Precursors of 21st century skills are malleable in early childhood but may have little impact on lifetime success

The umbrella-term of “21st century skills” emerged in the early 2000s and gained traction in the following years, fueled by an increasing interest of education stakeholders in the individual readiness for dynamic, digital, and collaborative educational and professional contexts. These skills begin to develop in early childhood and comprise, among others, problem solving, metacognition, self-regulation, creativity, and collaboration. Despite the increasing interest in 21st century skills, relevant research, to date, focused on school-age children, adolescents, and adults, rather than preschoolers. To inspire a greater focus on early education, this editorial opens a collection of articles on the relevant early abilities, termed “precursors of 21st century skills”. The editorial sets the stage for the collection by delving into the origin and the definition of the term, thereafter offering a novel theoretical framework, strengthening the conceptual structure behind 21st century skills based on their function: navigating the information landscape, or the mind, or the social landscape.