International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN: 2319-7064 Impact Factor (2018): 7.426 Volume 8 Issue 1, January 2019 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY The Principal Leadership based on Higher Order Thinking Skills for Realizing 21st Century Education Hanna 1 , Herianti 2 , Isnada Waris Tasrim 3 , Risky Niguita 4 1 Halu Oleo University, Department of Language Education, Kendari Indonesia 2 Public Middle School 09, Kendari Indonesia 3 Halu Oleo University, Department of Language Education, Kendari Indonesia 4. Graduate School of Halu Oleo University, Kendari Indonesia Abstract: This paper, which has been presented on TTE 2018, Together Transforming Education, International Conference and Exhibition 21-22 November 2018. Sabah Federal Government Administrative Complex, Ministry of Education Malaysia, aims at promoting the principal leadership based on higher order thinking skills for realizing 21st century education. A principal has an important role in improving and developing the knowledge of students who are in the school area. The Principal must be able to coordinate the tasks of school resources including technical and administrative education, across programs and sectors by utilizing resources to achieve educational goals effectively and efficiently. If we observe related to the role of the principal in implementing efforts to improve the quality of education, the role of the principal is not only to provide guidance to the teacher in improving the quality of the teaching and learning process, but the most important thing is that the principal must be able to convince the public and other stakeholders in carrying out their roles and duties is to create a "learning climate", by influencing, inviting, and encouraging teachers, students, and other staff to have high-level skills as millinneal needs. Keywords: principal leadership, higher order thinking skills, 1. Introduction Campbell, Corbally & Nyshand (1983) put forward three classifications of the role of primary school principals, namely: (1) roles related to personal relationships, including the principal as a figurehead or symbol of the organization, leader or leader, and liaison or liaison, (2) role relating to information, including principals as monitors, disseminators, and spokesmen who disseminate information to all organizational environments, and (3) roles related to decision making, which include principals as entrepreneurs, disturbance handlers, providers of all sources, and negotiators in realizing education that has high skills. Various organizations try to formulate various kinds of competencies and skills needed in the face of the 21st century. However, one important thing to note is that educating the younger generation in the 21st century cannot only be done through one approach. Some of these organizations and their development results are presented at a glance as follows. Wagner (2010) and Change Leadership Group from Harvard University identified competencies and survival skills needed by students in facing life, the world of work, and citizenship in the 21st century emphasized in seven (7) the following skills: (1) critical thinking skills and problem solving, (2) collaboration and leadership, (3) agility and adaptability, (4) initiative and entrepreneurial spirit, (5) being able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, (6) being able to access and analyze information, and ( 7) have curiosity and imagination. It is well known that 21st century skills comprise skills, abilities, and learning dispositions that have been identified as being required for success in 21st century society and workplaces by educators, business leaders, academics, and governmental agencies. This is part of a growing international movement focusing on the skills required for students to master in preparation for success in a rapidly changing, digital society. Many of these skills are also associated with deeper learning, which is based on mastering skills such as analytic reasoning, complex problem solving, and teamwork. These skills differ from traditional academic skills in that they are not primarily content knowledge-based. During the latter decades of the 20th century and into the 21st century, society has undergone an accelerating pace of change in economy and technology. Its effects on the workplace, and thus on the demands on the educational system preparing students for the workforce, have been significant in several ways. Beginning in the 1980s, government, educators, and major employers issued a series of reports identifying key skills and implementation strategies to steer students and workers towards meeting the demands of the changing workplace and society. The current workforce is significantly more likely to change career fields or jobs. Those in the Baby Boom generation entered the workforce with a goal of stability; subsequent generations are more concerned with finding happiness and fulfillment in their work lives. Young workers in North America are now likely to change jobs at a much higher rate than previously, as much as once every 4.4 years on average. With this employment mobility comes a demand for different Paper ID: ART20194097 10.21275/ART20194097 839