Since the late 1990s, the term “Twenty-First Century Skills” has entrenched itself in education discourse, reflecting educators’ and policymakers’ recognition of the evolving workforce landscape and the imperative to equip students with the competencies necessary to excel in the modern era and beyond. This global imperative underscored the need to ready students for success in a progressively intricate and interconnected world. In 1997, the National Academy of Science in the United States released the report, Preparing for the Twenty-First Century: The Education Imperative. The papers contained within the report examined challenges in education for the upcoming century. As we entered the twenty-first century, several new reports emerged over the next two decades that set out to define the twenty-first century skills needed to prepare students for success in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Although the twenty-first century skills listed in these reports varied, there were several overlapping skills deemed essential. At the center of these recommendations was a solid education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In addition to a strong STEM education, twenty-first century skills identified as essential included several soft skills and dispositions such as cross-cultural communication skills, collaboration skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving. A central theme in the literature was the development of creativity, innovation, and digital literacy to prepare students for the demands of the rapidly changing global economy. Although there is general agreement that twenty-first century skills are essential for all students, there is continued debate surrounding the role of K–12 education on how to help students learn these skills. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the importance of skills like adaptability, resilience, and digital competency, especially in regard to navigating unexpected challenges in education and the workforce. This chapter highlights twenty-first century skills as presented in various international policy documents and discusses implementation strategies as well as the need for implementing “just-in-time” professional development to technologically prepare STEM teachers. It is time to move past identifying skills and frameworks by refocusing research and policy efforts on better aligning standardized assessments to include twenty-first century skills, evaluating the level of implementation of twenty-first century skills in the classroom, and building expertise in the pedagogies that support their inclusion.

Twenty-First Century Skills

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发表日期：

2025年

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Teresa J. Kennedy,
Cheryl W. Sundberg

摘要

Since the late 1990s, the term “Twenty-First Century Skills” has entrenched itself in education discourse, reflecting educators’ and policymakers’ recognition of the evolving workforce landscape and the imperative to equip students with the competencies necessary to excel in the modern era and beyond. This global imperative underscored the need to ready students for success in a progressively intricate and interconnected world. In 1997, the National Academy of Science in the United States released the report, Preparing for the Twenty-First Century: The Education Imperative. The papers contained within the report examined challenges in education for the upcoming century. As we entered the twenty-first century, several new reports emerged over the next two decades that set out to define the twenty-first century skills needed to prepare students for success in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Although the twenty-first century skills listed in these reports varied, there were several overlapping skills deemed essential. At the center of these recommendations was a solid education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In addition to a strong STEM education, twenty-first century skills identified as essential included several soft skills and dispositions such as cross-cultural communication skills, collaboration skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving. A central theme in the literature was the development of creativity, innovation, and digital literacy to prepare students for the demands of the rapidly changing global economy. Although there is general agreement that twenty-first century skills are essential for all students, there is continued debate surrounding the role of K–12 education on how to help students learn these skills. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the importance of skills like adaptability, resilience, and digital competency, especially in regard to navigating unexpected challenges in education and the workforce. This chapter highlights twenty-first century skills as presented in various international policy documents and discusses implementation strategies as well as the need for implementing “just-in-time” professional development to technologically prepare STEM teachers. It is time to move past identifying skills and frameworks by refocusing research and policy efforts on better aligning standardized assessments to include twenty-first century skills, evaluating the level of implementation of twenty-first century skills in the classroom, and building expertise in the pedagogies that support their inclusion.