Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between 21st century learning skills and the academic achievement of secondary school students in Chemistry in Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of the study, two research questions guided the investigation, and two corresponding null hypotheses were formulated and tested. Relevant literature was reviewed based on the study variables. A survey research design was adopted. The sample consisted of 500 SSII Chemistry students selected from a population of 958 using a simple random sampling technique. Two instruments were used for data collection: the Students’ 21st Century Learning Skills Level Variables Questionnaire (S21STCLSLVQ) and the Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT). Both instruments were validated by experts in the Department of Science Education and a test expert at Akwa Ibom State University. The reliability of the CAT was established using the Kuder–Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20), yielding a coefficient of 0.89, while the reliability of the S21STCLSLVQ was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha, with coefficients ranging from 0.73 to 0.79. Data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, independent t test, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). All hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that both critical thinking skills and technology literacy skills had a significant influence on students’ academic achievement in Chemistry. The study recommended that teachers, parents, and school administrators should encourage students to actively develop 21st century learning skills alongside traditional academic knowledge.
Keywords: Chemistry, Secondary School Students, Academic Achievement, 21st Century Learning Skills
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21216333
Authors:
Isaac M. Joshua, PhD
Department of Physical Science
Education
Faculty of Science Education
University of Calabar
Cross River State, Nigeria
ORCID: 0009-0001-4818-7738
GSM: 08064010058, 09040630779
Copyright © [2026] The Author(s). Published by the Journal of People and Worldviews (JPW). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited.