Generic Skills, Academic Achievement, and Means of Improving the Former

In Canada, in general – and in the Province of Ontario in particular – academics, employers, and government agencies are concerned with the low generic skill levels of university students and graduates. The assumption is that such deficiencies detract from academic and job success. Despite this concern, in Canada, research has not focused on potential links between objectively measured generic skills and grades recorded in administrative records. In view of this lacuna, the current research has two objectives. First, to assess the net effect of objectively measured generic skills on academic achievement as recorded in administrative records. Second, to determine the efficacy of an online course dedicated to the development of generic skills. Overall, I found that generic skills were better predictors of students’ achievement than high school grades used in admission processes; the relationship between high school grades and generic skill levels was weak; students’ generic skill levels did not improve over time; and an online course devoted to increasing students’ generic skills was effective in boosting skills to an acceptable level. Accordingly, if they are concerned with academic achievement, universities in Ontario and in other jurisdictions in which students are admitted to university primarily based on their secondary school grades might make the development of generic skills a priority; however, unless such skills are demanded across the curriculum, they will atrophy

Preparing Pre-service Teachers for 21st Century Skills Education: A Teacher Education Model

This study examines the efficiency of a model aimed at teaching 21st century skills to preservice teachers at Damascus university. Two fundamental aspects were explored, firstly, promoting the teaching of 21st century skills; and, secondly, incorporating 21st century skills in the educators’ pedagogical training. Quantitative data was collected from 106 student teachers, and 34 teacher educators through two survey questionnaires. Results from the teacher educator’s survey data showed that the model to promote all 21st century skills in student teachers was efficient. The student teachers felt that the pedagogical training of this model was efficient in terms of promoting cognitive skills, but only average when considering information literacy and problem-solving skills and performed poorly in fostering communication skills. Thus, even though the model is efficient in promoting 21st century skills for future teachers, it lacks a training framework that places equal emphasis on applying the skills during teacher training

School-university Partnerships in Teacher Education: Tension Between Partners and How They Handle It

Myanmar, a country of developing status, is facing many challenges in reforming its education system. This article investigates the current practices of school-university partnerships from the perspective of student teachers and mentor teachers in Myanmar, where there is an ongoing process of teacher education reform. The aim of this article is to investigate the practices of school-university partnerships and the tension between partners in the training of pre-service teachers within the context of teacher education. A qualitative research method is applied in this study where six candidates were interviewed individually. Participants include three student teachers from educational universities and three mentor teachers from basic education high schools in Myanmar. The results showed that, except for student teachers’ practice teaching, there is no intensive collaboration between schools and universities. Trust is a major problem between student teachers and mentor teachers. Different opinions and perspectives towards teaching and learning are also causing tension between partners. Although there is tension between mentor teachers and student teachers, they handle this through alternative collaboration activities and negotiation between partners