Measuring twenty-first century skills: development and validation of a scale for in-service and pre-service teachers

A self-report scale that measures teachers’ confidence in teaching students about twenty-first century skills was developed and validated with pre-service and in-service teachers. First, 16 items were created to measure teaching confidence in six areas: information literacy, collaboration, communication, innovation and creativity, problem solving, and responsible citizenship. Then, the items were tested in two groups of pre-service teachers and two groups of in-service teachers respectively. Exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the scale’s validity and reliability. The analyses identified a three-construct scale including innovation and problem solving, collaboration, and utility of technology for pre-service teachers and a one-dimension scale, cross-functional skills, for in-service teachers. This study suggests that different scales should be used to measure in-service teachers’ and pre-service teachers’ confidence in teaching twenty-first century skills.     

Narrow identity resources for future students: the 21st century skills movement encounters the Norwegian education policy context

21st century skills is a global network of corporate and governmental influences that promotes competences suited to fit the future knowledge economy. Through a discourse analysis of an influential Official Norwegian Report, ‘The School of the Future. Renewal of Subjects and Competences’ (NOU 2015:8), this paper explores how ideas of 21st century skills are translated into the Norwegian education policy context. Firstly, the paper analyses the context-specific reasons for receptiveness by investigating discursive warrants. Secondly, the paper identifies how the policy document constructs a set of preferred subject positions that constitute an image of an ideal student. Thirdly, the paper investigates the discursive framing of these subject positions. We find that the policy document constructs an image of an ideal student who is creative, responsible, cooperative, engaged, self-regulated and in complete control of herself, her learning and her future. This image draws on more pronounced neo-liberal discourses, but also well-established discourses in the Norwegian context, such as social democratic progressivism. This intertwining of discourses shows how traits of homogeneity related to global ideas, as well as heterogeneity related to the Norwegian policy context, are both visible in the Norwegian translation of 21st century skills.     

Examining models of twenty-first century education through the lens of Confucian cosmopolitanism

ABSTRACT

Today, the intensification of global interconnectivity is a key characteristic of the twenty-first century. This has spurred governments and policymakers to envision how best to equip future-ready citizens who can navigate increasingly globalized workplaces resulting in the worldwide popularity of models that articulate twenty-first century competencies. Twenty-first century education models perpetuated by transnational and multinational organizations posit an idealized vision of the future-ready citizen equipped with requisite skills to compete in the global economy. Informed by economic rationality, such models promote a consequentialist approach to education where the primary aim of schools is to develop citizens as human capital who can thrive in globalized workplaces and ultimately contribute to the progress of their nation. In this paper, I focus on the twenty-first century education model currently infused across schools in Singapore. Using this as an example, I examine models of twenty-first century education from the lens of Confucian cosmopolitanism. I explore how the application of Confucian cosmopolitanism can facilitate an ethical re-orientation of twenty-first century education that shifts the focus from instrumental competencies to humanistic virtues needed for a more hospitable future.     

Formatively assessing teamwork in technology-enabled twenty-first century classrooms: exploratory findings of a teamwork awareness programme in Singapore

Teamwork, one of the core competencies for the twenty-first century learner, is a critical skill for work and learning. However, assessing teamwork is complex, in particular, developing a measure of teamwork that is domain-generic and applicable across a wide range of learners. This paper documents one such study that leverages technology to help provide a formative assessment of teamwork. It focuses on the self and peer ratings of a teamwork measure and a pedagogical method, which was trialled as a teamwork awareness programme in a mainstream Secondary School in Singapore. This teamwork awareness programme was incorporated into the school’s Interdisciplinary Project Work curriculum. Findings of students’ experiences of the programme are described. The teamwork competency dimension of “team emotional support” was rated highest amongst students. Also, students’ report gains in teamwork awareness, mixed engagement in reflective practices, and on the real-world relevancy of the programme. Discussions and implications of the findings follow.     

Perceptions of STEM alumni and students on developing 21st century skills through methods of teaching and learning

21st century skills are essential for career readiness. We investigated the development of students’ 21st century skills at a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research university: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. We designed a self-reporting questionnaire covering 14 skills and deployed it to approximately 1500 students and alumni. Respondents were asked to rate each skill based on the degree to which it was developed during their studies. Domain-general skills scored higher than STEM-specific skills or soft (interpersonal) skills, whereas STEM-specific skills scored higher than soft skills. Content analysis revealed nine methods of teaching and learning through which skills developed. The four active methods had a small effect on domain-general skills, while the five passive methods had a medium-to-large effect on these skills. Active methods had a medium-size effect on both STEM-specific and soft skills, whereas passive methods had no effect on either group. Our contribution lies in identifying and matching methods to skills.     

Guidelines to design engineering education in the twenty-first century for supporting innovative product development

In the twenty-first century, meeting our technological challenges demands educational excellence, a skilled populace that is ready for the critical challenges society faces. There is widespread consensus, however, that education systems are failing to adequately prepare all students with the essential twenty-first century knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in life, career, and citizenship. The purpose of this paper is to understand how twenty-first century knowledge and skills can be appropriately embedded in engineering education finalised to innovative product development by using additive manufacturing (AM). The study designs a learning model by which to achieve effective AM education to address the requirements of twenty-first century and to offer students the occasion to experiment with STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts. The study is conducted using the quality function deployment (QFD) methodology.     

The construct of media and information literacy in Singapore education system: global trends and local policies

This paper discusses the representation of information literacy and media literacy in the Singapore education discourse as part of its twenty-first century competencies framework. Through examining the conceptual definitions, purposes/aims, and means of these two significant twenty-first century competencies in the global context and the Singapore education policy, the authors argue that despite both information literacy and media literacy have been widely recognized as crucial skills in the knowledge-based economy, they are perceived as separate concepts, given differentiated emphasis, and implemented using similar approaches by various governmental and educational agencies in Singapore. To facilitate the acquisition of these critical competencies, this paper argues that an overarching framework featuring the seamless integration of information and media literacy in school curricula and public education needs to be in place to clarify conceptual concerns and guide its practical implementation.     

Effectiveness of the multidimensional curriculum model in developing higher-order thinking skills in elementary and secondary students

The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the multidimensional curriculum model (MdCM) in the development of higher-order thinking skills in a sample of 394 elementary and secondary school students in Israel. The study employed a quantitative quasi-experimental pre-post design, using a study module based on MdCM, comparing intervention group to control group. Thinking skills were measured using a thinking questionnaire comprising three dimensions: Scientific thinking – focusing on inquiry skills; creative thinking – relating to problem finding and problem-solving; and future thinking – concerning personal and time perspectives. Findings indicate improvement in measured thinking skills in the intervention group by 40% compared to 4% in control group. Most improved skills were future thinking and creative thinking. Differences were detected according to the type of school. It is suggested that when used regularly the MdCM incorporating innovative teaching–learning strategies and embedded thinking tools could improve thinking skills among students from different age groups. General implications for curriculum design are discussed.     

Examining teachers’ perceptions of K‐11 students’ 21st century skills and student performance

This study examined the relationship of teachers’ ratings of students’ 21st century skills (i.e., persistence, curiosity, externalizing and internalizing affect, and cognition) via the Human Behavior Rating Scale: Brief (HBRS: Brief; Eaves & Woods‐Groves, 2011) with student performance. Midwestern K‐11 teachers (n = 96) rated students (n = 1,689) via the HBRS: Brief and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). Students’ academic (i.e., standardized tests) and behavioral (i.e., office discipline referrals [ODRs] and absences) performance was compared with HBRS: Brief ratings. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that teachers’ ratings of students’ 21st century skills were related to the following: (a) Persistence with SDQ conduct problems, academic performance, and absences; (b) curiosity with SDQ emotional symptoms; (c) externalizing affect with SDQ conduct problems, academic performance, and ODRs; (d) internalizing affect with SDQ emotional symptoms and academic performance, and (e) cognition with academics.     

Global education and its tensions: case studies of two schools in Singapore and the United States

Abstract

Countering the drive to erect walls between nations and communities, the burden is increasingly on educators to develop in students essential skills and dispositions for a more hospitable future. Global education is essentially aimed at addressing the realities of increasingly networked societies and porous exchanges of knowledge, capital, and products among people and groups around the world. This paper examines how global education is enacted in two schools in Singapore and the United States. Given that a central characteristic of the twenty-first century is globalization, global education is inevitably embedded in the discourse of twenty-first century competencies utilized by policymakers worldwide. However, while global education has typically been studied as a singular subject such as Human Rights or integrated into History, Social Studies, or Civics Education, this study differs as it examines two schools that have adopted a whole-school approach to global education. That is, global education is embedded in the culture of schooling and infused across curricula subjects. The first part of the paper provides an overview of global education and its two key emphases – globalism and global citizenship. The second part discusses the tensions emerging from observations of global education in the two schools.     

Advantages of authentic assessment for improving the learning experience and employability skills of higher education students: A systematic literature review

This study is a systematic review of literature that investigates the advantages of implementing authentic assessment for improving two major categories that are relevant to academic and professional success of higher education students: learning experience and employability skills. Authentic assessment involves students in challenging tasks that closely resemble those of the workplace settings. 26 papers from 2010 to 2019 that were relevant to the topic of this paper were selected for the review process. Findings of this review indicate that authentic assessment can play a role in improving the learning experience of higher education students through enhancing their engagement in learning and improving their satisfaction as well as positively influencing their efforts to achieve educational goals. We also discuss the benefits of authentic assessment for equipping students with essential skills for their future professional life, such as communication skills, collaboration skills, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, self-awareness, and self-confidence.     

Integrating curriculum: a case study of teaching Global Education

Despite widespread support for integrated approaches to teaching, classroom practice reveals a lack of implementation. This paper explores challenges and opportunities in teaching an integrated curriculum, and connects this with the contemporary notion of a twenty-first century curriculum and pedagogy. A case study of Global Education (GE) is used to delineate the complexity of issues when teachers attempt to move beyond disciplinary-based teaching approaches. We examine curriculum documents, advice for teachers on curriculum implementation, preservice teachers’ experiences in schools during Professional Experiences and national guidelines for Professional Experience. Through these data, a broad picture emerges of influences on integrating curricula in classrooms. Opportunities to integrate curriculum incorporating twenty-first century pedagogies were limited by pressures on teachers with preservice teachers rarely exposed to authentic integration. Teachers’ professional standing requires clear guidelines, which allow them to pursue important twenty-first century content and skills , for young citizens and this must begin in preservice education.     

Education for future-oriented citizenship: implications for the education of twenty-first century competencies

Globalization and the knowledge economy have opened up worldwide agendas for national development. Following this is the emphasis on the social dimension, otherwise known as social capital. Much of social capital includes “soft skills” and “twenty-first century skills”, which broadly cover critical, creative and inventive thinking; information, interactive and communication skills; civic literacy, global awareness and cross-cultural skills. Proactively, the Singapore government is preparing for Curriculum 2015, a new curriculum that would develop student attributes, embedded in the “confident person”, “self-directed learner”, “active contributor”, and “concerned citizen”. Significantly, a new curricular initiative, Character and Citizenship Education, emphasizes the integrative nature of citizenship and twenty-first century competencies and has been implemented in all schools in Singapore from 2011. This future-oriented approach to citizenship education emphasizes the significance of individual initiatives and the intellectual capital of citizens. This paper analyses features of this particular approach to citizenship education, and its strengths and significance, which may be viewed as an integrative “total curriculum approach” with a “whole-society” perspective. In addition, the challenges of teaching twenty-first century skills will also be highlighted. This departs from the conventional paradigm of socialization, but to help students develop attributes for a future society to come.     

A new approach to high-order cognitive skills in linguistics: problem-solving inference in similarity to computer science

A central issue in the design of curricula for all school levels is the development of the learners’ high-order thinking skills and metacognitive skills. Among such required skills is the ability to solve problems. The literature dealing with the development of problem-solving skills is vast and primarily addresses the scientific disciplines, even though the importance of integrating such skills into all disciplines is widely mentioned. The current study aims to compare problem-solving questions used in two seemingly different disciplines: linguistics and computer science. Our premise was that the basis for imparting problem-solving skills is asking problem-solving questions. We analysed problem-solving questions posed in various teaching and learning school scenarios for keywords, and identified nine categories of problem-solving question keywords common to both disciplines. We present those categories and extend our study of two categories to demonstrating the ability to follow the problem-solving process in linguistics is similar to the exact sciences.     

Assessment and teaching of science skills: whole of programme perceptions of graduating students

This study reports on science student perceptions of their skills (scientific knowledge, oral communication, scientific writing, quantitative skills, teamwork and ethical thinking) as they approach graduation. The focus is on which teaching activities and assessment tasks over the whole programme of study students thought utilised each of the six nominated skills. In this quantitative study involving two Australian research-intensive universities, the teaching activities identified by students as developing the broadest number of skills were laboratory classes and tutorials. Lectures were only effective for developing scientific knowledge and, to a limited extent, ethical thinking. Assessment tasks that students perceived to utilise the broadest range of skills were assignments and oral presentations. The findings of this study document the students’ perspective about their gains in skill sets, and the teaching activities and assessment tasks that require them to use and thus develop these skills. The findings provide an opportunity to evaluate the constructive alignment of skills development, teaching activities and assessment tasks from a student’s perspective. Further research is required to actually measure the skills that students gain over their whole programme of study.     

Digital Storytelling: Using Technology to Spark Creativity

Abstract

For any curriculum area that entails writing, digital storytelling could transform students’ perceptions of and their actual abilities to express themselves through the written word. The use of two Web sites has helped the students of one school go from staring apprehensively at blank pages to eagerly publishing stories.     

A comparison of US and Korean students' mathematics skills using a cognitive diagnostic testing method: linkage to instruction

The purposes of the present study were (a) to compare US and Korean 8th graders' mastery of knowledge and skills in the mathematics test of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 using a cognitive diagnostic testing method and (b) to find links between teachers' instruction and students' mastery of mathematics knowledge and skills. The participants included 740 US and 439 Korean 8th graders who took the Booklet 3 mathematics test. The results showed substantial differences between the US and Korean students' performance in problem restructuring and reasoning, measurement, and geometry. The most helpful instructional strategy for both Korean and US students was encouraging students' independent problem solving. Reviewing, re-teaching, and clarifying content were especially effective for the US students. Implications for teaching and learning are discussed.     

A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies

National curricula need to change drastically to comply with the competences needed for the 21^st century. In this paper eight frameworks describing 21^st century competences were analysed. A comprehensive search for information about 21^st century competences was conducted across the official websites of the selected frameworks, resulting in 32 documents that were analysed in detail. Travers and Westbury’s framework of curriculum representations was used to determine horizontal and vertical consistency between the frameworks. The frameworks were compared on their underlying rationales and goals, their definition of 21^st century competences, and the recommended strategies for the implementation and assessment of these skills in educational practice. In addition three international studies were examined to analyse how various countries (EU member states, OECD countries) and schools (SITES studies) deal (or not) with 21^st century competences. The findings indicate a large extent of alignment between the frameworks about what 21^st century competences are and why they are important (horizontal consistency), but intentions and practice seemed still far apart, indicating lack of vertical consistency. The implications of the implementation of 21^st century competences in national curriculum policies are discussed and recommendations are provided.     

Funds of knowledge in 21st century societies: inclusive educational practices for under-represented students. A literature review

Although the first educational applications of the funds of knowledge (FoK) concept were carried out in the late 1980s, there have been numerous developments and proposals since then, many of which have been made within the last few years. It continues to be, therefore, a valid, cutting-edge educational approach; one which seeks to overcome the lingering deficit perspective in education, by improving relationships between families and schools, and by designing culturally sensitive and contextualized curricular activities. In this review, we have identified 92 peer-reviewed publications relating to FoK in the ERIC database, dating from between 2011 and 2015. In this review, we aim to provide a summary of this literature and identify potential key trends, tensions, extensions and issues concerning current applications of the FoK approach. A number of contributions for teacher candidates and teacher professional development derived from the literature review are also suggested.