21st century skills and the focus on accountability in our curriculum do seem to be at odds with each other. 21st century skills seem like they should slot nicely into the curriculum and provide ways for teachers to engage students. However, the emphasis on data and testing of individual student achievement is at odds with the notions of creativity, collaboration, citizenship, decision making and many other 21st century skills. When there is less emphasis on individual student achievement data through testing and more focus on a true inquiry based curriculum then these skills and the accountability involved will continue to be at odds. Schools and governments are focused on measurable outcomes and student growth, while inquiry based curriculum holds space for students to struggle with concepts and processes and is not a clear cut progression forward in terms of skills and knowledge. Concepts and skills that are harder to assess are being left by the wayside.
Other issues that can impede inquiry learning in schools is time. There is always the pressure to cover more in an increasingly shorter amount of time. Staff knowledge about and willingness to implement inquiry learning can also be a barrier, particularly when mapping which areas of the curriculum are covered through an inquiry unit is less straight forward than other methods of delivering curriculum.
Barriers between classroom teachers and teacher librarians to carry out inquiry learning involve time for collaboration. For inquiry learning to work well, teacher librarians and classroom teachers would need time built into their schedule to plan and to implement the teaching together. This can take away from other roles given to the teacher librarian such as being time release for other teachers. Another barrier may confusion about who does what during the planning and the carrying out of the inquiry unit. Are there defined roles for each adult?
There is little doubt that inquiry learning and 21st century skills are important for students as they develop and eventually enter the workforce, however curriculum and assessment priorities need to be rearranged to accommodate them.