INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGIES AND GLOBAL COMPETENCIES EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY LEARNER: A KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Abstract

The triple global occurrences that transformed the social, economic and cultural landscape of the world are: globalization, sustainable development goals and the fourth industrial revolution. The trio have weakened national and cultural borders, and the world has become a single fast changing multicultural community which is now depicted as 21st Century. Youths of the 21st Century are digital natives who need special knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and global competencies for navigating the complex global socio-economic and multicultural scenarios. The global competencies include: critical thinking; problem solving; effective communication; teamwork and collaboration; digital skills; commercial awareness; decision making; integrity; result orientedness; leadership; and cross-cultural adaptability. These necessities are in the mandates of 21st century education to inculcate into the learners. Other features of the 21st century education are: inclusivity of all through differentiated instruction; achievement of sustainable development goals; inculcating health, medical and physical literacy, digital and media literacy, and entrepreneurial mindset. Incidentally, the current educational programmes and practices in almost all African countries which focus on the use of the teacher-centered conservative behavourist oriented pedagogies to prepare youths through talk and chalk for success in external certificate examinations are not sensitive to the emergent global norms. It has become apparent that the 21st century global competencies can best be developed in learners through the adoption of the constructivist and other progressive pedagogical approaches like the use of artificial intelligence-based applications; inquiry and project-based learning; flipped classroom; gamification; collaborative learning pedagogies; live online classes; pre-recorded presentation; field work; and other active learning pedagogies. Innovative assessment methods are also advocated. It is therefore imperative that teachers must be retrained in the tenets of 21st century education to be able to deliver the new era curriculum.