Abstract

Teachers’ readiness is an important aspect in educational counselling to be considered in promoting 21st-century skills in teaching primary and early childcare pupils. This study analyzed the teachers’ readiness to promote 21st-century skills in teaching primary and early childcare pupils in Onitsha Education Zone. The readiness was analyzed from the teachers’ perceived and observed readiness to implement 21st-century skills in teaching primary school pupils. The study was conducted using a mixed-method design, and the subjects involved 25 school teachers teaching from five selected public and private schools in Onitsha Education Zone. The data were collected using questionnaires, observation, and interviews. Cronbach Alpha was employed to test the reliability of the instrument used for this survey, and the reliability index obtained was 0.98, which indicates that the data used in validating the study’s hypotheses is reliable and consistent. The data elicited from the survey participants were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The study results show that teachers perceived themselves as very ready to implement 21st-century skills, and the observations reconfirm this. The research concludes that teachers implemented the 21st-century skills well across several programs conducted in classroom practices and at the school level. It is implied that the teachers have professional competencies in promoting 21st-century skills in teaching early childcare pupils. Hence, the study recommends that 21st-century society does not only need mouth-watering policy statements; it requires a proactive paradigm shift from what it used to be to what it should be. Placing side by side Nigerian policy statements on education, therefore, government, non-governmental organizations, as well as stakeholders, should realize that 21st-century skills are determinants of a knowledge-based society and should provide the enabling environment for teachers to adopt 21st-century educational skills in improving pupils’ academic performance.Teachers’ readiness is an important aspect in educational counselling to be considered in promoting 21st-century skills in teaching primary and early childcare pupils. This study analyzed the teachers’ readiness to promote 21st-century skills in teaching primary and early childcare pupils in Onitsha Education Zone. The readiness was analyzed from the teachers’ perceived and observed readiness to implement 21st-century skills in teaching primary school pupils. The study was conducted using a mixed-method design, and the subjects involved 25 school teachers teaching from five selected public and private schools in Onitsha Education Zone. The data were collected using questionnaires, observation, and interviews. Cronbach Alpha was employed to test the reliability of the instrument used for this survey, and the reliability index obtained was 0.98, which indicates that the data used in validating the study’s hypotheses is reliable and consistent. The data elicited from the survey participants were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The study results show that teachers perceived themselves as very ready to implement 21st-century skills, and the observations reconfirm this. The research concludes that teachers implemented the 21st-century skills well across several programs conducted in classroom practices and at the school level. It is implied that the teachers have professional competencies in promoting 21st-century skills in teaching early childcare pupils. Hence, the study recommends that 21st-century society does not only need mouth-watering policy statements; it requires a proactive paradigm shift from what it used to be to what it should be. Placing side by side Nigerian policy statements on education, therefore, government, non-governmental organizations, as well as stakeholders, should realize that 21st-century skills are determinants of a knowledge-based society and should provide the enabling environment for teachers to adopt 21st-century educational skills in improving pupils’ academic performance.