The Critical Attributes of 21st Century Education

The world of teachers and students is expected to continue to change dramatically throughout the
21st century and beyond. There is a paradigm shift in the way teaching and learning is delivered. As
a 21st century teacher, you need to develop essential knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to be
able to cope with these changes and to help your students address them as well.

But, have you ever wondered what 21st century education looks like? What changes does the 21st
century bring to the teaching and learning process? Take a few minutes to reflect on these questions.
Write your ideas on the lines provided below.

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Discuss your reflections with your co-learners and Flexible Learning Tutor. How did you picture 21st
century education? Perhaps some of you may have mentioned that the curriculum of the 21st century
is different from that of earlier decades. Teaching strategies may have also come up in your
discussion about changes in 21st century education. These are but some of the changes and
characteristics of 21st century education that you and your students face today and in the future.
Educators have identified characteristics or attributes critical to 21st education. As a modern-day
teacher, you need to be aware what these are and you must strive to understand them so that you
may be able to integrate them in your teaching.

Critical Attributes of the 21st Century

Source: 21st Century Schools (2011)

Can you distinguish the eight attributes from each other?

Read on and learn more about each of these attributes in greater detail.

1. Integrated and Interdisciplinary

Nowadays, knowledge is no longer distinctly divided into clear-cut learning chunks or separate
subjects. Education in the 21st century is characterized by linkages among various subject
areas in an integrated manner. The new approach promotes the utilization of learning from
various disciplines.

This critical attribute implies that teachers need to review the school curriculum and identify strategies
or ways on how different subjects can be effectively linked to enhance the learning experiences of
students.

For example, music and algebra can be linked together in the discussion of fractions. The time
signature of music uses fractions; as such, you, as a good teacher, can certainly apply this to both
your music or math classes.

2. Technologies and Multimedia

Education in the 21st century makes full use of available Information and Communication
Technology, or ICT (e.g., computers and the internet) as well as multimedia (e.g., using audio-
and video-based instruction) to improve teaching and learning activities. The ability to find,
evaluate, utilize, and create information using technologies and multimedia, or digital technology in
general, is referred to as digital literacy. As a teacher, some of your day-to-day activities – writing
reports, creating multimedia presentations, and communicating or exchanging information with your
colleagues and students online – require different levels of digital literacy. As such, it is important
for you to develop your digital literacy skills so that you can in turn pass these on to your learners.

This critical attribute implies that your school will need to acquire and use computers and various
multimedia equipment to enhance learning to the best extent possible. Training is also needed for
teacher-users as part of a bigger “technology plan.”
3. Global Classrooms

Education in the 21st century aims to produce global citizens by exposing students to the
concerns of the region and other countries. They are encouraged to react and respond to issues
as part of their roles as global citizens.

This critical attribute implies that teachers need to include current global issues/concerns,
such as peace and respect for cultural diversity, climate change, and global warming, in
classroom discussions.

4. Creating/Adapting to Constant Personal and Social Change, and Lifelong Learning

Education in the 21st century subscribes to the belief that learning does not only happen inside the
school and during one’s schooling years. Learning can take place anywhere, anytime, regardless
of one’s age.

This means that teachers should facilitate students’ acquisition of KSAVs that go beyond academics.
Learning should take place not only for the purpose of passing exams, but also for transferring
knowledge to real life situations. The curriculum should be planned in such a way that the
students will continue to learn even outside the school’s portals.

5. Student-Centered

Education in the 21st century is focused on students as learners. It is tailor-fit to address the
individual learning needs of each student. Differentiated instruction is common in 21st century
classrooms, where diverse student factors are taken into account when planning and delivering
instruction. You, as a teacher, can structure learning environments that address the variety of
learning styles, interests, needs, and abilities found in your classroom.

This critical attribute implies that teachers should act as facilitators of learning — not as “sages on the
stage” but as “guides on the side.” Learners should be given opportunities to discover new
knowledge, learn with one another, and create their own learnings.

6. 21st Century Skills

Education in the 21st century promotes the skills needed to be productive members of today’s
society. It is not enough for students to learn the basic skills of reading, writing, and numeracy, but
should develop in themselves skills that would help them cope with life and work in 21st century
communities. These skills include, among others, critical and creative thinking skills, problem
solving and decision making, and ICT literacy and skills. As a teacher, you are expected to
possess these 21st century skills before you can help your students develop these skills.

7. Project-Based and Research-Driven

Among the critical attributes of 21st century education is the emphasis on data, information, and
evidence-based decision making. It relies heavily on student-driven activities to encourage
active learning. This implies that teachers of the 21st century need to be knowledgeable about
research to guide their students’ learning through self-directed activities, such as learning
projects within and outside their classrooms. Investigatory projects showcased in many science fairs
across Southeast Asia and in the world are examples of research-based activities of students.

8. Relevant, Rigorous and Real-world

Education in the 21st century is meaningful because it is rooted in real life day-to-day
activities of learners. It can be applied to the realities of the present and includes what students
need to develop to enable them to become productive members of the 21st century.

This critical attribute implies that topics are taught using current and relevant information and linked to
real-life situations and context. As a 21st century teacher, you need to be updated on the current
trends, developments, and issues in your school, community, and in the world, so that your
teaching will be relevant to the lives of your students. Newspapers, TV and radio news, and the
internet are good sources of relevant and up-to-date information that you can access.