4Cs Model in Initial Teacher Education: Fostering and Developing 4Cs Competencies in Higher Education Teaching
Keywords:
4Cs competencies, critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaborationAbstract
This study examines the key competencies required of teachers in contemporary education and their role in preparing future generations. These competencies are widely recognized as foundational to societal development across multiple domains. In this context, the 4Cs model in initial teacher education was developed to establish conceptual and pedagogical preconditions for integrating critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication competencies into teacher education programs. The study investigated the perceptions of students enrolled in teacher education programs at the University of Sarajevo regarding instructional activities through which university teachers foster and develop 4Cs competencies in higher education teaching. The findings indicate that, from the students’ perspective, instructional activities most strongly support the development of communication competency, followed by critical thinking and collaboration, whereas creativity is the least consistently fostered. This finding suggests that the integration of 4Cs competencies in higher education remains predominantly declarative rather than transformative, revealing a gap between curricular expectations and pedagogical practice. Furthermore, the results indicate a highly significant correlation between instructional activities fostering critical thinking and creativity. Significant correlations were also observed among the other competency scales, indicating that these competencies are interrelated and mutually reinforcing rather than developed in isolation. These findings highlight practical implications for teacher education programs.
Downloads
References
Alharbi, N. S. (2024). Exploring the perspectives of cross-cultural instructors on integrating 21st century skills into EFL university courses. Frontiers in Education, 9, Article 1302608. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1302608
Alismail, H. A., & McGuire, P. (2015). 21st century standards and curriculum: Current research and practice. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(6), 150–154. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1083656.pdf
Ananiadou, K., & Claro, M. (2009). 21st century skills and competences for new millennium learners in OECD countries (OECD Education Working Papers No. 41). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/218525261154
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman.
Bakir, A. F., & Banikhalaf, H. M. (2025). Art-based learning and its role in enhancing students’ scientific color expression skills. Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society, 13(2), 3. https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/17467
Beghetto, R. A. (2010). Creativity in the classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Biggs, J. B., & Tang, C. S. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university what the student does (4th.). Society for Research into Higher Education.
Binkley, M., Erstad, O., Herman, J., Raizen, S., Ripley, M., & Rumble, M. (2010). Defining twenty-first century skills. In P. Griffin, B. McGaw, & E. Care (Eds.), Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills (pp. 17–66). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2324-5_2
Birru, Y. T. (2024). The integration of 21st-century skills into the higher education curriculum: Practices and perspectives systematic review. Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies, 9(3), 60-68. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.tecs.20240903.12
Buchberger, I., & Hasel, R. (2024). Primjena poučavanja za kritičko mišljenje u nastavnoj praksi: perspektiva pedagoga [Teaching for critical thinking in educational practice: The perspective of pedagogues]. Život i škola, LXX(2), 59–78. https://doi.org/10.32903/zs.70.2.4
Chiruguru, S. (2020). The essential skills of 21st century classroom (4Cs). Project: The role of 4Cs (critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration and communication) in the 21st century classroom. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.36190.59201
Chi, D. N. (2022). Vietnamese EFL students’ critical thinking in an English literature course. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 9(1), 77–94. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/899
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2022). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Dafit, F., Gurning, R. F., & Anggriani, M. D. (2024). 4Cs abilities (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity) of elementary school students in learning the Indonesian language. Primary: Jurnal Pendidikan Guru Sekolah Dasar, 13(5), 191–200. https://doi.org/10.33578/jpfkip-v13i5.p191-200
Danial, L., Koenen, J., & Tiemann, R. (2026). Critical Thinking Performance Assessment in an Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Laboratory Course: Developing a Contextual Critical Thinking Coding Manual. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 10(1), 37-60. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/17367
Esteves, M. H. (2017). Initial Teacher Education in Europe: shaping teachers for the 21st century. New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(5), 01–08. https://doi.org/10.18844/prosoc.v3i5.1998
Evans, C. M. (2020). Measuring student success skills: A review of the literature on collaboration. National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED607774.pdf
Field, A. P. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). Sage Publications
Freire, P. (2002). Pedagogija obespravljenih [Pedagogy of the oppressed]. Croatia: Odraz.
Fullan, M., & Quinn, J. (2016). Coherence: The right drivers in action for schools, districts, and systems. Corwin.
Fullan, M., Quinn, J., & McEachen, J. (2018). Deep learning: Engage the world, change the world. Corwin.
Fullan, M. (2021). The right drivers for whole system success. CSE Leading Education Series #01. Centre for Strategic Education.
Germaine, R., Richards, J., Koeller, M., & Schubert-Irastorza, C. (2016). Purposeful use of 21st century skills in higher education. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching, 9(1), 19–29.
Haryani, E., Cobern, W. W., Pleasants, B. A.-S., & Fetters, M. K. (2021). Analysis of teachers’ resources for integrating the skills of creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem-solving, collaboration, and communication in science classrooms. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 10(1), 92–102. https://doi.org/10.15294/jpii.v10i1.27084
Herlinawati, H., Marwa, M., Ismail, N., Junaidi, J., Oktavia Liza, L., & Situmorang, D. D. B. (2024). The integration of 21st century skills in the curriculum of education. Heliyon, 10(15), Article e35148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35148
Idrizović, D., & Dedić Bukvić, E. (2024). Obrazovanje nastavnika temeljeno na 4K kompetencijama–alternativni pristup [Teacher education based on 4Cs competencies: An alternative approach]. In R. Šimoni Černak & M. Jelić (Eds.), Alternative education and alternatives in education: Proceedings of the international scientific conference held at the Faculty of Education, September 28, 2024 (pp. 9–23). Faculty of Education.
Kaufman, J. C., Beghetto, R. A., & Roberts, A. M. (2022). Creativity in the schools: Creativity models and new directions. In K.-A. Allen, M. Furlong, D. Vella-Brodrick, & S. Suldo (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology in Schools (3rd ed., pp. 335–345). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003013778-27
Kaufman, J. C., & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The Four C model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013688
Kiguwa, P. (2023). Love as method: Tracing the contours of love in black and African feminist imaginations of liberation. Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics, 7(2), 18. https://doi.org/10.20897/femenc/13546
Kivunja, C. (2014). Innovative pedagogies in higher education to become effective teachers of 21st century skills: Unpacking the learning and innovations skills domain of the new learning paradigm. International Journal of Higher Education, 3(4), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v3n4p37
Kivunja, C. (2015). Exploring the pedagogical meaning and implications of the 4Cs “super skills” for the 21st century through Burner’s 5E lenses of knowledge construction to improve pedagogues of the new learning paradigm. Creative Education, 6, 224–239. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.62021
Le, T. T., & Nguyen, B. (2025). Embedding 21st-century competencies into higher education: Insights from Vietnamese lecturers’ perspectives and pedagogical strategies. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 59, Article 101990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2025.101990
Mercer, N. (2019). Language and the joint creation of knowledge: The selected works of Neil Mercer. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429400759
Moore, B. N., & Parker, R. (2009). Critical thinking (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
National Education Association (2010). Preparing 21st century students for a global society: An educator’s guide to the “Four Cs”. National Education Association. http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/A-Guide-to-Four-Cs.pdf
Novak, J. (2020). Pouzdanost mjerenja u psihologiji: Razvoj metode, zaluđenost Cronbachovim alfa koeficijentom i preporuke za ispravnu procjenu pouzdanosti [Measurement reliability in psychology: Method development, infatuation with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, and recommendations for appropriate reliability estimation]. Psihologijske teme, 29(2), 427–457. https://doi.org/10.31820/pt.29.2.11
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2005). Teachers matter: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers (Education and Training Policy). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264018044-en
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2019). OECD future of education and skills 2030: Anticipation action reflection cycle for 2030 – conceptual learning framework (OECD Education Policy Perspectives, No. 105). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/39105d40 en
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2023). OECD Skills outlook 2023: Skills for a resilient green and digital transition. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/27452f29-en
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). P21 framework definitions. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED519462.pdf
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2015). Framework for 21st century learning. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. https://www.battelleforkids.org/insights/p21-resources/
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2019). Framework for 21st century learning definitions. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. https://static.battelleforkids.org/documents/p21/p21_framework_definitionsbfk.pdf
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical thinking: The nature of critical and creative thought. Journal of Developmental Education 30(2), 34-35. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ986272.pdf
Thornhill-Miller, B., Camarda, A., Mercier, M., Burkhardt, J. M., Morisseau, T., Bourgeois-Bougrine, S., Vinchon, F., El Hayek, S., Augereau-Landais, M., Mourey, F., Feybesse, C., Sundquist, D., & Lubart, T. (2023). Creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration: Assessment, certification, and promotion of 21st century skills for the future of work and education. Journal of Intelligence, 11(3), 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11030054
Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. John Wiley & Sons.
Voogt, J., & Roblin, N. P. (2012). A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44(3), 299–321. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2012.668938
Voogt, J., Fisser, P., Good, J., Mishra, P., & Yadav, A. (2013). Technological pedagogical content knowledge – a review of the literature. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(2), 109–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2012.00487.x
Yaki, A. A. (2022). Fostering critical thinking skills using integrated STEM approach among secondary school biology students. European Journal of STEM Education, 7(1), 06. https://doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/12481
Yusriadi, Y. (2021). Create teaching creativity through training management, effectiveness training, and teacher quality in the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 8(4), 18–35. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/800
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Emina Dedić Bukvić, Džejla
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
