In 2026, high school students aren’t just worried about their own futures, but about society as a whole.
That’s according to new research from the University of Newcastle revealing that overlapping and worsening social, economic and environmental pressures are making Australian high school students more uncertain about their futures compared to a decade ago.
The findings come ten years after the university’s Aspirations Longitudinal Study (2012–2015), with researchers from its Teachers and Teaching Research Centre drawing on more than a decade of data from NSW secondary students, as well as insights from parents, carers, teachers and local communities.
While the research highlights a growing weight of challenges – from cost-of-living strain to rising mental health concerns – it also paints a more nuanced picture. Many young people are showing resilience, adaptability and a clear sense of how they want to navigate an increasingly uncertain world.
Lead author Dr Leanne Fray said students are voicing concerns about the future in ways not seen before, cutting across geography and socioeconomic background.
“A young Australian born in 2010 has already faced a pandemic, social isolation, cost-of living crises, and an array of additional pressures and global instabilities,” Dr Fray said. “We found students were not just worried about their own futures, but about society as a whole.”
The researchers conducted new surveys, interviews, and focus groups with teachers, parents, and students in six high schools and one central school from the original study located in regional and metropolitan areas in NSW.
“Ten years ago, when we visited these schools, students were mostly optimistic about the future. This time, instead, there was an overwhelming sense of uncertainty, which was concerning to hear,” Dr Fray added.
Despite the uncertainty, the findings offered a reassuring note: young people are still thinking big and holding onto ambitious goals for their futures.
“University remains the preferred pathway among students, with 43 per cent of surveyed young people aspiring to complete a university degree,” Dr Fray said.
“This strong commitment to higher education persists even in the face of rising HECS debt concerns and cost of living pressures.”
Dr Fray added that the study also revealed a growing appreciation for TAFE and vocational pathways across communities.
“This was as true in small rural lower SES schools as it was at academically selective schools in the city, marking a cultural shift and important development for meeting Australia’s skills needs.”
To help address the Universities Accord goal of achieving 80% of the population attaining a qualification in higher education or vocational training by 2050, the new findings include key recommendations for schools, higher education providers, and policymakers to ensure students are equipped to deal with the rapidly evolving societal pressures.
A key recommendation of the Accord is focusing on student wellbeing throughout their school and post-school lives by better integrating mental health programs into schooling and addressing mental health in tertiary education settings.
The Accord also aims to bolster career education through various partnerships, address community infrastructure needs and fix funding models across school, vocational, and higher education policy areas.
Dr Fray said adopting the report’s recommendations would help realise the goals of the Universities Accord.
“One of our key recommendations is to better integrate vocational and university qualifications and pathways to simplify students’ learning and life journeys,” she said. “What we see in this research is a generation working harder than ever to make sense of a rapidly changing world.”
Dr Fray said young people are ambitious, thoughtful, and are doing the emotional and practical work required to plan for their futures.
“What they need now is a system that meets them halfway.”