 Abstract-Collaborative learning induces participation and involvement amongst learner. However, the distribution of tasks within a collaborative environment may lead to unequal contributions of shared roles and responsibilities due to the common perils in the case of social loafing or domineering learners. Current trends in the area of collaborative learning have established an array of approaches designed to constitute a sense of accountability and relations of constructive interdependence amongst learners. For this study, these two philosophies and concepts have been synthesized to determine the efficacy of online peer assessment within a collaborative learning environment. With the institution of accountability and relations of constructive interdependence amongst learners, it is assumed that the assessment process may diminish and eradicate learners ensuing marks from collective effort, whilst with learners executing their evaluations individually, sense of dominance is dubious to the context. By employing blended learning approach, this study leverages on the integration of technology to determine the viability of Facebook and online peer assessment's integration for an English Critical and Creative Writing class. Research instruments comprised of a survey questionnaire to probe on the learners' attitudes and perceptions towards social loafing, online peer assessment, and collaborative learning environment as well as an online peer assessment designed via Facebook. The results of the study advocate the incorporation of online peer assessment and collaborative learning environment in which learners can benefit from these nifty instructional strategies and substantially enhance students' interest and motivation.

Today, the shift toward technology industries has made the applicable skills in high demand in the workforce. However, job training and education in general have not changed enough to keep up with the on-going trends. Concerns over the skills gap in our global workforce have exploded. In response to the demands of labor market and to close the skills gap, educational institution should focus on supporting skill development to cultivate the competencies that students need, making education in twenty-first century skills essential to prepare the students for the new and unknown in this fast-changing world of technology. This research aims to investigate the importance of twenty-first century skills for the employability of undergraduate students. The findings indicate that twenty-first century skills are the needed employability attributes, which transcend beyond qualifications and experience, that employers are looking for. It is also discovered from this study that the most effective way to attain twenty-first century skill is to focus on integrating twenty-first century knowledge and skills into the education support systems for our nation to realize its goal of successfully meeting the challenge of the twenty-first century.

No abstract

The recent emphasis on refining the quality of higher education has incited insightful debates about numerous education reforms. Due to the demands of our ever-changing world, many institutions have begun to embed the 21st century skills into the curriculum design to better prepare the students for workplace success and lifelong career development. Despite its importance, there are disparities in regards to establishing an in-depth understanding of its significance. Thus, this study is aimed to investigate the perspective of undergraduate students in Malaysia on the importance of the 21st century skills for career readiness This study employed the quantitative research design wherein purposive sampling was utilized. The findings assert that data literacy is an essential skill to excel in the workplace, and similarly, problem-solving skill helps develop critical thinking skill, which contribute to the development of creative thinking skill. Recommendations are further deliberated.

Demographic change is transforming the way we communicate. In many parts of the world, the society has become increasingly multicultural and multi-ethnic. In this context, intercultural cognizance is one of the pivotal facets for intercultural communication. The recent years has seen the emergence of the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) concept permeating the education field thereby a large and growing body of literature has commenced to investigate the concept of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and its repercussion in the context of teaching and learning. The notion of ICC is incepted on the acquisition of several “savoirs” associated with attitudes and values, knowledge, skills of interpreting and relating, skills of discovery and interaction and critical cultural awareness. However, the process of acquiring and negotiating meaning in the context of intercultural communication lies a tremendous challenge and demands a continuous effort. Thus, the objective of this study is to probe on how students’ attitudes towards another culture affect their degree of cultural awareness and to deliberate how social and communication skills can foster intercultural competence that is influenced by the level of ICC acquisition. The findings indicate that the students possess intercultural competence in which they demonstrate positive attitudes towards individuals from other cultures; henceforth is reflected in the high cultural awareness amongst the students. Apart from this, the findings yielded also show that the students are able to exhibit and display significant competencies in both social and communication skills which are allied to the high level of ICC acquisition.