Section introduction: Curricular challenges of the twenty-first century

Rapid technological developments ask for so called 21st century skills or competences to prepare citizens for living, working and learning in our current society. Due to these changes many countries worldwide are in the process of redesigning their curricula. This section elaborates on the role of technology in 21st century curricula. First the notion of 21st century competences is elaborated upon. This is followed by research on emerging domains in 21st century curricula, such as new literacies, digital citizenship, digital literacy and computational thinking. The section finishes with pointing to the need to align school curricula with students’ digital practices.