21st Century Skills
Equipping students of today for the world of tomorrow
What are 21st Century Skills?
At AQA Global Assessment Services we regularly speak to education leaders around the world about how their curriculums and assessments reflect 21st Century Skills. But what does this actually mean?
AQA’s Assessment Research and Innovation team has reviewed the latest thinking to identify an actionable framework that can be applied practically. Exploring the Concept of 21st Century Skills offers a comprehensive look at what these skills are, why they matter, and how they can be taught and assessed.
Why 21st Century Skills matter
The world of work is changing. Automation, digital transformation, and globalisation are reshaping the skills needed to be productive and effective. Employers are looking for more than subject knowledge – they want adaptable, creative, collaborative thinkers, ready to take on roles that don’t even exist yet.
Education systems face the challenges of rapid modernisation too, with easily accessible AI tools making it more difficult to ensure that students are thinking for themselves. Educators want to give learners a foundation of skills, resilience and adaptability, so the future workforce will be equipped for success. To deliver this, the skills must be clearly defined.
Exploring the concept of 21st century skills: a review of the literature
In this report, Yaw Bimpeh and Sheradan Miller from our research team explore the concept of 21st Century Skills and the range of frameworks used to teach and assess them in schools.
Defining 21st Century Skills based on the evidence
The research reviewed six of the most influential skills frameworks globally, including those from the OECD, the European Union, and the Partnership for 21st Century Learning.
Six core skills consistently appear across all models. These skills are not just abstract concepts – they can be taught and assessed in real classrooms.
Collaboration
More than just group work, effective collaboration involves conflict resolution, goal setting, and task coordination. AQA has developed a toolkit to assess collaboration in group tasks using teacher, peer, and self-assessment.
Communication
This includes both production (e.g. public speaking, writing) and reception (e.g. active listening, reading comprehension). These skills can be embedded in assessment strategies using a range of methods, from speaking presentations to situational judgement tests.
Creativity
Often seen as hard to define, creativity can be nurtured through divergent thinking, improvisation, and problem-solving tasks. Assessment tools include asking learners to find creative uses for objects, or responses to a scenario.
Critical thinking
A cornerstone of lifelong learning, critical thinking can be taught through argument analysis, problem-based learning, and concept mapping. It is assessed using activities like essays and simulations of real-world tasks.
Digital literacy
Beyond just computer skills, true digital literacy includes evaluating online information and understanding digital ethics. Performance-based assessments and diagnostic tools help measure students’ digital competence.
Problem solving
This involves applying knowledge to novel situations. It can be taught through subject-specific strategies and assessed via investigations and reviewing real-world scenarios.
Challenges and opportunities
One of the key insights from the research is that these skills are interconnected. For example, collaboration often requires communication, and problem solving may involve critical thinking and creativity. This makes assessment complex, but not impossible.
The research also highlighted the need for skills which enable success beyond the workplace. The idea of creating 'lifelong learners' is a subject of interest for policy makers who see a skills based education as an opportunity to help students thrive in all areas of their lives as responsible and engaged citizens.
While definitions are complex and frameworks continue to evolve, educational policies are increasingly reflecting the need for transferable skills, in addition to core subject knowledge. Qualities which used to be seen as 'soft' skills are rapidly rising in value and, if formalised within teaching and assessment, can enable young people and employers to thrive.
The question isn’t whether we should teach 21st Century Skills, it’s how.
Develop a world-class workforce
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What’s your vision for 21st Century Skills?
In collaboration with academic and vocational partners worldwide, we design qualifications and assessments that equip learners with future-ready skills. So, if you want to develop a generation of collaborative and adaptable critical-thinkers, we can make it happen.
Get in touch to discover how our team can integrate 21st Century Skills into your curriculum.
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