21st century skills: discussion paper

The main goal of this discussion paper concerns an analysis of what current theoretical frameworks say about 21st century skills, particularly with regard to their definition, implementation and assessment. In addition, the initiatives taken by different countries and international organizations are identified. To accomplish this, a literature review was conducted on the available information about 21st century skills across five theoretical frameworks, namely: Partnership for 21st century skills (P21), En Gauge, Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills (ATCS), National Educational Technology Standards (NETS/ISTE), and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This review was complemented with an additional search for international studies and recommendations from the European Union, OECD and UNESCO related to the need for and the implementation of 21st century skills.

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