21st Century Skills and Literacies: Fundamental Reform Document of Education (FRDE) vs. P21 Framework for 21st Century Learning

Policy-makers in every society refer to fundamental documents as road maps to education reforms. Therefore, examining the quality of such documents has been among the favorite topics for educational researchers. This comparative study was conducted to investigate to what extent the competencies incorporated in Iran Fundamental Reform Document of Education (FRDE) aligns with those formulated in the P21 Framework for 21st Century Learning. To achieve the intended objective, first a code-subcodes-segments model was designed based on the P21 framework. Then, the content of FRDE was analyzed for extracting the relevant codes, using MAXQDA software. The results of the content analysis indicated that out of 16 competencies (8 skills and 8 literacies), 2 skills (critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and flexibility and adaptability skills) and 3 literacies (global awareness literacy, civic literacy, and information literacy) have been totally neglected in FRDE. Further analyses revealed that the references made to other competencies in FRDE were not considerable. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the competencies required for life in 21st century received scant attention in the current version of the document. It is recommended that the 21st century skills and literacies be incorporated more adequately in later amendments or revisions of the document.