Browsing by Author "Lawrence, D"

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Open Access
An Analysis of Creati vity, Criti cal Thinking, Communicati on, and Collaborati on Skills in the G.C.E. (Advanced Level) General English Textbook in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2024-12-04) Lawrence, D; Wijesekera, H.D
The Advanced Level General English (GE) Course in Sri Lanka aims to prepare students for success in higher educati on, work, and social life. To achieve this objecti ve, it is necessary to equip students with “21st century skills” in additi on to language skills. A crucial factor that determines the success of the programme is the teaching material. The Advanced Level GE textbook is the primary teaching material for the GE course in schools nati onwide. This study explored the representati on of 21st century skills in this textbook by employing Qualitati ve Content Analysis (QCA) to systemati cally categorize and evaluate instances of 21st century-related acti viti es and discussions within the textbook. Although the study investi gated twelve 21st century skills, in this paper, we focus on the 4Cs (Creati vity, Criti cal Thinking, Communicati on, Collaborati on). The results indicate that although the 4Cs were the most visible skills and consti tuted the majority of occurrences (85.27%), some important aspects or subskills were not adequately represented. In additi on to other outcomes, the presentati on will mainly contribute to English Language teaching material development and evaluati on at both policy and implementati on levels.
Open Access
Learning and Innovation Skills in the General English Textbook for Advanced Level in Sri Lanka: A Qualitative Content Analysis
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2024-12-31) Lawrence, D; Wijesekera, H. D
The dawn of the 21st century and the associated technological, demographic, and socio-economic changes necessitated reforms in language education to equip learners with a diverse variety of skills, commonly referred to as 21st century learning and innovation skills, in addition to content and knowledge. Language teaching material, an integral and important element in teaching/learning, must evolve correspondingly to meet the demand for these skills. Centrally developed textbooks are the primary materials used in English as a second language teaching/learning in the Sri Lankan public education system. This paper investigates the representation of learning and innovation skills (Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration) in the current General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (G.C.E. (A/L)) English textbook of Sri Lanka. Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) was employed as the research methodology, and a coding frame was developed and utilized as the primary analytical tool. Two additional independent co-coders with diverse expertise also engaged in coding to boost the study’s trustworthiness. The findings reveal that the textbook contains a variety of activities that promote Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration skills. However, the results indicate that certain subskills are not adequately emphasized to enhance the holistic development of the 21st century skills. The study offers insightful recommendations for curriculum and material developers.