The Implementation of 21st-Century Skills in the Teaching and Learning Process of Vocational College Teacher
Zainab Yahya Arif 1*, Norfadila Amin @Mohd Amin
1 School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor
*Corresponding Author: [email protected] Accepted: 15 March 2021 | Published: 1 April 2021
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Abstract: The 21st-century skills will produce individuals who are constantly striving for knowledge and adapting to various changes all the time. The need for the implementation of these 21st-century skills is important and all teachers play a key role in implementing them.
Due to the industrial demand for high skill and competent technical and employability, it is an important part of empowering vocational education. With effective and efficient methods of teaching, a teacher may help students to achieve needed skills in their field. Therefore, with highly skilled and vast experience in instructional methods of a teacher, this can determine the success criteria for institutional. Survey questionnaires were used to identify these 21st-century skills suitable for the teaching of technical and vocational education. The study was guided by two objectives and a research question. However, random sampling was used to select the respondents from the teachers of technical and vocational colleges. The data and results present the new strategies for the teaching of technical and vocational college which were identified to be creative, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Besides that, teacher Technical and Vocational Education should be trained in effective teaching methods and be informed about the current industry needs.
Keywords: Teaching and learning, 21st-century skills, Vocational College
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1. Introduction
The 21st-century skills are widely known in Malaysian education system currently, but they are the evolution of old system and culture and has been genetically modified to suit with new technologies and the working system. In 2013, when it was emphasized throughout the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013 to 2025 (MEB), the phrase 21st-century education (PA- 21) became dominant (MOE, 2013). The MEB explains that the changes in education system are intended to boost and provide the skills required in the 21st-century for every Malaysian student. In the 21st-century, there are few skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication for holistic student personality development to face the economic challenges of the 21st-century (MOE, 2013). A pilot 21st-century learning was launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) to help teachers understand and are willing to make a change in teaching and learning by following the aspirations of transformation and was introduced in schools nationwide beginning in 2015. (MEB, 2015).
This effort is aimed at transforming the education system and providing the knowledge and skills of 21st-century industrial players and thus becoming the best global competitors.
Curriculum reform includes all aspects of skills and competencies that can meet the needs of education in the 21st-century, where the Standard Curriculum of Primary Schools (KSSR) and Standard Curriculum of Secondary Schools (KSSM) have been implemented since 2011. Both curriculum standards already updated by the implementation of KSSR and KSSM (review)
begins in 2017. Therefore, MOE encourages the coaches or the teacher to take the initiative in self-development, enhance knowledge and skills, and use new method of teaching and method of learning practices as required by the 21st-century (MOE, 2013). The abilities of the 21st- century will give birth to individuals who constantly strive for knowledge and different changes all the time.
Technical and Vocational Training and Education (TVET) will play a role in providing the skilled workforce necessary for the economic transformation of Malaysia and the next phase of growth. Moreover, under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), 1.3 million additional jobs in Malaysia are projected to require skills related to TVET by 2020. This will make TVET the most important avenue to increase the skilled human base of Malaysia. The MEB has implemented various initiatives to equip the next generation with different 21st-century knowledge and skills through the education system to prepare Malaysian youth to take advantage of the new opportunities under the 11MP. The skills needed for the 21st-century include a variety of skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication, and collaboration (Dede, 2010). The National Education Association (NEA, 2012) of the United States has reviewed the skills framework of the 21st-century and presented the four most important specific skills: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (4C's) skills (NEA, 2010). TVET was created to prepare and widely open the opportunities for students who have an interest in the field to meet the needs of the workforce in the industry at home and abroad.
2. Literature Review
The biggest argument for the acquisition of 21st-century skills by students is the teacher's responsibility to prepare students for the society in which they work and live (Gibson, 2010).
In the right place and at the right time, young graduates need to have the basic skills and the right abilities (Chai and Kong, 2017). To prepare students today, today's classroom can be defined by the following characteristics: authentic, engaging, technically opportunistic, meaningful, creative, and student minded. Teachers play role in the modelling of these practices. In conjunction with student learning activities, teachers need to convey their knowledge, according to Azmi and Nurzatulshima (2017). Ercikan and Oliveri (2016) clarify that skills of the 21st-century have been expressed in a variety of ways but are usually seen as the result of a combination of significant skills in today's world and become a necessity for the workforce of today. As such, students need to be equipped with the skills and competencies needed in the 21st-century to face the challenges of the future, as the future workforce (Yoke, 2018). Educators need to be innovative in their teaching and learning approaches to promote these 21st-century skills to enhance the participation of their students in the learning environment.
Purpose of Study
The main objective of this study is to identify the implementation of 21st-century skills of Technical and Vocational Education Teachers in Vocational Colleges. Therefore, to achieve the goals of this study, the research objectives of the study are as follows:
i. Identify the level of knowledge of Technical and Vocational Education teachers in providing students with 21st-century skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges.
ii. Identify teaching practices applied by Technical and Vocational Education teachers in providing students with 21st-century skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges.
Research Question
The research questions of this study are as follows:
i. What is the level of knowledge of Technical and Vocational Education teachers in providing students with 21st-century skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges?
ii. What are the teaching practices applied by Technical and Vocational Education teachers in providing students with 21st-century skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges?
3. Methodology
This study used a questionnaire adapted from Noordiana (2017) research to perform the survey.
The study sample consisted of 30 professional college teachers around Johor Bahru with a total of 32 items. The questionnaire constructed contains three parts. Section A is the demographic of the respondents. Section B is a questionnaire about teacher’s knowledge about 21st-century skills and Section C about teaching practice applied by technical and vocational teachers on 21st-century skills. These skills are communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. The research items in the questionnaire are analyzed using SPSS.
Findings
Table 1 shows the demographic profile of the respondent has answered the study questionnaire.
Profile respondents obtained gender, age, professional qualifications and teaching experiences.
Table 1: Demography Profile Respondent (N=30)
Demographic Factors Category Frequency Percentage
Gender Men 12 40
Women 18 60
Age 20-25 years 2 6.67
26-35 years 10 33.33
36-45 years 10 33.33
46 years 8 26.67
Professional Qualifications
Bachelor (Master) 2 6.67
Bachelor 28 93.33
Teaching Experiences 1-5 years 3 10
6-10 years 7 23.33
11-15 years 9 30
16-20 years 7 23.33
21 years and above 4 13.33
Total 30 100%
Table 2 shows the level of teacher knowledge of 21st-century skills for TVET teachers and how they apply. Descriptive analysis which involves the mean and standard deviation carried out to identify the level of teacher knowledge have the highest level of the knowledge to the first item, namely: “I know the importance of 21st-century skills in teaching and learning” with mean = 3.95 and standard deviation = 0.183. Based on these results, the teachers of many respondents agree that they understand the importance of 21st-century skills.
Next, the lowest mean, but still at the high mean level obtained on the item 4, namely: “I learned 21st-century skills through courses/briefings attended” with mean = 3.57 and standard deviation = 0.504. TVET teachers agree that they understand the abilities of the 21st-century skills through courses/briefings attended, based on the average level. The conclusion that can
be drawn is that the teacher's knowledge of 21st-century skills in technical and vocational education is high with an overall mean of 3.78 and the standard deviation is = 0.414.
Table 2: Level of Knowledge of 21st-Century Skills for Technical and Vocational Education Teachers
No. Item Mean Standard
Deviation
Level Mean 1 I know the importance of 21st-century skills in
teaching and learning.
3.97 0.183 High
2 I am knowledgeable to expose students with 21st-century skills learning resources.
3.73 0.450 High
3 I am knowledgeable to apply 21st-century skills in teaching and learning.
3.83 0.379 High
4 I learned 21st-century skills through courses/briefings attended.
3.57 0.504 High
5 I am knowledgeable to plan to learn by combining 21st-century skills elements in teaching and learning.
3.80 0.484 High
6 I am knowledgeable to use various teaching and learning strategies and techniques appropriate to the current situation.
3.80 0.484 High
7 I know the importance of innovating in teaching and learning towards 21st-century learning.
3.83 0.379 High
8 I know the importance of managing the classroom so that 21st-century learning can take place effectively.
3.73 0.450 High
Overall Mean 3.78 0.414 High
Communication Skills
The distribution of the mean and standard deviation for each item under the teaching practices applied by technical and vocational education teachers based on 21st-century communication skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges is shown in Table 3. The analysis for each item under this category shows that item 4 I ask students to communicate for a variety of purposes (examples: telling information, giving instructions, motivating, and persuading) has the highest mean score of 3.87 among the five items for this category. Item 2 I ask students to convey ideas followed by clear body language in a variety of ways effectively has the lowest mean score of 3.47. The overall mean score and standard deviation for the communication skills is 3.69 and 0.515, respectively.
Table 3: The Teaching Practices Applied by Technical and Vocational Education Teachers based on 21st- Century Skills in The Implementation of Teaching and Learning in Vocational Colleges
No. Item Mean Standard
Deviation
Level Mean 1 I guide students to present ideas in writing by having
variety of ways effectively.
3.80 0.484 High
2 I ask students to convey ideas followed by clear body language in a variety of ways effectively.
3.47 0.629 High
3 I ask students to interpret people's knowledge based on the information they give.
3.57 0.504 High
4 I ask students to communicate for a variety of purposes (examples: Telling information, giving instructions, motivating, and persuading).
3.87 0.507 High
5 I guide students to use various media based on the latest technology for effective communication purposes.
3.73 0.450 High
Overall Mean 3.69 0.515 High
Creativity Skills
The distribution of the mean and standard deviation for each item under the teaching practices applied by technical and vocational education teachers based on 21st-century creativity skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges is shown in Table 4. The analysis for each item under this category shows that item 1 I guide students to be able to create new ideas that have the features of improvement or innovation has the highest mean score of 3.83 among the five items for this category. Item 4 I ask students to see failure as an opportunity to continue to find new ideas in the long run has the lowest mean score of 3.53.
The overall mean score and standard deviation for the creativity skills is 3.72 and 0.454, respectively.
Table 4: The Teaching Practices Applied by Technical and Vocational Education Teachers based on 21st- Century Skills in The Implementation of Teaching and Learning in Vocational Colleges
No. Item Mean Standard
Deviation
Level Mean 1 I guide students to be able to create new ideas
that have the features of improvement or innovation.
3.83 0.379 High
2 I guide students so that they can analyse my own ideas to improve the weaknesses of my ideas.
3.73 0.450 High
3 I ask students to see failure as an opportunity to learn new things.
3.73 0.450 High
4 I ask students to see failure as an opportunity to continue to find new ideas in the long run.
3.53 0.507 High
5 I guide students to be able to use idea creation techniques well (examples: Brainstorm, etc.)
3.80 0.484 High
Overall Mean 3.72 0.454 High
Collaboration Skills
The distribution of the mean and standard deviation for each item under the teaching practices applied by technical and vocational education teachers based on 21st-century collaboration skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges is shown in Table 5. The analysis for each item under this category shows that item 5 I encourage teaching and learning in groups has the highest mean score of 3.87 among the five items for this category.
Item 1 I allow students to demonstrate the ability to work effectively in diverse teams has the lowest mean score of 3.53. The overall mean score and standard deviation for the collaboration skills is 3.67 and 0.509, respectively.
Table 5: The Teaching Practices Applied by Technical and Vocational Education Teachers based on 21st- Century Skills in The Implementation of Teaching and Learning in Vocational Colleges
No. Item Mean Standard
Deviation
Level Mean 1 I allow students to demonstrate the ability to
work effectively in diverse teams.
3.47 0.629 High
2 I ask students to be flexible in performing teamwork to achieve common goals.
3.53 0.507 High
3 I guide students to take on shared responsibilities in teamwork.
3.73 0.450 High
4 I guide students to receive input and encouragement from teammates for mistakes made.
3.73 0.450 High
5 I encourage teaching and learning in groups. 3.87 0.507 High Overall Mean 3.67 0.509 High
Critical Thinking Skills
The distribution of the mean and standard deviation for each item under the teaching practices applied by technical and vocational education teachers based on 21st-century critical thinking skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges is shown in Table 6. The analysis for each item under this category shows that item 4 I plan every question to asked to the students has the highest mean score of 3.73 among the five items for this category.
Item 1 I guide students to give arguments appropriate to the situation (such as inductive, deductive, etc.) has the lowest mean score of 3.47. The overall mean score and standard deviation for the critical thinking skills is 3.57 and 0.507, respectively.
Table 6: The Teaching Practices Applied by Technical and Vocational Education Teachers based on 21st- Century Skills in The Implementation of Teaching and Learning in Vocational Colleges
No. Item Mean Standard
Deviation
Level Mean 1 I guide students to give arguments appropriate
to the situation (such as inductive, deductive, etc.).
3.47 0.571 High
2 I ask students to be flexible in performing teamwork to achieve common goals.
3.57 0.504 High
3 I ask students to ask questions that can explain various points of view.
3.57 0.504 High
4 I plan every question to asked to the students. 3.73 0.450 High 5 I ask questions that explore students' views. 3.53 0.507 High Overall Mean 3.57 0.507 High
4. Conclusion
Based on the analysis obtained shows the feedback from the questionnaire found that 21st- century skills among TVET college teachers for each 21st-century skill are high. Findings show that the most dominated skills are creativity skills followed by communication skills, collaboration skills and finally critical thinking skills. The results can be seen based on the mean score.
The mean value of one skill known as creativity is 3.72 and this shown that it is rated as high in term of the teaching practices applied by technical and vocational education teachers based on 21st-century skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges.
The high creativity between the teachers in the process of teaching and learning shows that teachers had to help learners to test in different ideas more often. In addition, students also must be thought to create ideas for any problem or to produce an open-ended question solution.
Teachers have been found to lack activities that require students to produce of an original product or performance to express their ideas. Therefore, to raise the level of implementation of teaching and learning skills, teachers must perform more activities that can initiate the creativity.
The average score of 3.69 is also rated as high for the implementation of communication skills in teaching practices applied by technical and vocational education teachers based on 21st- century skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges. The results show teacher must perform excessive activities that need the learners to create and present an oral presentation to answer questions in front of an audience at the same time. Students should be more frequently exposed on how to create information that can be used as written products or real time presentations, how to expose ideas through fastest medium such as media rather than using a paper wrote by hand, and how to deliver their finding or demonstrate their learning.
Accordingly, teachers need to move away from the traditional approach for teaching and learning, this can lead student adopting communication and other skills at a very higher level.
The mean value for collaboration skills is 3.67 and it is highest value in term of the teaching practices applied by technical and vocational education teachers based on 21st-century skills in the implementation of teaching and learning in vocational colleges. This implied that when completing a task, teachers is required to let the student to work in pair or work as a team in completing any related tasks. In addition, teachers must educate them to give a feedback when involve group work or group assignment. Even though students work in group to brainstorming any ideas, this is the least carried out. Thus, students need to have more frequent work in team to create a good joint product. In their teaching and learning, teachers must have awareness of the factors that may affected them from applied more collaborative and innovative skills.
The implementation of critical skill in teaching having average score of 3.57 which this make this skill one of the best skills that can be applied and practice in technical and vocational education system by the teachers in vocational colleges. Teachers needed to carry out extra activities that can induce students to summarize what they have read or been taught or create their own interpretation. Besides, for better result to develop persuasive argument and do more comparison information from different resources, more high intellectual activities need to be carried out. Furthermore, by introducing to the student on how to analyze competing arguments, perspectives on how to analyze or the way to brainstorming problem into solutions must be prepared by teachers. In addition, various activities that can induce and encourage the student to solve variety of complex problem or a solution that can be done with various solution should be practice frequently. In order to help student to develop and adapting into critical thinking skill, the teacher must help them to overcome any obstacle that can stop them from developing more confidence in their skills.
The objective of this research is to identify and indicate the level of implementation of skills by technical and vocational education teachers in teaching and learning in the 21st-century. A discussion of the consequences of the results is also included. By using one method of data collection tool which is questionnaire, a quantitative survey was performed. The overall results indicate that teachers have implemented 21st-century skills at a higher level. Several implications from this finding have been discussed and there are also some of suggestion on how to improve the level of teachers' implementation of 21st-century skills. This research offers data that can help teachers to create concerned awareness of their 21st-century skills implementation status. Teachers can then take appropriate measures to help them increase their level of implementation of 21st-century skills in the future.
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