I too am involved in training young aviation professionals. This probably wont go down very well, but in my honest opinion half the issue is best described as "Gen Y"..
It's true. I see it every day. Most under 30's in 2014 aren't interested in doing 'hard yards'. It's all about 'just give me the answer, I have no interest in exploring HOW you go about deriving it'. I don't think it's necessarily 'laziness', I just honestly think in most cases they just don't know how to push themselves. They've never had to.
If something requires hard work, its too much like hard work.
I know this is a generalisation, and that there are always exceptions to every rule. But my experience says it IS the majority.