An investigation of art education students’ perceptions of 21st-century skills competence and critical thinking tendencies

The purpose of this study is to examine art education students’ perceptions of 21st-century skills competence and their critical thinking tendencies, to reveal the relationship between these two variables, and to analyze this relationship in terms of department, gender, and grade level. The study was conducted using a quantitative survey model with a total of 165 students, including 77 students from the music department of the Neşet Ertaş Faculty of Fine Arts at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University and 88 students from the Department of Art Education at the Faculty of Education at Ege University in İzmir during the spring semester of the 2024–2025 academic year.The findings indicate that students generally “mostly agree” with the items of both the 21st-century skills Competence Perception Scale and the Critical Thinking Tendencies Scale, suggesting high levels of perceived competence and positive critical thinking tendencies. Students’ perceptions of 21st-century skills competence showed statistically significant differences according to department and grade level, whereas no significant difference was found based on gender. Similarly, no statistically significant difference was found in the overall critical thinking tendencies according to the department variable.A key finding of the study is the strong and positive relationship between 21st-century skills competence perceptions and critical thinking tendencies (r = .707, p .01). This result indicates that higher levels of perceived 21st-century skills competence are associated with stronger critical thinking tendencies.Based on these findings, it is recommended that art education programs incorporate instructional practices that simultaneously support the development of 21st-century skills and critical thinking. In particular, student-centered learning environments, interdisciplinary approaches, and activities that promote creativity and problem-solving may enhance both competencies effectively.