Myth 9 - The "21st-Century Skills" Rebrand
education exchange
In 2025, 3 papers published research from over 4,500 teachers across 12 counties on the most commonly held myths in education. In this series of blogs, we will be looking at the 10 most common myths, how they came about, and the realities surrounding them.
Can you spot a myth? Try this fun quiz based on some of the questions teachers were asked in the research studies
Spot the myth - Try here
Myth 9 - The "21st-Century Skills" Rebrand
I am sure we have all heard the phrase: "We are preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet!" The logic follows that for pupils to survive in this modern world, they need to develop 21st Century Skills. The reality is that there is no universal definition for "21st-Century Skills"; it's a bit of a "catch-all" term that lacks scientific precision and will mean different things to different people (Joynes et al., 2019). The most commonly included skills are:
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- Digital literacy
- Self-regulation
Before you read the next section, take a pause, and consider which of the above skills are actually only found in the 21st Century.
The Reality
While the name sounds catchy, most people can probably identify that almost all these skills are as old as time. The reality is... humans have needed to collaborate, think critically, and adapt since we first figured out how to hunt in packs and build shelters.
It can be argued that digital (or now AI) literacy is 21st-century. It is worth remembering that before we learned how to work out whether an online article is factually accurate, we were teaching pupils to analyse the reliability of sources in history or bias in print journalism. We used to teach children how to use a dictionary, an encyclopedia or a microfiche before we had to teach them how to source information online. To write an effective AI prompt, we need the technical language and creative writing that we have been teaching for decades. These skills are not new, just in a different package.
To think critically or be creative, you need a deep well of domain-specific knowledge to draw from. These are not transferable skills that naturally switch from one subject to another (Willingham, 2007). Critical thinking can’t be taught discretely. It is subject-specific.
Classroom Impact
A "creative" student in Art will not automatically be a "creative" problem-solver in Physics.
Structure over Spontaneity: Avoid assuming that putting pupils in a circle for "group work" or a "debate" automatically teaches collaboration. These sessions require a tight structure and explicit modeling to be effective.
Context is King: Skills like speaking, listening, and metacognition must be taught in context. We teach pupils how to "think critically" within History by looking at sources, or within Science by analysing data.
Prioritise Mastery: Mastery of content is the prerequisite for creativity. We shouldn't see "facts" and "skills" as enemies; knowledge is the bedrock upon which all 21st-century success is built.
Let’s stop treating these as "new" skills and start treating them as the result of deep, knowledge-based learning.
Sources
- De Bruyckere, P., Kirschner, P. A., & Hulshof, C. (2020). More Urban Myths About Learning and Education.
- Joynes, C., Rossignoli, S., & Amonoo-Kuofi, E. (2019). 21st Century Skills: Evidence Review.
- Kereluik, K., et al. (2013). What knowledge is of most worth: Teacher knowledge for 21st century learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education.
- Willingham, D. T. (2007). Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard to Teach? American Educator.
- Fernández-Miras, J.G., Aguilar-Parra, J.M., Trigueros, R. and López-Liria, R. (2023) 'Beyond neuromyths: Examining in-service teachers’ misconceptions about teaching and learning', Frontiers in Psychology, 14, p. 1144002. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1144002.
- Adiguzel, O.C., Potvin, P., Sarrasin, J.B., Vanhoolandt, C., Corfdir, A., Japashov, N., Mansurova, A., Tsai, C.C., Wu, C.L., Elmas, R., Atik-Kara, D., Kucukkayhan, S., Zaid, A.K., Kouchou, I., Voulgari, A., Sy, O., Sakho, I., Ng, S.B., Charland, P. and Létourneau, A. (2025) 'Belief in neuromyths among primary school teachers: a cross-national study of 11 countries', Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 40, p. 100264. doi: 10.1016/j.tine.2025.100264.
- Tunga, Y., Çelik, B. and Cagiltay, K. (2025) 'Educational myths among teachers: prevalence and refutational intervention for belief change', Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12, 1619. doi: 10.1057/s41599-025-05470-y.
