Critical thinking, problem-solving, digital skills: Most primary teachers don't know what they are, how to teach

The push to equip primary school students with 21st-century skills is running up against a major challenge: many teachers themselves lack the skills and practical know-how to deliver them in classrooms, a National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE) study has found.

The NAPE study defines 21st-century skills as knowledge and abilities that help people think, learn, work and live effectively in a changing world.

These include creativity and innovation, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making, communication, collaboration and teamwork, information and digital literacy, local and global citizenship, life and career skills, and personal and social responsibility.

In their self-assessment, 41.2% of teachers rated their critical-thinking skills as "good", but only 27.1% demonstrated adequate proficiency.

Similarly, 44% considered their problem-solving skills good, but only 22.3% demonstrated adequate proficiency.

Nearly half (48.3%) could not define "global citizenship", while 74.1% could not identify any indicators of the skill. Asked how global citizenship could be taught in classrooms, 71.6% had no idea or did not answer.

Some 41.4% of teachers lacked even the minimum level of digital literacy; 30.4% could not explain how it could be applied in classrooms or did not answer.

The June 2025 study of 691 government primary school teachers across 16 upazilas found significant weaknesses in critical thinking, problem-solving and digital literacy.

Teachers cited several barriers to implementing 21st-century skills. Lack of parental awareness was identified by 47.5%, followed by shortages of teaching materials (45.2%), infrastructure problems (44.1%), technological limitations (42.3%) and large class sizes (41.5%).

The study also found statistically significant differences between urban and rural schools in teaching and implementing 21st-century skills.

The findings come as the government's 180-day priority action plan focuses on expanding multimedia classrooms, increasing technical education, easing backlogs in teacher training and expanding technology use in educational institutions.

A Policy and Operations Department official at the Directorate of Primary Education, speaking on condition of anonymity, said teachers sometimes show a tendency not to fully embrace training programmes, which becomes a barrier to developing their skills.

He said past governments had attempted to introduce education models from other countries without adequately considering their suitability to Bangladesh's context. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education is now working to address such gaps, he added.

Training needs overhaul

NAPE recommended incorporating clear guidance on 21st-century skills into textbooks and teacher guides and replacing predominantly theoretical training with application-oriented continuous professional development.

It also recommended sub-cluster networks to facilitate experience-sharing among teachers and specialised training for monitoring officers and inspectors involved in implementing the curriculum.

Dr SM Hafizur Rahman, professor at Dhaka University's Institute of Education and Research, said teachers' skills and awareness must be considered when designing curricula and educational programmes.

"Future plans should be designed in a way that effectively addresses teachers' skills gaps," he said, adding that implementation should also be closely monitored.

Teachers cite practical constraints

Md Abu Zafar, a teacher at Amkhola Primary School in Patuakhali, said teachers there receive no training on digital skills.

"We are not digitally skilled. We do not receive this kind of training here. We are not very familiar with these skills," he said.

A teacher at a primary school in Sutrapur, Dhaka, speaking on condition of anonymity, said training often fails to translate into classroom practice.

"There are not even designated teachers for all subjects. A mathematics teacher sometime has to teach English, while a Bangla teacher is made to teach mathematics," the teacher said.

Educationist Dr Manzoor Ahmed said teachers receive considerable training, but the expected results are not being achieved, particularly in critical thinking, reasoning and creativity.

He called for new approaches and policies to improve teachers' professional skills, including specialised training similar to that available in professions such as medicine and engineering.

"A long-term, structured training system" is needed, he said, stressing that authorities must ensure training is actually applied in classrooms rather than merely organising training programmes.