasingly concerned about debts and deficits. No longer were promises of educating "citizens of the world" or estimates of economic impact coming from abstruse calculations sufficient. Colleges and universities found it necessary to prove their worth by clarifying how much money from which industry and company funded research, and how much it would cost to attend.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/facing-skepticism-colleges-set-out-to-prove-their-value|title=Facing skepticism, colleges set out to prove their value|last=Marcus|first=Jon|date=22 January 2016| publisher=PBS Newshour| access-date=2 October 2019}}</ref>

Because jobs (that suited what one studied) were so difficult to find in the few years following the Great Recession, the value of getting [[Liberal arts education|a liberal arts degree]] and studying the humanities at an American university came into question, their ability to develop a well-rounded and broad-minded individual notwithstanding.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/so-you-have-a-liberal-arts-degree-and-expect-a-job|title=So You Have a Liberal Arts Degree and Expect a Job?|date=3 January 2011| publisher=PBS Newshour|access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref> As of 2019, the total college debt has exceeded US$1.5&nbsp;trillion, and two out of three college graduates are saddled with debt.<ref name="Solman-2019" /> The average borrower owes US$37,000, up US$10,000 from ten years before. A 2019 survey by TD Ameritrade found that over 18% of millennials (and 30% of Generation Z) said they have considered taking a gap year between high school and college.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/half-of-young-americans-say-college-isnt-necessary-2019-08-06|title=Half of young Americans say college is no longer necessary|last=Wellemeyer|first=James|date=6 August 2019| publisher=Market Watch|access-date=6 August 2019}}</ref>

In 2019, the [[Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis]] published research (using data from the 2016 ''[[Survey of Consumer Finances]]'') demonstrating that after controlling for race and age cohort families with heads of household with post-secondary education who were born before 1980 there have been wealth and income premiums, while for families with heads of household with post-secondary education but born after 1980 the wealth premium has weakened to point of [[Statistical significance|statistical insignificance]] (in part because of the [[Cost and financing issues facing higher education in the United States|rising cost of college]]) and the income premium while remaining positive has declined to historic lows (with more pronounced downward trajectories with heads of household with [[Postgraduate education|postgraduate degrees]]).<ref name="Emmons Kent & Ricketts 2019">{{cite journal|last1=Emmons|first1=William R.|last2=Kent|first2=Ana H.|last3=Ricketts|first3=Lowell R.|s2cid=211431474|year=2019|title=Is College Still Worth It? The New Calculus of Falling Returns|url=https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/review/2019/10/15/is-college-still-worth-it-the-new-calculus-of-falling-returns.pdf|journal=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review|publisher=[[Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis]]|volume=101|issue=4|pages=297–329|doi=10.20955/r.101.297-329|doi-access=free}}</ref> Quantitative historian [[Peter Turchin]] noted that the United States was overproducing university graduates—he termed this [[elite overproduction]]—in the 2000s and predicted, using historical trends, that this would be one of the causes of political instability in the 2020s, alongside income inequality, stagnating or declining real wages, growing public debt. According to Turchin, intensifying competition among graduates, whose numbers were larger than what the economy could absorb, leads to political polarization, social fragmentation, and even violence as many become disgruntled with their dim prospects despite having attained a high level of education. He warned that the turbulent 1960s and 1970s could return, as having a massive young population with university degrees was one of the key reasons for the instability of the past.<ref name="Turchin-2010">{{Cite journal|last=Turchin|first=Peter|date=3 February 2010|title=Political instability may be a contributor in the coming decade|journal=Nature|volume=403|issue=7281|pages=608|doi=10.1038/463608a|pmid=20130632|bibcode=2010Natur.463..608T|doi-access=free}}</ref>

According to the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], students were turning away from liberal arts programs. Between 2012 and 2015, the number of graduates in the humanities dropped from 234,737 to 212,512. Consequently, many schools have relinquished these subjects, dismissed faculty members, or closed completely.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cherney|first=Elissa|date=16 July 2020|title=Illinois Wesleyan University drops religion, French, Italian and anthropology, over objections of alumni and faculty. Other liberal arts programs will be altered | publisher=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-illinois-wesleyan-university-liberal-arts-program-cuts-20200716-yo337lghgrdmnpdl4xhfarzqe4-story.html|access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> Data from the [[National Center for Education Statistics]] revealed that between 2008 and 2017, the number of people majoring in English plummeted by just over a quarter. At the same time, those in philosophy and religion fell 22% and those who studied foreign languages dropped 16%. Meanwhile, the number of university students majoring in homeland security, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ([[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|STEM]]), and healthcare skyrocketed. (See figure below.)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/19/worlds-top-economists-just-made-case-why-we-still-need-english-majors/|title=The world's top economists just made the case for why we still need English majors| last=Long|first=Heather|date=19 October 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=10 November 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Majors Change 2009-17.png|alt=|center]]
According to the U.S. [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]], people with technical or vocational trainings are slightly more likely to be employed than those with a bachelor's degree and significantly more likely to be employed in their fields of specialty.<ref name="Krupnick-2017"/> The United States currently suffers from a shortage of skilled tradespeople.<ref name="Krupnick-2017" />
[[File:2006 MIT Integration Bee.jpg|thumb|left|Victors of the 2006 MIT [[Integration Bee]], with the champion, dubbed the "Grand Integrator" in the middle.]]
Despite the fact that educators and political leaders, such as President Barack Obama, have been trying to years to improve the quality of STEM education in the United States, and that various polls have demonstrated that more students are interested in these subjects, graduating with a STEM degree is a different kettle of fish altogether.<ref name="Drew-2011" /> According to ''The Atlantic'', 48% of students majoring in STEM dropped out of their programs between 2003 and 2009.<ref name="Tyre-2016">{{Cite news|last=Tyre|first=Peg|date=8 February 2016|title=The Math Revolution|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/03/the-math-revolution/426855/|url-status=live|access-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628224704/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/03/the-math-revolution/426855/|archive-date=28 June 2020}}</ref> Data collected by the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], (UCLA) in 2011 showed that although these students typically came in with excellent high school GPAs and SAT scores, among science and engineering students, including pre-medical students, 60% changed their majors or failed to graduate, twice the attrition rate of all other majors combined. Despite their initial interest in secondary school, many university students find themselves overwhelmed by the reality of a rigorous STEM education.<ref name="Drew-2011" /> Some are mathematically unskilled,<ref name="Drew-2011" /><ref name="Tyre-2016" /> while others are simply lazy.<ref name="Drew-2011" /> The [[National Science Board]] raised the alarm all the way back in the mid-1980s that students often forget why they wanted to be scientists and engineers in the first place. Many bright students had an easy time in high school and failed to develop good study habits. In contrast, Chinese, Indian, and Singaporean students are exposed to mathematics and science at a high level from a young age.<ref name="Drew-2011" /> Moreover, according education experts, many mathematics schoolteachers were not as well-versed in their subjects as they should be, and might well be uncomfortable with mathematics.<ref name="Tyre-2016" /> Given two students who are equally prepared, the one who goes to a more prestigious university is less likely to graduate with a STEM degree than the one who attends a less difficult school. Competition can defeat even the top students. Meanwhile, grade inflation is a real phenomenon in the humanities, giving students an attractive alternative if their STEM ambitions prove too difficult to achieve. Whereas STEM classes build on top of each other—one has to master the subject matter before moving to the next course—and have black and white answers, this is not the case in the humanities, where things are a lot less clear-cut.<ref name="Drew-2011">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/why-science-majors-change-their-mind-its-just-so-darn-hard.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104171721/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/why-science-majors-change-their-mind-its-just-so-darn-hard.html |archive-date=4 November 2011 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It's Just So Darn Hard)|last=Drew|first=Christopher|date=4 November 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref>

In 2015, educational psychologist Jonathan Wai analyzed average test scores from the [[Army General Classification Test]] in 1946 (10,000 students), the Selective Service College Qualification Test in 1952 (38,420), [[Project Talent]] in the early 1970s (400,000), the [[Graduate Record Examinations|Graduate Record Examination]] between 2002 and 2005 (over 1.2 million), and the [[SAT]] Math and Verbal in 2014 (1.6 million). Wai identified one consistent pattern: those with the highest test scores tended to pick the physical sciences and engineering as their majors while those with the lowest were more likely to choose education. (See figure below.)<ref name="Wai-2015">{{Cite news|last=Wai|first=Jonathan|date=3 February 2015|title=Your college major is a pretty good indication of how smart you are|work=Quartz|url=http://qz.com/334926/your-college-major-is-a-pretty-good-indication-of-how-smart-you-are/|url-status=live|access-date=30 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116221413/http://qz.com/334926/your-college-major-is-a-pretty-good-indication-of-how-smart-you-are/|archive-date=16 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Crew|first=Bec|date=16 February 2015|title=Your College Major Can Be a Pretty Good Indication of How Smart You Are|work=Science Magazine |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/your-college-major-can-be-a-pretty-good-indication-of-how-smart-you-are|access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Graduate Majors and GRE Averages.png|center]]During the 2010s, the mental health of American graduate students in general was in a state of crisis.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wong|first=Alia|date=27 November 2018|title=Graduate School Can Have Terrible Effects on People's Mental Health| publisher=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/anxiety-depression-mental-health-graduate-school/576769/|access-date=25 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028033428/https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/anxiety-depression-mental-health-graduate-school/576769/|archive-date=28 October 2021}}</ref>

===Historical knowledge===
A February 2018 survey of 1,350 individuals found that 66% of the American millennials (and 41% of all U.S. adults) surveyed did not know what [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]] was,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/04/12/two-thirds-of-millennials-dont-know-what-auschwitz-is-according-to-study-of-fading-holocaust-knowledge/?noredirect=on|title=Holocaust study: Two-thirds of millennials don't know what Auschwitz is|date=12 April 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> while 41% incorrectly claimed that 2&nbsp;million Jews or fewer were killed during [[the Holocaust]], and 22% said that they had never heard of the Holocaust.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/holocaust-study-millennials/|title=4 in 10 millennials don't know 6 million Jews were killed in Holocaust, study shows|date=12 April 2018|work=CBS News}}</ref> Over 95% of American millennials were unaware that a portion of the Holocaust occurred in the [[Baltic states]], which lost over 90% of their pre-war Jewish population, and 49% were not able to name a single [[List of Nazi concentration camps|Nazi concentration camp]] or [[Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany|ghetto]] in [[German-occupied Europe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.claimscon.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Holocaust-Knowledge-Awareness-Study_Executive-Summary-2018.pdf|title=Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Study|website=www.claimscon.org|publisher=Schoen Consulting}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.claimscon.org/study|title=New Survey by Claims Conference Finds Significant Lack of Holocaust Knowledge in the United States|date=2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180412152716/http://www.claimscon.org/study|archive-date=12 April 2018|url-status=dead|publisher=Claims Conference|access-date=23 January 2019}}</ref> However, at least 93% surveyed believed that teaching about the Holocaust in school is important and 96% believed the Holocaust happened.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/us/holocaust-education.html|title=Holocaust Is Fading From Memory, Survey Finds|last1=Astor|first1=Maggie|date=12 April 2018|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180418071414/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/us/holocaust-education.html|archive-date=18 April 2018|url-status=live}}{{pb}}</ref>

The [[YouGov]] survey found that 42% of American millennials have never heard of [[Mao Zedong]], who ruled China from 1949 to 1976 and was responsible for the deaths of 20–45&nbsp;million people; another 40% are unfamiliar with [[Che Guevara]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/poll-millennials-desperately-need-to-bone-up-on-the-history-of-communism-2016-10-17|title=Poll: Millennials desperately need to bone up on the history of communism|date=21 October 2016|work=MarketWatch}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/young-americans-seen-less-opposed-to-socialist-ideas/3562681.html|title=Poll Finds Young Americans More Open to Socialist Ideas|date=23 October 2016|work=VOA News}}</ref>