Twenty-first Century Competencies Research Articles

Eğitim Yönetiminde Program Geliştirme Süreçleri ile İlgili Alanyazında Yapılan Araştırma Makalelerinin İncelenmesi

As stated under the Tenth Development Plan, basic and professional skills development program, Dec. 2014-2018, published in line with the goals of 2023 in our country, critical thinking is among the basic skills that individuals should have in terms of ensuring rapid adaptation of individuals to work and living conditions and developing human resources. the teacher strategy document, which draws the roadmap for teacher training, development and employment periods in our country between 2017-2023, lists raising free individuals with program development skills among the final goals of education. Dec.Dec. However, when Deciphering the framework reports defining the human qualities of the twenty-first century that guide the national education policies of countries, program development is emphasized among the important and priority skills. 21, which is recognized worldwide for its work on twenty-first century skills. 21, prepared by the century skills partnership. cooperation framework for century skills and 21. the project on the evaluation and teaching of Decennial skills highlights program development among the twenty-first century competencies. In addition to its role in the changing educational world, program development also has an important role in shaping individuals and societies. Nowadays, the ability to develop a program to find the most accurate and reliable one that will work for you from the increasing amount of data in each profession field is the most important personality trait that can be relied on by acting as a mental filter. An individual armed with educational processes does not accept information in a stationary way and questions the reliability of the information he encounters by applying his own reasoning methods. He may convert the information he questions when necessary, or he may not accept it. From the point of view of individuation, the ability to develop a program is important for a person to be independent and original-minded individuals, to create the right solutions for his life and to make the right decisions. Key Words: Educational Management, Program Development, Research and Review Articles

A Model Framework for Enhancing Twenty-First Century Competencies in Primary School Teachers within Northeastern Thailand's Sub-Area

This study investigated the development of twenty-first-century competencies among primary school teachers in Thailand's sub-northeastern region. The research aimed to achieve three primary objectives: 1) assess the specific needs for enhancing teachers' twenty-first-century competencies in the sub-northeastern Thailand region; 2) construct a model designed to establish teachers' twenty-first-century competencies within this context; and 3) implement and evaluate the effectiveness of the developed model. The study's participants consisted of 390 teachers from the sub-northeastern region who were selected by a formula-based approach for the needs analysis, five experts for model evaluation selected by means of purposive sampling, and 30 teachers selected by purposive sampling for model implementation. To gather data, various instruments were employed, including a questionnaire to assess the needs for enhancing teachers' twenty-first-century competencies in the sub-northeastern Thailand region, a model evaluation form, a model for the development of teachers' twenty-first-century competencies in the sub-northeastern Thailand region, a twenty-first-century competencies evaluation form, and a satisfaction questionnaire. Data analysis involved mean scores, standard deviations, priority need indexes, medians and interquartile ranges. The results of this comprehensive study shed light on the specific competencies required by teachers in the twenty-first century, serving as a valuable resource for educators and policymakers alike in their ongoing efforts to improve education quality.

Primary School Students' Experiences using Minecraft Education during a National Project-Based Initiative: An Irish Study.

Minecraft Education is a digital game-based learning platform that is thought to support the development of twenty-first century competencies and skills. The purpose of this study is to explore primary students' experiences of using Minecraft Education during an innovative national project-based initiative. The initiative had two phases: 1) educational episodes for teachers and students on how to use the platform and 2) a national competition that required students to re-imagine a sustainable version of their community. We used a mixed-methods design with a sample of classes taking part in the initiative. First, third to sixth class students (N = 173) completed a survey that examined: 1) learning opportunities with Minecraft Education, 2) ease of use, 3) usefulness, and 4) enjoyment. Eight focus group interviews were then conducted with a subsample of sixth class students (n = 30). Students indicated that 1) there were good opportunities for learning with Minecraft Education, particularly for creativity and collaboration, 2) the platform was easy to use and useful and, 3) using Minecraft Education was enjoyable. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified five themes: 'collaboration', 'opportunities for creativity', 'immersive learning environment', 'student engagement', and 'technology and digital skills'. This research highlights the value of innovative project-based learning activities with Minecraft Education for supporting student learning.

Assessing twenty-first century competencies: can students lead and facilitate the co-construction process?

ABSTRACT There is global recognition of the need to teach and assess complex competencies, which are often referred to as twenty-first century or work-ready knowledge and skills. While several assessment frameworks have been co-developed by researchers and teachers to assess competencies in schools, little is known about how these frameworks are shaped, both in product and process, by the active participation of other key stakeholders. This study, therefore, examined the co-construction of a competency-based assessment framework, incorporating the perspectives of teachers, students, and industry partners from an Australian secondary school community. Our findings reveal that the students confidently designed, articulated and justified the framework and then presented this to the adult participants, despite existing power dynamics. In addition, the students were able to navigate the co-construction process through acts of leadership and the use of questioning techniques, unmasking the opportunities for student leadership and voice within the design of assessment frameworks. We argue that the co-construction of assessment frameworks, involving a range of stakeholders, allows for workplace competencies to reflect school priorities and structures while also addressing the realities of the workplace and the needs, capabilities and imagined futures of students.

Psychometric Properties of the Competencies Compound Inventory for the Twenty-First Century

The world is evolving rapidly, implying that the jobs of tomorrow, the socio-economic problems and the technologies we will have to interact with, will no longer exist. For this, a new set of skills and competencies will be necessary and these will allow us to face the twenty-first century. The “Four-Dimensional Education” model from the Center of Curriculum Redesign (CCR), which is developed by Fadel and his collaborators in 2015, stands out by proposing a framework that organizes twelve competencies for the twenty-first century, defines them in a clear and usable way, and provides levels for action for all education stakeholders. Based on this model, a self-reported scale was built to assess these competencies. The purpose of this study is to present the psychometric properties of this scale with the objective of measuring this specific set of competencies. The results showed good psychometric properties, presenting a sensitive, reliable, and valid scale to measure twenty-first century competencies.

A comparative study of twenty-first century competencies in high school mother tongue curriculum standards in China, the United States and Finland

ABSTRACT Integrating twenty-first century competencies into the curriculum has become an important issue for education reform worldwide. This study examines and compares twenty-first century competencies demonstrated in mother tongue curriculum standards in China, the United States and Finland. It identifies key similarities and significant differences among them. It shows that the Finnish Curriculum has a more balanced distribution of twenty-first century competencies. While communication and critical thinking are stressed in all three, critical thinking is prioritised in the American Curriculum. In addition to communication and critical thinking, the Chinese Curriculum emphasises citizenship based on national identity, metacognitive strategies and aesthetics. The American Curriculum focuses on information and ICT literacy, and the Finnish Curriculum highlights personal and social responsibility concerning cultural awareness and citizenship. The significant differences between these three Curricula are related to the countries’ tradition of curriculum theories – the Chinese integrate Western theories and the Confucian tradition, the American follow the Anglo–American curriculum and the Finnish have roots in Bildung-Didaktik. Curriculum objectives should take into consideration both subject knowledge and skills and the student as a whole person. Additionally, different curriculum traditions should be considered and learned during the curriculum design process.

Twenty-First Century Competencies: How Can Teacher Education Programs Prepare Teacher Candidates for Successful Teaching Career Paths?

This study investigated teacher candidates’ perceptions of 21st-century competencies, compared the perceptions among teacher candidates from different majors and academic achievement levels, examined the relationship between teacher candidates’ perceptions of the competencies and their learning achievement, and determined approaches to enhance such competencies. A survey was conducted among 250 teacher candidates from 13 different majors, and six university lecturers were interviewed in an open-admission university in Thailand. The results revealed that the teacher candidates realized the high importance of 21st-century competencies regarding the role of teachers as facilitators, learning management skills, technology and media literacy skills, morality and professional ethics, assessment and evaluation, knowledge and understanding of the social context, communication skills, and research skills. Teacher candidates from different majors and with varied academic achievement levels had the same perceptions of 21st-century competencies in all but two areas: knowledge and understanding of the social context and communication skills. Furthermore, no relationship was found between teacher andidates’ perceptions of the competencies and their academic achievement. The results suggest that faculty and other related organizations must realize the importance of developing teacher candidates’ 21st-century competencies by creating efficient, high-quality programs, to prepare them for a successful career path

Learnings from the #IndigenousESD Global Research: Twenty-First Century Competencies for All Learners

Abstract The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promotes with the Sustainable Development Goal 4 a quality education for all and aims to ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for vulnerable groups, such as Indigenous Peoples. However, most education systems are not yet in a position to embrace a culturally appropriate way of teaching children and youth of their Indigenous communities. The #IndigenousESD research creates a voice for relevant education stakeholder groups, including Indigenous Elders/leaders, ministry officials, parents, students, and teachers from communities with Indigenous students on their perceptions of quality education. Based on a participatory research approach developed together with Indigenous communities and researchers from around the world, dialogues held in 54 research settings in 26 countries show a focus on the acquisition of twenty-first century competencies for learners amongst the most important aspects of a quality education. For this article, the authors focused on knowledge, attitudes and skills, providing recommendations for policy makers in education to better address the needs and priorities of Indigenous communities. Findings from the research indicate that teaching twenty-first century competencies are at the center of concern in all stakeholder groups, yet want these competencies taught in a context to which Indigenous students can readily relate. Adjusting the pedagogy of delivering these common competencies in the classroom could be an important step towards a feasible and affordable path within existing education systems to better serve Indigenous students and all learners.

Becoming a FaciliActor: Playing at fiction on the borderlines of culture

This article interrogates the idea of the drama educator as a FaciliActor within the sociocultural and political context of Singapore, drawing on Jacques Ranciere’s (2015) notions of fiction and dissensus to examine how the FaciliActor can expand the potential of play-based embodied learning. The term FaciliActor, coined to combine facilitator and actor capacities, and thereby emphasize the acting skills involved in facilitating a dynamic drama process, points to imaginative options that drama educators negotiate when planning and executing their roles. In particular, it highlights an educator’s ability to play with experimental options and trust the ingenuity of imagination that prods a review of what is. This includes having theatrical presence, which commands attention and invites response. Given the escalating tensions of cultural difference in plural societies, the growing need for dialogic pedagogies that develop twenty-first century competencies such as critical thinking, empathy and self-awareness points to the FaciliActor as well placed to do this through play-based and creative frameworks that allow multiple perspectives. I consider how the FaciliActor can expand dialogic options for participants when creating and facilitating a drama process, and suggest that it is useful to engage with an ‘actor’s dramaturgy’ (Barba 2010) to gain critical skills when performing.

Cultivating creativity in a high-performing education system: The example of Singapore

Focusing on the cultivation of twenty-first century competencies in a high-performing education system, this article examines the teaching and learning of creativity in Singapore. It is argued that “everyday creativity” and creativity as innovation are privileged by educators in Singapore. Creativity is promoted through a harmonized approach that is manifested in two main ways. First, novelty and usefulness are integrated with the help of design thinking for the sake of social good. Secondly, the advancement of creativity co-exists with and supports the high-stakes examination system by infusing creative thinking into the teaching of school subjects. The example of Singapore adds to the existing research by demonstrating a cultural approach to the teaching and learning of creativity as well as the potential of design thinking to developing creative thinking in students.

Teachers’ Role in Students’ Learning at a Project-Based STEM High School: Implications for Teacher Education

This study explored how teachers engage and support students at a project-based STEM high school to identify key elements defining students’ learning experiences in a project-based environment. Interviews and surveys provided students’ and teachers’ perspectives of challenges and supports in the project-based learning process. The teachers’ support was personal and caring, they challenged students and provided responsive guidance and advice, responding directly to students’ interests while retaining high standards and expectations; we saw that teachers’ caring in an environment of high expectations was crucial for student success. Identification of three critical elements of the teachers’ supports and challenges (student-centered projects, a focus on twenty-first century competencies, and strong teacher-student relationships) led to recommendations for teacher preparation such as providing preservice teachers with authentic experiences, celebrating failure as part of learning, explicitly teaching about project-based learning pedagogy, and stressing the importance of caring relationships and twenty-first century competencies.

Using Technology to Structure and Scaffold Real World Experiential Learning in Distance Education

Team projects allow students to apply their technical skills to a real-world context and build twenty-first century competencies, including teamwork, project management and communication skills. However, the complex challenges that such experiential learning projects present for students and faculty can limit the scale of implementation. This article argues that Virtual Business Projects (VBP), a model of team-based experiential learning where teams of students complete a virtual business project for an industry sponsor, can mitigate these problems by leveraging instructional technology and learning analytics. The VBP model is deployed in multiple universities, which have provided more than 2500 Virtual Business Projects since 2015. We will discuss how innovative technology, embedded in thoughtful learning design, supports experiential learning by taking advantage of features such as customizable scaffolding, automated reflection and feedback loops, and learning analytics.

Space matters: framing the New Zealand learning landscape

Significant funding is devoted across the world to transforming traditional classrooms into flexible learning environments. These efforts are often motivated by a desire to create learning spaces attuned to twenty-first century competencies, which involve learning how to communicate, collaborate, think creatively, and how to become critical users of technologies engaged in both the consumption and production of knowledge. In New Zealand, these flexible learning spaces are seen as part of innovative learning environments (ILEs), which are conceptualised as ecosystems involving learners, educators, communities, pedagogical practices, knowledge, and digital and material resources, including buildings and furniture. In line with ILEs, the notion of place-based spaces for networked learning foregrounds learning activity as enmeshed in an assemblage of elements—involving physical spaces, artefacts, digital technologies, people, ideas and tasks. In this paper, we adopt a networked learning perspective to frame the New Zealand learning landscape. Key findings from a national survey with 222 primary teachers, 126 secondary teachers and 163 school leaders, show that most teachers and leaders perceived their schools as being in-transition to ILEs. Findings highlight the importance of having a shared vision and leadership dedicated to supporting teachers’ experimentation with new practices in innovative spaces. The survey details the digital and material resources, the social configurations used in classrooms, the types of learning tasks students are engaging in and a range of emergent practices in innovative and traditional environments for learning across New Zealand.

Supporting Twenty-First Century Competencies Using Robots and Digital Storytelling

Design thinking is a collaborative problem-solving approach that fosters innovation and communication by enhancing learners’ creative thinking abilities. This article discusses the use of domains identified by the Framework for 21st Century Learning (P21 Framework) to conduct a qualitative, exploratory case study to identify design thinking attributes perceived to be instrumental in building students’ capacity for communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity using robots and digital storytelling. The purpose of this study was to understand how students perceive the use of robots to help them build these 21st century competencies and to help identify practical implementation strategies for teachers interested in using robots to support 21st century skills. Sixteen students in a three-week summer camp were grouped and used Sphero Bot robots to design and build an interactive story using the robots as characters. Data collected included classroom observations, student reflections, and student-created artifacts. The P21 Framework recognizes three domains related to design thinking, identified as major contributors to authentic learning, adaptive critical thinking, and new media literacies. This case study addresses two domains relevant to using robotics and digital storytelling within this bounded case, (a) learning and innovation skills and (b) information, media, and technology literacy skills. Five student competencies within these two domains provided the conceptual framework used as a foundation to facilitate reliability of this research. The results of the current study indicate that using robots in this manner to build an interactive story sparked engagement in coding and digital storytelling, offered an authentic context applying design thinking to build 21st century competencies, and encouraged participants to further explore their newly developed 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.

Nature of problem-solving skills for 21st Century STEM Learners: What teachers need to know

Since the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution which calls for a new model of learning for the twenty-first century learners, it has been argued that the nature of problems that learners must solve in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) must also be transformed to enable new forms of learning skills that are needed to tackle complex global challenges. However, the question of how best to teach these skills purposefully and explicitly is largely overlooked. STEM education reformers recognize that the lecture method or traditional method of teaching is highly ineffective for teaching twenty-first century competencies and skills that learners need to develop, yet widespread use of this approach continues. In today’s world, we need STEM graduates who are more sophisticated in understanding the uncertainty of knowledge through quasi-reflective thinking when there is uncertainty about a solution to a problem. For this to happen, STEM learners need skills such as critical thinking, decision-making, innovation, the ability to communicate new knowledge effectively, and the ability to solve various kinds of problems through negotiation and collaboration, all of which present a corpus of knowledge to be constructed and mastered in a learner-driven pedagogy. Therefore, rethinking the kind of problem-solving skills we teach twenty-first century learners is as crucial as identifying a suitable instructional model. This paper demonstrates how the domain of ill-structured problems-based learning may contribute to the development and mastery of twenty-first century competencies and skills, and advance the quality of learning through the argumentation model.

ESD for All: Learnings from the #IndigenousESD Global Research

AbstractEducation is recognized a human right for all. Though, Indigenous communities do not yet enjoy their full rights to education and are put at risk of losing their Indigenous culture and identity. A new research initiative, holding dialogues discussing the perceived outcomes of quality education in the eyes of several stakeholders, shows that access and retention in equitable and inclusive quality education as described inSDG 4are highly valued. The research was jointly developed and carried out by researchers and Indigenous communities in 29 countries. Twenty-first century knowledge and skills are crucial for future Indigenous generations to create their livelihood and successfully engage in both Indigenous community life as well as mainstream society. Learning within formal school systems to understand their Indigenous heritage and keep the connection to their environment despite aspiring modern lifestyles, creates relevance which enhances both learning and retention. Beyond twenty-first century competencies, vital elements of education quality seen as relevant for Indigenous youth are aligned with education for sustainable development and applicable for all learners.

STEM education in the primary years to support mathematical thinking: using coding to identify mathematical structures and patterns

Cross-curricula opportunities afforded by STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education), supports an environment where students can develop twenty-first century competencies. One approach to addressing cross-curricula opportunities in STEM education is the introduction of computer science (computer programming—coding) as a basic skill/literacy for all students. Coding (computer programming) is a language that draws on a set of syntax rules (or blocks for primary school students) that informs a computer program to execute a series of functions. While there is evidence that computational thinking (the thinking used for coding/computer programming) and conceptual development in mathematics are connected, there is limited research related to how such a confluence applies to primary school students. The aim of this article is to provide insight into how mathematical knowledge and thinking, specifically the identification of mathematical patterns and structures, can be promoted through engagement with coding activities. The data for this article is drawn from year 2 students (n = 135) in two Australian primary schools. A teaching experiment approach was adopted for the study with a small intervention group (n = 40) undertaking coding lessons for 6 weeks. Data collection comprised of pre-test and post-tests with a focus on patterning and coding in conjunction with video-recorded lessons. The study provides evidence that the learning that takes place through coding instruction can lead to higher levels of students’ mathematical thinking in relation to identifying mathematical patterns and structures that can lead to generalisations.

The use and potential of Fermi problems in the STEM disciplines to support the development of twenty-first century competencies

This paper presents the results of a literature review focusing on the use and potential of Fermi problems (FPs) in the STEM disciplines. We identify different usages and roles given to FPs in each of the STEM disciplines and highlight their potential to promote modeling of real phenomena and situations as well as learning about the estimation of quantities. Modeling is found to be at the heart of integrating the different STEM disciplines and estimation is a key facilitator that enables students to tackle complex situations and content in all disciplines. The results of the review are discussed in terms of the potential and possibilities of FPs to support the development of twenty-first century competencies in the STEM disciplines.

Creativity within the Foundation Phase curriculum: a risky business?

ABSTRACT Whilst creative behaviours are viewed as twenty-first century competencies [Davies, L. M., L. D. Newton, and D. P. Newton. 2017. “Creativity As a Twenty-First-Century Competence: An Exploratory Study of Provision and Reality.” Education 3–13, 879–891.], understandings within education remain vague [Prentice, R. 2000. “Creativity: A Reaffirmation of Its Place in Early Childhood Education.” The Curriculum Journal 11 (2): 145–158. doi:10.1080/09585170050045173]. Through a focus on two Welsh primary headteachers, this paper illuminates two contrasting constructions of school-based creativity and considers associated pedagogical practices. Whilst the creativity literature foregrounds child agency within risk-taking environments [Grainger, T., and J. Barnes. 2006. “Creativity in the primary curriculum.” In Learning to Teach in the Primary School, edited by A. James, T. Grainger, and D. Wray, 209–225. London: Routledge.], analysis of the first setting suggests that the privileging of accountability to external markers may lead to risk-aversion as creativity is shaped through a ‘policy panopticon’ [Ball, S. J. 2003. "The Teacher's Soul and the Terrors of Performativity." Journal of Education Policy 18 (2): 215–228. doi:10.1080/0268093022000043065.]. A shift from traditional arts-based views of creativity towards an emphasis upon creative behaviours may be advantageous and a reconstruction of accountability as starting at the micro level of the child. Whilst the post-Donaldson zeitgeist offers hope, this may still be challenging where high stakes assessments remain. These tensions are significant to practitioners since implicit understandings of ‘creativity’ impact on the pedagogies offered to children.