Responsiveness Index for the Development of the 21st Century Competencies

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to develop a responsiveness index to assess the development of the 21st century competencies in the higher education institutions in Philippine school systems. Specifically, it intended to identify the major dimensions of the responsiveness index and its key indicators, determine the optimal weight for each dimension and key indicators, determine the variables and its influence to the major dimensions, and validate the responsiveness index derived through a pilot sample. It was conducted in the Province of Bukidnon and its neighboring provinces of Misamis Oriental, Agusan del Sur, Davao City, and Lanao del Sur in school year 2014- 2015. The Delphi approach and other statistical tools were utilized to gather and analyze the data. Findings showed the four major dimensions of the 21st century skills. These are ways of thinking, ways of working, tools for working, and skills for living with respective key indicators. Optimal weights were also determined per dimension and its respective key indicators. It was also found that variables like age, gender, educational attainment, employment status, and employment agency influence the four dimensions. The responsiveness index was validated by 1000 student respondents coming from differentparts of the educational sector both public and private as well as different stakeholders and different professions using systematic random sampling. The developed responsiveness index is a systematic way to assess 21st century competencies and can be useful to teachers, school leaders, and educational policy makers in the teaching and development of 21st century abilities and competencies.