New Study Finds Teens and Educators Want Schools to Rebuild Civil Discourse in a Digital Age

Or Initiative launches at Chapman University to provide curriculum support and professional development for teaching contentious topics in today’s classrooms.

ORANGE, Calif., Feb. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new national research report released today by Or Initiative, based at Chapman University, finds that adolescents are already grappling with the most polarizing civic and geopolitical issues of our time, often in digital spaces that reward speed and certainty. At the same time, they are eager for schools to help them slow down, build shared evidence, and learn how to have civil discussions with each other even when they disagree.

The report, Coming of Age in Polarized Times: Teaching Civil Discourse in a Digital Era, is based on in-depth interviews with 8th- and 11th-grade students and educators in California and New York, alongside a national review of middle- and high-school curricula. It is being released at a two-day convening at Chapman University marking the launch of Or Initiative, a new research-to-practice effort focused on how to support young people’s capabilities for civil discourse in an increasingly digital and polarized time.

“Students are not disengaged from the world’s hardest questions; they are immersed in them,” said Vikki Katz, Executive Director of Or Initiative and the Fletcher Jones Professor of Free Speech in the School of Communication at Chapman University. “What they are missing are spaces where they can slow down, sort out what is knowable, and talk with one another without being pushed to pick a side on complex topics. Many of them still believe classrooms can be those spaces. Our research shows they want schools to help—but also, that educators need better tools and support to do that work well.”

Key Findings: A Generation Seeking Common Ground, Not Extremes

The report documents a striking disconnect between how young people encounter contentious issues online and how schools are currently equipped to respond.

Among students, researchers found that:

• While teens find much of their time on social media engaging and useful, they report discomfort with extreme narratives. They also encounter political violence, war coverage, antisemitism, and political disagreement primarily through algorithmically driven feeds, often framed in emotionally charged and decontextualized ways.
• Many adolescents understand that algorithms amplify extreme content, but still report feeling overwhelmed, confused, and unsure what to trust online.
• Traditional media literacy strategies fall short in environments dominated by fleeting video clips and AI-generated content.
• Students consistently described classrooms as one of the few remaining places where they hope to ask questions, change their minds, and see peers do the same—when teachers can create these learning conditions.

Educators, meanwhile, reported that:

• They feel a strong responsibility to help students engage with complex issues but also feel professionally exposed and underprepared. They fear being perceived as biased or lack the training and support they need to tackle tough topics. 
• Classrooms function as both refuges and “pressure cookers,” shaped by academic demands, families’ expectations, and fears of controversy.
• Educators view students’ social media use and how it shapes their perspectives on current events to be a disruptive, corrosive influence on fostering collective inquiry from a shared evidence base.
• Existing curricula often fail to connect students’ experiences on social media and in digital spaces with rigorous, evidence-based learning on real-world issues.
• Educators report gaps between students’ digital realities and the curriculum needed to help them better bridge what teens learn in digital environments outside of school time and in their classrooms
  

Case Study: the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

Or Initiative’s curricular tools, currently in development, focus on developing the digital and discourse skills and dispositions that enable young people have conversations on tough topics that are rooted in historical context, a shared, high-quality evidence base, and respect for different perspectives. Or Initiative builds on high-quality curricular content already being widely used in U.S. schools to better connect what students learn in class to what they learn in their social media feeds. Or Initiative’s first curricular focus is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, chosen because of its urgency, complexity, and presence in young people’s digital lives.

“We begin with this issue precisely because it is so hard,” Katz said. “For many students—especially those who are Jewish, Muslim, and Arab—this is not an abstract geopolitical story. It shows up in their feeds and friendships and affects their sense of belonging. If we can help young people engage with this issue with evidence, empathy, and curiosity, we believe Or Initiative’s approach can be effectively extended to other deeply contested issues—from immigration to the impacts of social media itself on young peoples’ wellbeing.”

Or Initiative brings together communication science, youth development, curriculum design, and digital innovation to help educators create classrooms where students can:

• Develop digital knowledge skills suited to AI-shaped information environments
• Build a shared, high-quality evidence base on a tough topic
• Practice civic discourse from that shared evidence base with peers, face-to-face
  

As part of its launch, Or Initiative also announced its Civil Discourse Accelerator, a new fellowship program that will fund and mentor early-and mid-career designers and technologists to create ethical, youth-centered tools that support digital skill-building and civil discourse in classrooms. The first Accelerator projects will be funded beginning in Spring 2026.

Or Initiative is supported, in part, by a generous gift from the Samueli Foundation, which has invested in Chapman University’s leadership in civil discourse.

“At a time when polarization threatens both our civic fabric and young people’s well-being, we believe that schools and institutions of higher education can play a vital role in building new models for shared understanding,” said Lindsey Spindle, President of the Samueli Foundation. “Or Initiative reflects a bold, research-driven commitment to helping the next generation navigate complex issues, and each other, with integrity.”

About Or Initiative

Based at Chapman University, Or Initiative is a research-to-practice effort dedicated to helping young people and educators navigate civil discourse, digital life, and learning in polarized times. Through research, curriculum development, professional learning, and field convening, Or Initiative works to support classrooms being places where students can build knowledge, engage across difference, and remain in relationship—beginning with the most challenging issues of our time.

For a full copy of the report and more information on Or Initiative, visit https://orinitiative.org/.

To request an interview with Vikki Katz, contact Bob Hitchcock, rhitchcock@chapman.edu.

About Vikki Katz
Vikki Katz is a Professor in the School of Communication and the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair in Free Speech at Chapman University. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Or Initiative, a new program dedicated to generating alternatives to young people disengaging from each other over contentious issues in a digital age. A leading scholar on teen and young adult development, technology access, and equitable civic engagement, she has worked closely with young people, educators, policymakers, and content creators to ensure high-quality evidence drives meaningful social change over the course of her career. Her research has informed federal policy, including Federal Communications Commission efforts to expand national broadband access, and shaped PBS Kids’ redesign of digital content to better serve children without consistent high-speed internet. The author of four books and more than 50 journal articles, book chapters, and policy reports, Katz’s work has been supported by organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Spencer Foundation. She serves as an advisor to Sesame Workshop and on the Board of Directors for the National Center for Families Learning.

About Chapman University 
Founded in 1861, Chapman University is a nationally ranked private university in Orange, California, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles. Chapman serves nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, with a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Students can choose from over 100 areas of study within 11 colleges for a personalized education. Chapman is categorized by the Carnegie Classification as an R2 “high research activity” institution. Students at Chapman learn directly from distinguished world-class faculty including Nobel Prize winners, MacArthur fellows, published authors and Academy Award winners. The campus has produced a Rhodes Scholar, been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, and hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society. Chapman also includes the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine. The university features the No. 4 film school and No. 66 business school in the U.S. Learn more about Chapman University: www.chapman.edu.

Media Contacts:

Bob Hitchcock, Director of Strategic Communications/PR | Chapman University | rhitchcock@chapman.edu | Cell: 407-388-4657

Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, Senior Adviser | Or Initiative | kkmanzo1@verizon.net | Cell: 240-274-9800

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/126bf609-db29-4b38-8ae8-817862b8223b

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