A Study on the Examination of the 21st-Century Skills of the Personnel Working in the Ministry of Youth and Sports

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the levels of 21st-century skills among personnel employed at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, with particular consideration of the influence of socio-demographic variables. A total of 369 personnel, comprising 148 women and 221 men, participated in the research on a voluntary basis. During the data collection process, the researchers utilised a Personal Information Form and the Multidimensional 21st Century Skills Scale, which was developed by Çevik and Şentürk (2019). The scale developed by Çevik and Şentürk (2019) comprises five dimensions with a total of 41 items and is structured as a 5point Likert-type scale. The data were analysed using the statistical software package SPSS 23.0. As the scale scores exhibited a normal distribution, an independent samples t-test was employed to compare the means of two groups, while a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for comparing the means of more than two groups. Upon conclusion of the research, a statistically significant correlation was identified between the scores of the participants with regard to the sub-dimensions of information and technology literacy, critical thinking and problem-solving, entrepreneurship and innovation skills, social responsibility and leadership skills, and career awareness. Upon analysis according to demographic variables, a significant difference was observed in the 21st-century skills of the personnel participating in the research with regard to the variables of professional status and length of service in the institution Furthermore, no significant differences were identified in the 21st-century skills of the participants according to gender, marital status, duration of use of information technology tools, age group, education level, or income status