13 Apr 21st century skills and their relevance today
By Lottie Dowling
‘21st century skills’ is a term that has been around for some time now and, despite being 17 years into the 21st century,
13 Apr 21st century skills and their relevance today
By Lottie Dowling
‘21st century skills’ is a term that has been around for some time now and, despite being 17 years into the 21st century, it seems many people are still grappling with what these skills are, their relevance and how they can be developed.
What are 21st century skills?
There are currently a number of different interpretations, definitions and models of 21st century skills; however, they are all based on the idea that ‘deeper learning’ is a core requirement to prepare us all for the demands of the 21st century.
What is common to them all is the moving focus from knowledge to values, attitudes, capabilities and skills. As participants in the information age, each with a smart phone in our pockets and the ability to find answers to any knowledge-based questions in seconds, the need for acquiring knowledge has vastly decreased, replaced by the need for values, attitudes, capabilities and skills that will equip us more effectively for the challenges of the 21st century.
Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21), has a comprehensive Framework for 21st Century Learning. It has three key areas of skills (Life and Career, Career and Innovation, Information, Media and Technology Skills) along with subjects and themes, and it envelops them within the wider context of education-related areas: assessment, curriculum, professional development and learning environments.
In this model, in the key area of Career and Innovation Skills, there are the 4 C’s, which P21 did a research series on: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity.
Finally, around the world we are beginning to see various school curriculums include aspects of these skills, values and attitudes, such as the Australian Curriculum’s inclusion alongside subjects of seven general capabilities, including Critical and Creative Thinking, ICT and Intercultural Understanding.
Why are they needed?
Our world is evolving at breakneck speed and many aspects of our life are simultaneously being disrupted by several main forces including globalisation, automation, digital technologies and increasingly flexible living and working arrangements. These forces have an impact on all aspects of life: the world of work, travel and leisure, sourcing and consuming food, health and medicine, and new and continued world problems.
Flexible working arrangements mean our students will face a working environment that is increasingly insecure and more flexible. The jobs they will be doing may not exist yet or will exist in very different forms. They will need the skills, values, knowledge and attitudes to find suitable work and be able to do it competently.
Automation means the world of work is rapidly transforming. Any job requiring manual labour is already or will probably soon be replaced. Our daily life can increasingly be run from smart phones or computers: online shopping, working remotely, online banking, and sourcing labour and services. Jobs for humans will require higher order thinking skills that robots cannot do.
Globalisation also means there is more competition for work as more educated individuals are applying for jobs not just in their own communities and cities, but in other parts of the world. Websites such as Upwork allow people to bid for projects from all over the world, with skilled workers in first world and developing countries bidding on the same projects.
Our world is facing increasingly complex challenges due to globalization. Migration is as it never has been before and our current refugee population is one of the highest in modern history. The planet’s environment is under huge pressure with a growing population to feed and climate change being a large focus for environmental changes. Our future will depend on us being able to solve these challenges.
How can they be developed?
As educators, the opportunities to develop these 21st century skills exist 