The British Council’s work with school systems aims to improve learning outcomes for young people. Research by education experts and academics explains that in order to participate in a global economy, young people need to be equipped with core skills, which supplement the traditional curriculum, subject-focussed approach of many education systems. These are also referred to as deep learning skills, 21st century skills, transversal skills or core skills and competencies, depending on the local/national/regional context. We conducted in-depth desk research to identify the most pertinent key skills from the literature and research that are:
- critical to meeting the needs of students in the 21st century and a globalised economy
- relevant to the British Council’s Charter [1]
- relevant to the educational context of the countries and regions where the British Council operates.
Desk research highlighted numerous frameworks in the literature. Two of the most prominent, and two already being used by some of the British Council’s partners and clients, are the ‘6Cs’ framework developed by Fullan and Langworthy [2] , and UNESCO’s transversal skills [3] . To make sure that the core skills that we base our schools strategy on are in line with the British Council’s international cultural relations purpose, we have drawn from both frameworks, and developed our own list of six core skills, as follows:
- Critical thinking & problem solving
- Collaboration and communication
- Creativity & imagination
- Citizenship
- Digital literacy
- Student leadership and personal development
British Council therefore invites interested individual and or organisation to offer training services in the delivery of this programme.