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

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.