THE PROCESS SECONDARY ADMINISTRATORS USE TO IMPLEMENT TWENTYFIRST
CENTURY LEARNING SKILLS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the process used to implement 21st century skills in
secondary schools by secondary school administrators. The rationale of the study was to
document how secondary schools implemented 21st century skills according to Tony Wagner’s
framework, the Seven Survival Skills, and the multilingualism component of the Partnership for
21st Century Learning’s framework, in order to prepare students in the United States to compete
in a global society. This study used a qualitative research approach to analyze: 1) how school
administrators ranked the implementation of 21st century skills through a behavioral indicator
performance task, 2) the system established by the secondary school administrators in
implementing 21st century skills, 3) the evaluation process secondary administrators used to
evaluate the implementation of 21st century skills, 4) the types of professional development
provided to teachers in order for them to successfully implement 21st century skills inside the
classroom, and 5) to provide a framework for schools aspiring to implement 21st century skills.
The researcher interviewed six secondary school administrators and evaluated internal
documents distributed to the school staff, students, and parent community. Data analysis for this
study focused on six secondary schools with an API of 700 or greater, as measured by
California’s standardized assessment, that had begun to implement 21st century skills learning.
The data was analyzed by comparing the interview responses with the internal documents
collected from the school sites in order to determine the degree of validity and discrepancies in
the research. The data was examined within the school sites and across school sites to consider
similarities and differences in implementation patterns. General findings denoted that
technology and project-based learning are the most frequently used methods for implementing
21st century skills in secondary schools