From life skills to future skills: Competencies that nowaday's children will need in ten years' time

During the past decade school systems have introduced life skills education in various forms in their curricula. Future challenges in society, global and regional, call for an adaptation of the concept of life skills education with a more future-oriented approach. These so-called future skills are subject of this article. In this respect theoretical frameworks of both approaches are presented and the shift from life skills education to future skills education is illustrated [1],[2]. In the light of different compilations of future skills or “transformative competencies” [3] that have been developed by in the last five years the question is raised about which skills nowadays’ school children will need in their future personal and professional lives [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]. Future skills as a concept are discussed from the perspective of teacher in- and pre-service education and its implementation in compulsory schooling. As a suggestion, driven by the experiences in international cooperation projects of the Zurich University of Teacher Education a set of characteristics for future skills learning programs is presented. The set includes hints on how to formulate learning goals and competencies, how to develop content and topics, which teaching and learning methods to apply, how to include reflection and assessment of learning processes as well as general remarks about a future skills-oriented mindset of teachers. Teachers have a central position in this development, as they must adapt their own understanding of their role in context-specific teaching practices to support learners so that they can acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary in their future development and learning. It is therefore important to provide teachers with a professional development that enables them to accept the challenge in the interests of high-quality education. Teachers need to be equipped so that they are active as facilitators in practical project-based teaching processes, involving learners in decision-making processes, staying in dialog with each other to learn from each other (peer-learning) and preparing learners and themselves for current world events in a collaborative way. In transition countries, such as the Republic of Moldova, teacher training still emphasizes theory to an extent that is at the expense of practical relevance. A reform of the curricula at universities would be very welcome, as we are convinced that a solid reflection on everyday practice can lead to teachers being seen more as facilitators in the process of developing future skills than as mere lesson providers.

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