Observance of 21st century skills teaching practices and its impact on academic performance

Abstract

The study aimed to determine observance of teaching practices on 21st century skills and to what extent these practices impact on students’ academic performance. A descriptive-survey research method was employed. Forty-five randomly selected education student completers of a major subject in teaching strategies in a state university participated in the investigation. Results revealed that teaching practices of teachers on critical thinking and collaboration skills were observed one-to-three times per week whereas those on communication and creativity & innovative skills were observed one-to-three times per month. Academic performance is significantly related pairwise with critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity & innovative skills, respectively. Collaboration, communication, and creativity & innovative skills, taken singly, are not significant predictors of academic performance. Taken in combination, observance of teaching practices on collaboration, communication, and creativity & innovative skills can significantly predict students’ academic performance. Engaged and improved learning involving these skills resulted in good academic performance. Students’ achievements then should be extended to incorporate the 21st CS that the students are expected to acquire.