Abstract:

This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the curricular guidelines for secondary education and the mother language curricula of 6 countries: Portugal, Spain, Germany, France, England and Brazil. This is an exploratory research conducted as part of the research project Language Why do I want you for?! financed by CeiED (Interdisciplinary Research Center for Education and Development) whose objective is to analyze the role of mother language teaching in the development of skills considered essential in the 21st century. Skills are pointed out by the OECD (2013, 2018) as indispensable elements for the promotion of social inclusion, the generation of prosperity and the transformation of lives. Without the right skills, young people are at risk of being left out of society and countries cannot compete on equal terms in a globalized and increasingly complex world. The challenge for countries is therefore to indicate the knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes and values needed by young people in 2030 and to define how educational systems will develop them. In this contexto, we consider mother language teaching can have an importante contribute, as language is one of the main symbolic systems, through which we build knowledge, constitute a personal and cultural identity, produce culture and interpret it (Bakhtin, 2009). Through language, we access the meanings shared by the linguistic-cultural community of which we are a part, build new concepts and transform them into actions. The methodology used was qualitative and the data were analyzed using the content analysis technique (Bardin,) with predefined analysis categories based on the OECD skills development models (2013, 2018) and UNESCO skills development models (2015).

Our results point to:
1. An approach to the language as an element of learning and social participation;
2. Predominant presence of cognitive and metacognitive skills such as critical thinking, creativity, learning to learn, understanding other cultures;
3. Presence of social and emotional skills, such as communication, empathy, collaboration, respect for others;
4. Strong influence of the OECD skills model on the most recently reformulated curricula;
5. Less approximation to the learning objectives outlined in United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Keywords:

21st century skills, mother language, curriculum, secondary education.