Teachers’ actual and preferred perceptions of twenty-first century learning competencies: a Chinese perspective

To help students build twenty-first century learning skills, teachers must have reasonable perceptions about twenty-first century learning. To investigate Chinese teachers’ perceptions of twenty-first century learning competencies (TP21CLC), we conducted a survey (N = 340) using the questionnaire “Teachers’ Perceptions of 21st Century Learning Competencies.” This scale consists of six subscales including collaborative learning; self-directed learning; meaningful use of information and communication technology; critical thinking; creative thinking; and problem solving. Teachers rated each item on two forms of expression: perceptions of preferred learning and perceptions of actual learning. The results indicated that there was a clear gap between actual and preferred perceptions of twenty-first century learning. In addition, teachers’ perceptions of meaningful use of information and communication technology (ICT) had significant, positive correlations with other factors of TP21CLC.