This edited book is a unique comprehensive discussion of 21st century skills in education in a comparative perspective. It presents investigation on how eight very different countries (China, Canada, England, Finland, Poland, South Korea, the USA and Russia) have attempted to integrate key competences and new literacies into their curricula and balance them with the acquisition of disciplinary knowledge. Bringing together psychological, sociological, pedagogical approaches, the book also explores theoretical underpinnings of 21st century skills and offers a scalable solution to align multiple competency and literacy frameworks. The book provides a conceptual framework for curriculum reform and transformation of school practice designed to ensure that every school graduate thrives in our technologically and culturally changing world. By providing eight empirical portraits of competence-driven curriculum reform, this book is great resource to educational researchers and policy makers.