Life Skill Education

Life Skill Education

The term „Life Skills‟ refers to the skills you need to make the most out of life.

Any skill that is useful in your life can be considered a life skill. Tying your shoe laces,
swimming, driving a car and using a computer are, for most people, useful life skills. Broadly
speaking, the term „life skills‟ is usually used for any of the skills needed to deal well and
effectively with the challenges of life.

“The abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enables individuals to deal effectively
with the demands and challenges of everyday life.”

----------WHO (1997)

Why Life-Skills Education?

i. Early identification of problems, early intervention and support at key moments in

lives of young people is vital
ii. Development needs & aspirations of the individuals Development of psychosocial
abilities
iii. To enhance capabilities and enlarge choices
iv. To build different dimensions of well-being, by building self-image & self-worth,
which in turn help individuals to be less vulnerable to the variations within a given
context.

L-Learning S-Solving problems

I-Identity & Self Awareness K-Kindness

F-Fitness & Health I-Intimacy

E-emotional Development L-Living in Balance

L-Letting Go

S-Social

What are the “Life Skills”?

Or

The basic elements of Life Skills education:

The basic elements of life skills education involve a wide range of diverse learning elements,
which including:

i. Knowledge and understanding of rules and laws, human rights, diversity,

democratic process, sustainable development, and concepts like justice, equality,
democracy, and freedom.
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ii. Skills and aptitudes like critical thinking, expressing opinions, analysing
information, participating in discussions, negotiating, dispute resolution and
participating in community actions.

iii. Values and attitudes like respecting justice, democracy tolerance, courage and the
rule of law, willingness to listen to others and work with others. (Parry and
Nomikou 2014)

World Health Organization has defined the life skills as Self awareness skill, Empathy,
Interpersonal relationship, Effective communication, Critical thinking, Creative thinking,
Decision Making, Problem solving, Coping with emotions and Coping with stress skills.
These skills are classified into three categories which are- Cognitive skills, Social skills
and negotiating skills or Coping skills.

a. Cognitive Skills: Cognitive Skills are thinking skills which cover thinking process to
solve the problems by taking decisions through critical thinking and creative thinking.

i. Creative Thinking Skill- Creative Thinking Skill is an ability to bring about

something new and valuable more than break away from old pattern.

ii. Critical Thinking Skill - Critical Thinking is an ability to draw sound conclusion on
facts and observations, to analyze carefully and evaluate the information.

iii. Decision Making Skill- Decision Making Skill is the ability to follow the process of
choosing appropriate alternative course of action.

iv. Problem Solving Skill-Problem Solving Skill is an ability to use problem solving
procedure for resolving a problem in efficient manner.

b. Social Skills: Social skills are related with the social life of the individual. An individual
needs to have these skills to become a good citizen in the society. These social skills are
interpersonal relationship, effective communication, self awareness and empathy skill.

i. Effective Communication Skill- Effective Communication Skill is an ability to make

exchange of information between two or more persons in such a way that it creates
understanding between and among them.

ii. Interpersonal Relationship Skill -Interpersonal Relationship Skill is an ability to

maintain good relationship with the other members of the society.

iii. Self Awareness Skill -Self Awareness Skill is the ability to understand oneself.

iv. Empathy Skill -Empathy Skill means an ability to understand another person‟s (his
or her) emotions and feelings.
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c. Negotiating Skills- Negotiating Skills are related to adjustment of the individual as

per needs of the society. If the person is not able to adjust himself with others then it
will affect him/ her. So, one has to acquire negotiating skills which includes, coping
with emotions, coping with stress and adjustment skills.

i. Coping with Stress -Skill Coping with Stress Skill is an ability to recognize source
of stress in own life and cope up by appropriate behave in the situation.

ii. Coping with Emotions Skill -Coping with Emotions Skill means ability to
manage own emotions and understand others emotions.

The Four Pillars of Education

i. Learning to Know: Developing Reasoning It relates to cognitive life skills such

as critical thinking, problem solving and decision making skills. It thus refers to
both the acquisition of knowledge as well as the use of knowledge.

ii. Learning to Be: Enhancing Agency It relates to self-management life skills

related to self awareness, self esteem & self confidence, and coping skills.

iii. Learning to Live Together: Building Potential Through Social Capital It relates
to communication skills, Negotiation skills, Refusal skills, Assertiveness skills,
Interpersonal skills, Co-operation skills & Empathy skills

iv. Learning to Do: Functioning and Capabilities It refers to central human

functional capabilities of “Life”, “Bodily Health”, “Bodily Integrity” and “Control
over one‟s Environment.”

Aims & Objectives:

 Create a stable, calm, safe and secure living and learning environment

 Offer a structured, systematic, holistic and individualised approach to education and

care.

 Develop knowledge and core skills

 Provide access to a broad, balanced and differentiated National Curriculum

 Employ positive behaviour management techniques

 Develop skills to manage their own behaviour effectively

 Participate in a wide range of activities: recreational, sporting, cultural and

community-based

 Access to a range of services: social, recreational, educational and employment

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 Work together with their peers and staff to make a positive contribution to the school,
home and wider community

 Develop their personal qualities

 Develop functional skills

 Access a School Leavers Programme and post 16 education which includes life skills,
vocational training, work experience, college courses and careers guidance

 Provide continuous development of personal, social, and independence skills

throughout adulthood

Need and importance of life skills education:

i. Life skills education promotes mental well-being among youngsters and makes them
able for facing the realities of life.

ii. Life skills education equips students for behaving in a social manner.

iii. Life skills education empowers children and enables them to take more responsibility
in their lives.

iv. At the United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting held at W.H.O., Geneva life skills
education was considered important for promoting healthy children and adolescent
development, preventing some causes of child and adolescent death, disease and
disability, preparing young people for changing social circumstances, socialization.
(Prajapati et al., 2017

v. Life skills education helps in different ways, for instance, preventing abuse,
preventing bullying and preventing HIV and AIDS among youths.

vi. If we apply life skills education programme effectively in schools, it is able to change
outlook of children about others and themselves, resulting in improvement of their
self-esteem and self-confidence.

vii. Life skills education helps students in developing their emotional and psychosocial
competencies and interpersonal skills which results in an attitude for solving
problems, taking right decisions, thinking critically and creatively, communicating
effectively, creating good relationships, empathize with others, and managing their
lives in a healthy and perfect manner.

In fact, all individuals need life skills for their healthy and positive
ways of living at one or other step. One can learn and enhance life skills throughout the life.
Practicing the use of life skills in simple day to day situations makes it easy for utilizing them
in complex life situations too.
Life Skill Education

Life Skills is useful in several areas like-

i. Education
ii. Career development
iii. Sexual and Reproductive Health
iv. HIV/AIDS
v. Conflict Resolution/ Violence Prevention
vi. Substance abuse
vii. Environmental issues
viii. Marriage
ix. Workplace

Several researches have proved the importance & effectiveness of life skills education for
development of students‟ social, mental and emotional development and making them
competent in dealing with their problems and issues.

Challenges and demands confronted by the present generation:

1. Exposure to varied experiences through media, gadgets, and life events.

2. Excessive pressure due to performance in academics, sports and competitions in the

same.

3. Inability of parents to guide and support the children during critical times.

4. Lack of sound base of eternal values and morals.

5. Presentation of false role models and flimsy standards set by them in terms of money,
status, success.

6. Mental stress, depression and helplessness.

7. Lack of personnel from family and society for counseling.

Imparting life skills education:

1. Classroom Discussions: Discussions offer opportunities for learning and practicing for
solving problems and enable learners to make their understanding deep of the topic and
Develops skills, in listening, assertiveness, and empathy.

2. Group tasks: Groups tasks are important exercise and maximize student engagement
and allow interactions, allow knowing others better which in turn enhances team forming
and team work.

3. Educational Games: Educational Games are helpful in promoting fun based active
learning, enriching discussion and motivate participants to work hard. Students learn
combined use of knowledge, attitudes, and skills and test their assumptions and abilities.
Life Skill Education

4. Role Plays: Role Play is a fun based activity involving all members of class, to be active
and take part. Role Play provides an excellent method for practicing and experiencing
skills and increase empathy for others.

5. Debates: Provides chances to discuss issues in depth and creatively. It allows students to
defend an argument or point and provides chances for practicing high order thinking
skills.

6. Brainstorming: In Brainstorming students generate ideas quickly which helps them to

use their imagination and think differently. It is essential to evaluate the bright and dark
sides of ideas.

7. Case Studies and analysis: Case Studies give students the chances, for exploring and
analysing, and provide opportunities for working together and sharing ideas, Case studies
are like useful for thought and discussions, engaging learners to improve, think critically,
and making decisions.

8. Story-Telling: Storey telling is helpful for students to develop critical thinking skills,
creative thinking skills for writing or telling stories. It helps to draw conclusions and
make comparisons. Storey telling also enhances concentration, listening skills and
develops patience and endurance in students.

By using these strategies in an appropriate way with planned curriculum, Life skills education
programme can be very effective for students at schools.

Techniques for Enhancing Life Skills Education:

a. Group Discussion
b. Brain Storming
c. Demonstration and Guided Practice
d. Role Plays
e. Audio & Visual Activities, e.g., arts, music, theatre, and dance
f. Decision mapping and Problem Trees
g. Educational Games
h. Case Studies
i. Story Telling
j. Debate

Responsibilities of teacher in imparting life skill-based education:

a. The main objective is to empower the students to achieve their goals in their life.

b. Empower the students to succeed inside and outside the classroom.

c. Provide students whatever they need to succeed in life.

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d. Support the students to earn higher grades in classroom and encourage them to achieve
their goals.

e. Teachers unlock the potential of students and encourage them to work hard to succeed
in their life.

f. To enable the students to deal effectively with demands and challenges of everyday life.

g. To develop the abilities for behavioral responses adaptive to the situations.

h. To develop the ability of positive thinking in critical situations.

i. To develop problem-solving skills and critical thinking.

Role of Constructivist teacher for skill-based education:

1. C- Co-operative: Teacher must assist students in learning. He should not merely

impart the available information but co-operate the students actively while they are in
process of learning.
2. O- Observer: Teacher must keenly observe the students‟ behavior, impact of stimuli
on them and various interactions with the environment.
3. N-Novel: Teacher must be novel in his ideas, diction and actions. He should sustain
the interest of students in being open and alert in surroundings.
4. S-Supporter: Teacher should support the students by giving them reinforcement and
by dealing with them patiently in every kind of situation.
5. T- Tactful: Teacher has to be tactful in while introducing new concepts and engaging
the students actively in learning.
6. R-Rational: Teacher should not discriminate between right or wrong as far as the
students‟ responses are concerned. Because although the answer may be wrong it is
the outcome of student‟s construction. He must rebuild the process strategically so
that the response is likely to be almost as expected.
7. U-Understanding: There must be mutual understanding between the teacher and the
student so that the student has faith in the teacher and he can share his experiences
without any hesitation.
8. C-Collaborative- Teacher must try to seek collaborations within and outside the
group so as to provide learning opportunities extensively.
9. T-Thoughtful: Teacher must be thoughtful while planning his work, interacting with
the students and about his overall behavior.
10. I- Inspirational: The words, actions and the very presence of the teacher must be
inspirational to the students.
11. V-Versatile: Constructivist teacher should be competent and should possess varied
abilities so that he can prove resourceful to the students.
12. S- Sensitive: Constructivist teacher should be sensitive towards every kind of issues
regarding students‟ experiences, emotions, problems and he must have empathy for
the same.
13. M- Managerial: Teacher‟s job is of effective management of formal and informal
experiences through which the knowledge is being constructed. He should be able to
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handle the incidental experiences with great proficiency and his attitude should be
student oriented.

Discussion and Conclusion:

Life Skills help in developing positive and flexible attitude for life among youngsters.
Enhancing Life Skills enables us to adapt to situations and people and helps us to lead a
healthy and positive life. All people have inherent Life Skills but to get the best out of them
we need training and get them shaped. Life Skills are needed to-

a. Develop a dynamic self image and self esteem

b. Improve communication skills

c. Make better relationships and handle interpersonal

d. problems Boost decision making ability and make informed decisions

e. To deal with the challenges of day to day life

f. Become a well adjusted person

g. To adapt to situations and people

h. To make a positive approach and not get depressed with problems.

i. Reduce vulnerability and high risk behaviour

Today relevant and proper implementation of life skill education is a need time. Imparting
life skills education to the students is helpful to address the needs of children, helps in
motivating, providing practical, cognitive, emotional, social and self-management skills for
life adjustments.