Developing Students' Skills for the 21st Century: The National History Day Model as Academic Enrichment

Today's students must engage in programs and activities to help them build skills for the future that go beyond traditional academics. National History Day (NHD) is a year-long intensive research program that provides students the opportunity to participate in historical research and then creatively express their analysis and interpretation of their research. The program has demonstrated results not only for students with identified gifts and talents but also for students in "general education" classes, as well as for students with special needs. The purpose of this case study was to explore the ways students who participated in the NHD program at one middle school developed and enhanced the skills identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) as the 4 Cs: creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. These skills were enumerated through the exploration of students' NHD experiences. Literature pertaining to the importance of teaching 21st century skills, students' acquisition of skills through NHD participation, and an examination of the current curricula for NHD instruction served as the research foundation for this study. The case that was studied was the production of an NHD project. The researcher collected and examined data from various stakeholders about their interactions with this experience. Documentation and artifacts from the NHD program were also analyzed. This instrumental case study included a focus group and one-on-one interviews with current high school students who participated in NHD at the middle school level, one-on-one interviews with parents of student participants, and one-on-one interviews with teachers who have experience working with these participants. The researcher used first cycle coding and thematic analysis to analyze the data. Findings from study participant groups confirmed students' participation in NHD helped them develop and enhance skills that will be valuable to them in school, career, and life. The results suggest the benefits of the NHD approach to teaching and learning for all students and inform practices that can be adapted by teachers, parents and administrators to design future middle school programs that help students develop and enhance 21st century skills. Recommendations that emerged from this research include bringing the NHD approach to all levels of learners across multiple curriculum areas, intentional teaching of 21st century skills, a shift in NHD teaching to focus on skills rather than on content, and professional development for teachers facilitating this model of inquiry-based learning.Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management -- Drexel University, 201