Surveying and modelling China high school students' experience of and preferences for twenty-first-century learning and their academic and knowledge creation efficacy

• Published in: Educational studies Vol. 46; no. 6; pp. 658 - 675
• Main Authors: Ching Sing, Chai, Liang, Jyh-Chong, Tsai, Chin-Chung, Dong, Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dorchester-on-Thames Routledge 01.11.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: 21st century; 21st Century Skills; 21st-century learning; Academic Achievement; Adolescents; Collaborative learning; Communications technology; Cooperative Learning; Creativity; Critical thinking; Efficacy; Foreign Countries; High School Students; Independent study; Information technology; Learning; Learning Processes; perception of learning practices; Polls & surveys; Predictor Variables; Preferences; Problem solving; Secondary school students; Secondary schools; Self Efficacy; Self Management; Selfdirected learning; Structural equation modeling; Structural Equation Models; Student Experience; Students; Teachers; Technology Integration; Test Reliability; Test Validity; Thinking Skills; China (Beijing); China
• ISSN: 0305-5698; 1465-3400
• DOI: 10.1080/03055698.2019.1627662

This study adapted a questionnaire design to survey six identified core dimensions of twenty-first-century learning among China high school students. The core dimensions are learning processes that include collaborative learning, self-directed learning, meaningful learning with ICT; and higher order thinking processes including critical thinking, creative thinking and authentic problem-solving. In addition, the survey includes two subscales that measure students' efficacy for knowledge creation and academic learning as dependent variables. The survey results indicate that students expressed clear preferences for twenty-first-century learning, but their actual experiences are significantly below their preferences. All twenty-first-century learning subscales are significantly associated with their knowledge creation and academic efficacy. In addition, the structural equation models provide evidence that the learning processes predict the thinking processes and consequently the students' efficacies. The findings imply that high school students desire more twenty-first-century learning. Teachers and educators should, therefore, foster these dimensions of twenty-first-century learning through thoughtful pedagogical design.