On Tuesday 23 January Dr Margarita Pavlova, UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre Director and Associate Professor International Education and Lifelong Learning, gave a presentation on Greening Economies: How TVET Can Accommodate 21^st Century Skills.

The presentation is part of the regular UNESCO-UNEVOC Seminar Series that Dr. Rupert Maclean, as QAPCO Chair of Sustainable Development and TVET; and UNESCO-UNEVOC Chair at CNA-Q hosts in his endeavour to enhance TVET in Qatar and the region.

Dr. Pavolva said that 21^st Century Skills are referred to as non-cognitive skills, and are viewed as important in helping students deal with challenges of our diversified societies. There is no doubt that employers, policymakers and educators recognise that 21^st Century Skills are important but there is no general consensus on how to measure them. Also, Dr. Pavlova indicated the Gutman & Schoon’s summary of findings on non-cognitive skills is worth considering. The study highlighted 8 main concepts – self-perception, motivation, perseverance, self-control, meta-cognition, social competence, resilience and coping and creativity.

Dr. Pavlova then outlined how this framework was adapted for an International Study of City Youth ISCY Study. This study investigated how well urban youth were prepared for further study and careers. The study developed a conceptualisation of 21^st Century Skills that are measurable and can successfully be addressed in education.

The ISCY is an ongoing longitudinal study that:

• Examines education systems around the world in the context of a city
• Explores how system-level factors translate into differing outcomes for 15- year old students

During 2013-2014 around 30,000 students from 12 cities took part in the study, including Hong Kong. Dr Pavlova presented the results for Hong Kong (Pavlova, Lee, & Maclean, 2017).

Dr Pavlova concluded her presentation by conceptualising the similarities and differences that generic green skills share with 21^st Century Skills.

Dr. Rupert Maclean, Dr Leone Wheeler and Dr Margarita Pavlova at UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre in Doha, Qatar

The team at CNA-Q, led by Dr. Rupert Maclean, are looking forward to exploring these concepts further with Dr. Pavlova and colleagues from our partner universities (Qatar University, RMIT University, Oxford University and the Green Building Council, Doha) as we commence a new Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) project titled: Improving and Enriching the Human Capital of Qatar through the Identification and Development of 21stCentury Skills for Sustainability and Employability, where we will be applying this knowledge to TVET and industry case studies in Qatar.

References:

International Study of City Youth overall project site http://iscy.org/

Gutman, L. and I. Schoon (2013). The impact of non-cognitive skills on outcomes for young people: a literature review. London, Education Endowment Foundation.

Pavlova, M., Lee, J. C-K, and Maclean, R (2017) Eds. School to work transitions: Preparing students for the future. Special issue of the journal Educational Research for Policy and Practice.

Pavlova, M., Lee, J. C-K, and Maclean, R (2017). Complexities of school to work transitions. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 16(1), 1-7. doi:10.1007/s10671-017-9211-5

Pavlova, M. (2016). 21^st century skills: How to identify and address them in Technology Education. In M. De Vries (Ed). Proceedings of the International Conference  PATT 32 Technology Education for 21st Century skills, Utrecht 23 – 26 August 2016 (pp.378-385) https://www.iteea.org/File.aspx?id=39504&v=76e4030