Schooling for the 21st Century: Educators’ Perspectives

• In Event: Pedagogical Approaches to Teacher Professional Development on the Use of Technology

Abstract

Schools face the challenge of preparing students for the world of the 21st century, where thinking- and information-processing skills are crucial. A thematic analysis of 16 semi-structured interviews with Israeli educators sheds light on the challenges they experience, the pedagogical strategies they develop to teach and educate this generation, and the factors that facilitate or impede the educational process. While they view their students as apt users of ICT (and school as lagging behind them), educators present a complex picture, which includes ICT-related cognitive, social and emotional student difficulties. They view the current content-heavy curricula and policy emphasizing achievement as problematic. Educators highlight personalization as a key coping strategy and educational leadership and entrepreneurship programs as catalysts for positive change.

Author

• Yifat Ben-David Kolikant, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem