Running Head: KNOWLEDGE APPLICATION ESSAY 1

Knowledge Application Essay

Todays educational culture is largely defined by accountability and student assessment,

which neglects to emphasize a broad scope of vital skillsets that students will need to be

successful in the future (Au, 2007). The wide range of skills that researchers and educators have

identified as contributing to students success in college and future careers can be encapsulated

in the term 21st century skills. While there are disparate definitions and multiple frameworks that

organize and frame 21st century skills (Voogt & Roblin, 2010; Kereluik, Mishra, Fahnoe &

Terry, 2013), it will be imperative for educational researchers and educators alike to identify and

implement these skillsets into classroom experiences. Additionally, the role of instructional

leaders will be influential in bridging the dissemination of knowledge from the research on 21st

century skills to actual practice (Neumerski, 2012). Instructional leaders, including district level

administrators, school based administrators, instructional coaches and teacher leaders, have

tremendous capacity to influence organizational learning within their school building and

contribute to a shared vision that promotes student success (Robinson, Lloyd, & Rowe, 2008).

By synthesizing the literature that defines a 21st century framework of skills, I address the issue

educational leaders encounter in ciphering through the conceptual knowledge needed to serve as

instructional leaders for the relatively new field of 21st century learning reform.

The term 21st century skill has been used in several different frameworks to encapsulate a

group of skills that students will need to be successful in the future. The disparate frameworks

have resulted in some ambiguity and a clear definition of vital skillsets will be necessary as

schools proceed to adopt reforms aimed at infusing these skillsets into curricular programs.

The Partnership for 21st Century (P21) is one of many organizations worldwide which

has researched to identify skillsets that will be relevant in the workforce today (Kay & Greenhill,
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2011; Kay & Greenhill, 2012). While P21 organizes the research into the four broad categories

known as the 4 Cs (collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking), the research

from the organization serves also to promote student directed instructional delivery models, such

as project-based learning, and administrative practices that inherently encourage use of these

skills (Kay & Greenhill, 2011; Kay & Greenhill, 2012).

Luterbach and Brown also recognized the need for disambiguation of the 21st century

skill concept (2011). This study used the Delphi technique and allowed for the synthesis of

expert input from both academics and practitioners. Their findings largely concur with the

skillsets identified by P21, but with an even greater emphasis on the critical role of Information

and Communication Technology (ICT) in a 21st century curriculum (Luterbach & Brown, 2011).

Voogt and Roblin address the conceptual differences through the examination of multiple

21st century frameworks and found that frameworks do largely converge on a similar group of

skills, even if the terminology or the relative importance somewhat differs (Voogt & Roblin,

2012). Their organization of key manuscripts from 21st century frameworks is helpful for

researchers and practitioners who would like an overview of the ways in which the literature

agrees and conflicts within the field. Their largely convergent findings are encouraging,

considering the divergence of the literature and terminology could be seen as problematic for

those wishing to organize and implement a 21st century reform.

Kereluik, Mishra, Fahnoe, and Terry synthesized 21st century learning frameworks in

attempt to find convergences and to conceptualize the literature base (2013). The researchers

engaged in the qualitative process of constant comparison of 15 different documents from

different 21st century organizations and frameworks. The coded manuscripts were organized

hierarchically into categories that then formed the basis of a conceptual model that was generated
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as a result of the synthesis. The researchers organized the elements of 21st century learning into

three domains: foundational knowledge (what students are to know, including ICT skills, core

content, and cross-disciplinary knowledge), humanistic knowledge (what students value,

including life skills, ethics, and cultural competence), and meta knowledge (how students will

act, including creativity, problem solving, and communication and collaboration). The

conceptualization of this framework is very accessible and for this reason, holds great utility for

researchers and practitioners. While the researchers synthesis process did not necessarily yield

any new understanding, their simplification of disparate frameworks is helpful in terms of

merging a complex body of literature into an accessible package.

The National Research Council (NRC) generated perhaps the widest synthesis of 21st

century learning through an Education for Life and Work Report (2012). The NRC report did

not restrict their synthesis to just 21st century learning, but also encapsulated the related fields of

deeper learning, college and career readiness, and student centered learning to merge

related understandings. The NRCs report utilized the research base to identify 21st century

skills in conjunction with content and knowledge in an effort to categorically define their three

deeper learning competency domains: cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal (2012). The

deeper learning competencies highly correlate to the other conceptions of 21st century skills, but

also incorporate an understanding of transfer and deeper learning of content. This

conceptualization of skillsets is perhaps the richest in that it does not look at skillsets in isolation,

but rather as a package or vehicle for accessing curriculum and transferable knowledge. This

transferable knowledge will hold applications for students in their future work and adult life, but

also in the present (NRC, 2012). The synthesis has widespread utility through its unification of

similar concepts in education.

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The literature that aims to define 21st century skills are both divergent and convergent and

while the terminology and framing in current use differs, it does not seem that this should serve

as an obstacle for implementation and practice. While it would seem difficult to implement an

amorphous and subjective concept of 21st century skills, the convergence of meaning (despite a

divergence of terminology) points to the notion that a school system need only to frame the

concept of 21st century learning using whatever terminology they prefer, as the underlying

concepts are the same. Additionally, slight divergences in a framework of skillsets will only lead

to a more diversely educated populace, which should not be interpreted negatively, as variance

and disparity can also breed innovation.

The synthesis of the literature base around defining 21st century skills is paramount in

order for educational leader to find direction in effectively leading their organization through a

process of 21st change. Instructional leaders of all levels will be instrumental in diverting the

emphasis away from standardized assessment and high stakes testing within schools and towards

practices that promote valuable learning experiences for students as they prepare for their

futures. While this 21st century movement is divergent and complex, it is important for

instructional leaders to develop some conception of what skills will be relevant for students and

understand the competencies that should be incorporated into their schools vision and practice.

With this understanding, instructional leaders then must navigate ways in which to help teachers

implement and assess for a new curricular focus, and must provide professional development to

promote growth within their teachers. As schools engage in the process of change, it will also be

critical for leadership to understand other elements that foster organizational learning, so that

their leadership efforts will result in sustained growth. Within the intersection of the 21st century

learning and instructional leadership literature bases, there stands great opportunity for schools,
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classrooms, and students to access a more relevant and authentic 21st century curriculum and

pedagogy.
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References

Au, W. (2007). High-stakes testing and curricular control: a qualitative metasynthesis.

Educational Researcher, 36, 258-267.

Kay, K. & Greenhill, V. (2011). Twenty-first century students need 21st century skills. In G. Wan

& D. Gut (Eds.), Bringing schools into the 21st century (pp. 41-65). Netherlands:

Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0268-4_3

Kay, K. & Greenhill, V. (2012) The leaders guide to 21st century education: 7 steps for schools

and districts (pp. xiii-23). New Jersey: Pearson Resources for 21st Century Learning.

Kereluik, K., Mishra, P., Fahnoe, C., & Terry, L. (2013). What knowledge is of most worth:

Teacher knowledge for 21st century learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher

Education, 29, 127-140. doi: 10.1080/21532974.2013.10784716

Luterbach, K. & Brown, C. (2011). Education for the 21st century. International Journal of

Applied Educational Studies, 11, 14-32.

Neumerski, C. (2012). Rethinking instructional leadership, a review: What do we know about

principal, teacher, and coach instructional leadership, and where should we go from here?

Educational Administration Quarterly, 49(2), 310-347. doi: 10.1177/0013161X12456700

National Research Council (2012). Education for life and work: Developing transferable

knowledge and skills in the 21st century. Committee on Defining Deeper Learning and

21st Century Skills, J.W. Pellegrino & M.L. Hilton (Ed.). Washington, DC: The National

Academics Press.

Robinson, V., Lloyd, C., & Rowe, K. (2008). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An

analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational Administration

Quarterly, 44, 635-674. doi: 10.1177/0013161X08321509

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Voogt, J. & Roblin, N. (2010). 21st century skills. (Discussion paper). Enschede, NL: University

of Twente. Retrieved October 11, 2015, from

http://archief.kennisnet.nl/fileadmin/contentelementen/kennisnet/Bestanden_Feddo/21st-

Century-Skills.pdf

Voogt, J. & Roblin, N. (2012). A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st

century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies. Journal of

Curriculum Studies, 44(3), 299-321. doi:10.1080/00220272.2012.668938