Applying interthinking for learning 21st-century skills in home economics education

Abstract

In this paper, we seek to determine the relationship between home economics education and 21st-century skills (critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration) in the context of social learning. We see potential in students' discussions while working together with different group members and practicing the essential skills necessary for coping in the contemporary world. Using a socio-cultural framework, we focused on students' talk and language use as a tool in an educational setting. In addition, interthinking was analysed to obtain an overview of language use for thinking together while solving learning assignments requiring thinking-in-action in the context of home economics lessons. The results demonstrate how interthinking emerges in students' group work discussions during gap-closing processes in various collaborative home economics tasks (n = 11). As a result, interthinking was determined to be as a good medium for the development of 21st-century skills in school lessons. Based on the empirical data, we argue that interthinking is well-suited to the aims and context of home economics education, as it enables the promotion of students' action competence so that the knowledge and skills learned in school can become a reality in students' lives.