Rethinking the Teaching of Social, Emotional, Transversal, and Other Life Skills

Today, learners throughout the world need skills to face the issues of the 21st century. A rapidly changing job market, pandemics, and climate change, among other challenges, require learners to master social, emotional, and citizenship skills, literacy in media and technology, and the ability for lifelong learning. Teaching these 21st-century skills requires interactive teaching strategies and holistic approaches to learning. However, many education systems are not set up for meeting this challenge; the focus has been on didactic teaching for examinable subjects. While there are many innovative approaches and interventions, and some emerging technologies that are designed to accelerate learning, these exist on a relatively small scale and work within the existing structures. This paper proposes a way forward that prioritizes teacher well-being, learner-centered approaches, and cross-curricular integration and discusses a role for education technology. In this way, education sectors will be fit for the purpose of preparing learners to survive and thrive in the 21st century.