ERI-Net Asia-Pacific Regional Policy Series Preparing and Supporting Teachers in the Asia-Pacific to Meet the Challenges of Twenty-first Century Learning Regional Synthesis Report 2015 ERI-Net Regional Study on Transversal Competencies in Education Policy

With ongoing reshaping of socio-economic development by globalization and regional integration, and as new demands are placed on the labour market, many countries have responded by reforming education systems and reorienting education policies and practices so as to equip students with the skills needed to function in contemporary life. Such reforms include integrating transversal competencies, also referred to as ‘non-cognitive’, ‘twenty-first century’ and ‘higher-order thinking’ skills, into teaching and learning practices.

To better understand the implications of these education reforms on the role of teachers and on their professional development, the Asia‑Pacific Education Research Institutes Network (ERI‑Net) examined to what extent teachers in the region feel prepared and supported to integrate transversal competencies into the classroom.