Abstract
The 21st century has ushered in accelerated new technologies, new knowledge and new information also described as the digital revolution and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) – causing rapid changes in the way humans live and work and resulting in an outcry for educational reforms globally. Many frameworks and debates centred on rethinking and reshaping the curriculum including what knowledge, skills, values and attitudes should be taught to prepare learners to thrive in the 21st century, have been developed. This study explored the applicability of western 21st century skills frameworks in the Zimbabwean context. The transformative learning theory framed the study. The study used a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design to collect quantitative and qualitative data in two phases from four secondary schools, three of which follow the ZIMSEC syllabus and the other, a private school that follows a Cambridge syllabus. The questionnaire used in the quantitative aspect was adapted from the Partnership for 21st century framework (P21) and (Ravitz, 2014) to fit the Zimbabwean context. A total of 236 students and 93 teachers took part in the quantitative study. Twelve teachers participated in the structured interviews. Factor analysis and parametric analyses were used to analyse the data from the quantitative study.
The findings in this study showed that three elements define the teachers’ and students’ conceptions of 21st century skills: learning skills and values, learning processes and self-management. The eight skill sets from P21 are randomly clustered in the three skill sets that emerged from this study. Therefore the applicability of the western 21st century skills frameworks to the Zimbabwean context is limited.
Analysis of teachers' interview transcripts showed that teachers were using top-down, teacher-centred and exam-oriented pedagogical strategies with no transformative pedagogic strategies aligned with 21st century skills education. Teachers need professional development on transformative pedagogical strategies in teaching 21st century skills which trigger students’ ability to develop a transformative experience through rational discourse and critical reflection. It is envisaged that the proposed model of Zimbabwean teachers’ and students’ conceptions of 21st century skills will act as a baseline for theory, policymakers, head teachers, teachers and teacher education colleges to realign the current teaching to fit the 21st century curricula.
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KEYWORDS: educational reform; knowledge, skills, values; attitude; curriculum; Partnership for 21st century skills (P21); self-management; learning processes; learning skills and values; transformative learning theory; 4Cs.