Generic skills in the 14-19 curriculum: an international review. Summary report and 10 case studies

This project was designed to comparatively review how generic skills are understood and delivered across 10 different jurisdictions, while considering the policy implications for England. The project was commissioned by the Centre for Education Systems. Our research highlighted that the most common generic skills are communication, collaboration, personal qualities, ICT-related, creativity, critical thinking, and citizenship. It also highlighted that England is an outlier in only including generic skills for learners on study programmes, who are most likely to be on vocational courses, from 16-19, with no compulsory generic skills in the remaining 14-16 and 16-19 academic curriculum. The implications for England are to learn from the experience of those delivering study programmes, to support teacher autonomy in integrating generic skills more explicitly into existing teaching and learning, and to seek to agree a consensus amongst policy-makers to include generic skills in the curriculum.

Generic skills, also known as 21^st century skills, have been incorporated into the education systems of a range of jurisdictions. In England, policies and policy interest have varied over time, by academic or vocational track, and by institution. By comparative analysis of generic skills in curricula from ages 14 to 19 in England and nine other jurisdictions, we identify different pathways for reform in England. Our analytical framework is centred on skills curricula and the broader educational context, including the key systems and structures, the status and autonomy of the workforce, and policy development and implementation cultures. We argue that England is an outlier in the delivery of generic skills, with inclusion of generic skills only required for those aged 16-19 on vocational tracks, mostly in FE colleges. We propose possibilities for policy reform to include skills in both academic and vocational curricula, informed by international practice.