Australian educators back lifelong learning but lag on AI

Instructure has published Australian research showing a gap between educators' ambitions to prepare graduates for the AI era and their confidence in delivering that goal. The survey covered 215 education professionals across Australia.

Three in four respondents said helping graduates retrain as their careers change was important or very important. Yet only 44% were quite or extremely confident that their institution's current pathways aligned with its lifelong learning priorities.

The findings highlight a broader tension in how institutions are responding to rapid changes in work and study. While educators are broadly aligned on the need for lifelong learning, fewer believe their organisations have the structures to support it.

Half of those surveyed said their curriculum reflected the skills students will need as work continues to change to a large or very large extent. Only 28% said their institution's definition of graduate readiness had evolved to account for AI's impact on careers to the same extent.

That gap suggests many institutions are updating course content faster than they are rethinking the broader outcomes they expect from students. It also points to uncertainty about how AI should shape definitions of readiness for employment.

Separate findings showed many institutions remain at an early stage in deciding how to use AI in learning and lifelong learning pathways. More than a quarter of respondents, 27%, said their institution was not yet using any of the listed AI tools or approaches to support learning and was still exploring options.

Only 28% were quite or extremely confident their institution had a clear strategy for where AI fits within its lifelong learning pathways. The result adds to evidence that policy and implementation are lagging behind concern about AI's effects on the workforce.

The research was conducted in June and July and included professionals across primary, secondary and higher education, as well as other education-related roles. The Australian sample was sourced from SurveyMonkey Audience panels, and not every respondent answered every question.

Darren Read, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, at Instructure, commented on the results.

"Australian educators clearly see the need to prepare students for careers that will keep changing, but our preliminary findings show many institutions are still working out where AI fits," said Read.

He also linked the findings to wider conversations across the education sector.

"CanvasCon is a chance to have a practical conversation about where education is heading. We'll hear directly from universities, schools and training providers about what they're seeing on the ground, what's working and where the challenges remain and, importantly, what students need to succeed," said Read.

Curriculum shift

The results suggest a sector trying to respond on several fronts at once. Institutions are dealing with changing learner expectations, pressure to offer more flexible study routes and increasing demand for skills that can be refreshed over time rather than acquired once through a traditional degree.

The survey found that the same share of respondents who supported helping graduates retrain also rated co-delivering ongoing workforce development with industry as important or very important. The same proportion said reaching learners outside traditional enrolment also mattered.

That suggests the discussion is no longer limited to undergraduate teaching. It now extends to short-form learning, mid-career education and links between institutions and employers.

Instructure, which makes the Canvas learning management system, described the figures as an early view of how Australian institutions are approaching lifelong learning, flexible pathways, AI readiness and questions of access and equity in AI.

Rachel Orston, Chief Customer Officer, at Instructure, also addressed the role of user feedback in the company's product development.

"I'm looking forward to two days of direct, honest conversation with the educators and institutions who use our products every day," said Orston.

"Our customer community shapes where Instructure goes next, and gatherings like this are where that happens. We hear what's working, what isn't, and that feedback goes straight into how we build," said Orston.

The research arrives as universities, schools and training providers face growing scrutiny over whether students are being equipped for jobs that may change repeatedly over the course of a career. It also comes as AI use in teaching, assessment and student support remains uneven across the sector.

Among the institutions involved in discussions around these issues are UNSW Sydney, the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, RMIT University, Griffith University, Adelaide University, the University of Newcastle, Swinburne University of Technology and the University of Auckland.

The programme also includes contributions from schools and vocational education and training providers, reflecting how the debate over AI and employability now spans the full education system rather than higher education alone.

For now, the survey's central finding is straightforward: Australian educators largely agree that graduates will need to keep learning as work changes, but many are not yet convinced their institutions are set up to meet that need.