Research Article

Pre-service teacher education programs with 21st-century skills: Teacher educators’ experiences

Volume: 7 Number: 1 June 30, 2025
EN

Pre-service teacher education programs with 21st-century skills: Teacher educators’ experiences

Abstract

Educating pre-service teachers to meet the demands of the 21st century and integrating 21st-century skills into the programs is a long-standing debate. This phenomenological study aims to understand and discover teacher educators’ experiences and perceptions leading to a pre-service teacher education program integrated with 21st-century skills. By employing transcendental phenomenology, the study describes the phenomenon through the perspectives of 12 teacher educators from various global contexts. Hence, a criterion sampling strategy was adopted, and 12 teacher educators with experiences in 21st-century skills were selected as participants. The data collected through semi-structured interviews with the teacher educators were analyzed based on the content analysis, including iterative reading and debriefing processes. The findings highlighted that a pre-service teacher education program comprising 21st-century skills in a well-designed and integrated way is vital no matter the country's context. Accordingly, this program should cover multiple literacy and skills integrated based on students and the government’s needs as well as discipline. Furthermore, it should provide both on-campus and off-campus learning experiences encouraging collaboration, inquiry, and options. By approaching the whole program development process with an evolutionary perspective, it should be revised and renewed by following the advancements. In a collaborative management context, it should also be facilitated through training, time, autonomy, freedom, and resources for teacher educators.

Keywords

21st-century competences, 21st-century teacher education, integrated program, program development, program management

References

  1. Adeosun, A. O. (2011). Teacher education programs and the acquisition of 21st century skills: Issues and challenges in Nigeria. In N. Kuroda (Ed.), Africa-Asia university dialogue for educational development report of the international experience sharing seminar (2): Actual status and issues of teacher professional development (pp. 103–118). Centre for the Study of International Cooperation in Education, Hiroshima University.
  2. Alahmad, A., Stamenkovska, T., & Gyori, J. (2021). Preparing pre-service teachers for 21st century skills education: A teacher education model. GiLE Journal of Skills Development, 1(1), 67–86.
  3. Allen, J. P., & van der Velden, R. K. W. (2012). Skills for the 21st century: Implications for education. Researchcentrum voor Onderwijs en Arbeidsmarkt, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen. ROA Research Memoranda No. 11 https://doi.org/10.26481/umaror.2012011
  4. Almazroa, H., & Alotaibi, W. (2023). Teaching 21st century skills: Understanding the depth and width of the challenges to shape proactive teacher education programs. Sustainability, 15, 7365. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097365
  5. Ananiadou, K., & M. Claro. (2009, December 18). 21st century skills and competences for new millennium learners in OECD countries (Report No. 41). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/19939019
  6. Ashton, J., & Newman, L. (2006). An unfinished symphony: 21st century teacher education using knowledge creating heutagogies. British Journal of Educational Technology, 37(6), 825–840. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2006.00662.x
  7. Aslan, S. (2015). Is learning by teaching effective in gaining 21st century skills? The views of pre-service science teachers. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 15(6), 1441–1457. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2016.1.0019
  8. Benbow, R. J., Lee, C., & Hora, M. T. (2021). Exploring college faculty development in 21st-century skill instruction: An analysis of teaching-focused personal networks. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(6), 818–835. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2020.1826032
  9. Bozkurt, F. (2021). Evaluation of social studies teacher training program in terms of 21st century skills. Pamukkale University Journal of Education, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.9779/pauefd.688622
  10. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage.
APA
Yedigöz Kara, Z., Baysal, H., & Ünver, G. (2025). Pre-service teacher education programs with 21st-century skills: Teacher educators’ experiences. Journal of Teacher Education and Lifelong Learning, 7(1), 53-72. https://doi.org/10.51535/tell.1623580
AMA
1.Yedigöz Kara Z, Baysal H, Ünver G. Pre-service teacher education programs with 21st-century skills: Teacher educators’ experiences. TELL. 2025;7(1):53-72. doi:10.51535/tell.1623580
Chicago
Yedigöz Kara, Zehra, Hülya Baysal, and Gülsen Ünver. 2025. “Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs With 21st-Century Skills: Teacher Educators’ Experiences”. Journal of Teacher Education and Lifelong Learning 7 (1): 53-72. https://doi.org/10.51535/tell.1623580.
EndNote
Yedigöz Kara Z, Baysal H, Ünver G (June 1, 2025) Pre-service teacher education programs with 21st-century skills: Teacher educators’ experiences. Journal of Teacher Education and Lifelong Learning 7 1 53–72.
IEEE
[1]Z. Yedigöz Kara, H. Baysal, and G. Ünver, “Pre-service teacher education programs with 21st-century skills: Teacher educators’ experiences”, TELL, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 53–72, June 2025, doi: 10.51535/tell.1623580.
ISNAD
Yedigöz Kara, Zehra - Baysal, Hülya - Ünver, Gülsen. “Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs With 21st-Century Skills: Teacher Educators’ Experiences”. Journal of Teacher Education and Lifelong Learning 7/1 (June 1, 2025): 53-72. https://doi.org/10.51535/tell.1623580.
JAMA
1.Yedigöz Kara Z, Baysal H, Ünver G. Pre-service teacher education programs with 21st-century skills: Teacher educators’ experiences. TELL. 2025;7:53–72.
MLA
Yedigöz Kara, Zehra, et al. “Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs With 21st-Century Skills: Teacher Educators’ Experiences”. Journal of Teacher Education and Lifelong Learning, vol. 7, no. 1, June 2025, pp. 53-72, doi:10.51535/tell.1623580.
Vancouver
1.Zehra Yedigöz Kara, Hülya Baysal, Gülsen Ünver. Pre-service teacher education programs with 21st-century skills: Teacher educators’ experiences. TELL. 2025 Jun. 1;7(1):53-72. doi:10.51535/tell.1623580