Life skill education

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LIFE SKILL EDUCATION
Prepared by: Dr SAJEENA S
INTRODUCTION
We are living in a very busy world. Everybody engaged in their busy schedules, irrespective of
age, nature of job or course studying and struggling to find time to accomplish their targets. In
this rush many of us are forget about how to live a quality life and how to handle various
problems of our day to day life. Thinking about inner self and being optimistic to the
complexities of life is essential for leading a successful life. Today young generations are rising
up with a growing sense of suspicion and gloom. Young generation is not using their abilities
and potential to the fullest even though their mental, physical, emotional and social skills are
extreme in this period. There are many issues which hinder them from this like addiction to
drugs, lack of emotional balance, physical abuses, decreased self-esteem, improper knowledge
the physiological and psychological changes occurred during adolescence, moral deterioration
etc which badly affect the individual as well as the society. This results in low self-esteem,
inability to handle pressures at work and in personal lives, eventually ending up in depression.
The power of young generation is unimaginable if properly channelized and nurtured. It is
recognised that to prepare young minds as productive human capital, the foundation has to be
laid during the early period of the life. Student life is marked by all-around intellectual and
mental growth. The parents expect from them to perform well in academic and compliance to
family and societal values. They have to become accustomed to these changes and cope with the
substantial problems, meet the expectations of the parents and teachers to deal with their
personal needs and ambitions. As a result of these complex circumstances, they face
uncertainties and dilemmas and find themselves, often, crossroads of life. This does not only
generate a lot of stress for them but also enhances their vulnerability to unhealthy and wrongful
practices. Proper training should be given to students concerning how to handle the issues of
various situations connected to personal life, study habits, relation with peers and other members
of society, etc. Such skills which enable a person to tackle various stressful situations of life and
to lead a happier life are called life skills.

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Life skill is an individual’s ability to develop and sustain a state of mental well-being with other
people they interact with and also within themselves. Life skills are skills that help individuals
for dealing the issues of daily life effectively using various adaptive practices according to the
changing needs and requirement. The overall reflection of one’s behaviour is the sum total of the
appropriate combination of different skills. Logically, it is the psychological competency and
steadiness of the concerned individual. When learning environment is motivated with positive
thinking and helps to look forward to the future with hope and confidence then students find
themselves adequately prepared to handle pressures and stresses of life. These skills are
developed through the life experiences of an individual. Also life skill can be inculcated to the
early years of life easily through schooling itself. Adults also can gain life skill through training
programmes. Life skills training in schools must meet the social and emotional developmental
needs of students for effective teaching and learning to take place and for students to reach their
full potential. Efficient and innovative life skills education package for curriculum which can
move towards better preparing youth to enter and contribute to a competitive and global
workforce is a need of the hour.
The most appropriate intervention for the promotion of this competence of children in school is
to enhance competencies through the proper use of available resources by the process of Life
Skills Education and training. Life skill can change our mental set up and the style of
functioning. This ability will enhance utilisation of human resources and increase productivity.
The World Health Organization has defined life skills as, "the abilities for adaptive and positive
behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday
life". According to WHO, life skills encompasses personal, interpersonal, physical and cognitive
skills that facilitate people to organize and manage their lives, and to develop the capacity to live
with, and produce change in their environment. Life skills are the fundamental building blocks
for the further development of personal skills for health promotion, which is one of the key
action areas in the Ottawa Charter.
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF LIFE SKILLS
The World Health Organisation (WHO) classified life skills into three major broad areas. They
are:

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a) Thinking skills: Thinking skills includes –critical thinking, creative thinking, analytical
reasoning, problem solving and decision making. These skills are essential for better
dealing in all spheres of life like personal relations, professional issues and social
problems which enable to make right decisions and avoid conflicts.
b) Social skills: The major social skills are communication skills, interpersonal skills,
leadership skills, management skills, co-operation, and team building skills. It also
includes active listening, and the ability to express feelings and give feedback. Refusal or
negotiation skills and assertiveness skills are included that directly determine ones’
ability to manage conflict. Empathy is another important skill that helps to understand
others. Cooperation and active participation in team work is also important. Tolerance the
opposing opinions and respect for others is also included in social skills.
c) Emotional skills Emotional skills, includes understanding and being comfortable with
oneself and to others. Coping with emotions, self management, coping with stress,
resolving internal conflicts etc are included in this. Emotional skills has the power to
change the attitude of the individual and thus to change the destiny of the world.
The ten core Life Skills suggested by World Health Organization (WHO) are:
 Self-awareness
 Critical thinking
 Creative thinking
 Decision making
 Problem Solving
 Effective communication
 Interpersonal relationship
 Empathy
 Coping with stress
 Coping with emotion
1. Self-Awareness: Self-awareness is knowledge about yourself. It involves awareness
about your own emotions, your behaviour, your locus of control, and your strengths and

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weaknesses. Individuals with a strong sense of self-awareness can know where they are
strong and where they are weak. As we develop awareness about our self-worth, we
become more self-confident. As a result, with the passage of time, we will be more
decisive, make sound judgements using the emotional and cognitive information
available within us. In case we lack self-awareness, there are quite a number of ways to
build it up. Introspection and feedback from others are just two of these ways.
2. Critical Thinking: Critical thinking is a skill that helps us look analytically at events,
people, objects, actions and even literary works with a view to gathering information that
is relevant and objective with the help of which we can assess and evaluate them. There
are several ways for developing it. One of them is to focus on “how?” and “why” in
addition to what happened when you read reports on events and incidents. Another way
to develop it is to search for evidence before you accept anything as you read or listen to
others
3. Creative Thinking: Creative thinking refers to the ability to produce something novel,
useful, and unique. It involves the ability to think about something in novel and unusual
ways and come up with unique solutions to problems. Fluency, flexibility, originality,
and elaboration are the main characteristics of creativity. The characteristic of fluency
involves generation of many ideas. Flexibility involves the ability to shift perspectives
easily. While the characteristic of originality stands for conceiving something new,
elaboration refers to building of many ideas. Creativity also refers to challenge accepted
ideas and ways of doing things in order to find new solutions or concepts. Creative
thinking skills refer to such skills as brainstorming, lateral thinking, divergent thinking,
etc.
4. Decision-Making: Decision-making is one of the life skills that we have to utilize before
solving problems and handling issues. Students have to take decisions on many
occasions. In case they are clear about how decisions are generally made, it would make
the task easier. They have to study each situation carefully before decision is being made.
5. Problem-Solving: Problem-solving, like decision-making, is a life skill that is as
important as and perhaps more important than decision making. Problems are situations
that are not easy to surmount. Problems, be they big or small, have to be faced and
overcome. In case we fail, life would come to a standstill, goals would remain

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unaccomplished, and the person concerned will be filled with anxiety and worry.
Problems can immobilize and render us helpless. Unless we tackle them at the proper
time, they will render us handicapped. If we allow problems to get the better of us, they
will slow down our overall growth and development. Problem-solving is a process and so
it involves a number of steps: Step 1: Find and Frame the problem. Step 2: Develop a
good problem solving strategy. Step 3: Evaluate the solution. Step 4: Rethink and
Redefine problems and solutions over time.
6. Effective Communication: Nothing can make as much of a dramatic effect on our
personal and school life as speaking well. The impression you make on others mostly
depends on the way you speak-the pitch, expressiveness and clarity of your voice. From
the tone of your voice and your manner of saying things, your listeners can deduce a lot
about your feelings and personality. Any message that involves the face-to-face mode
such as conversation consists of a number of components such as tone, words and body
language. Only when all the components are appropriately integrated, effective
communication is possible. So you need to understand each situation and use the right
modality that suits it.
7. Interpersonal Relationships: Interpersonal relationship is yet another life-skill that
helps us get along smoothly with our peers. These skills are techniques that help us relate
to others. They tell you what you should and what you should not do in your dealing with
your friends. In short, they highlight the mutual give and take in any relationships. The
mutual give and take is an important feature of successful interpersonal interaction. These
skills are learned. Family, school, neighbourhood are the main places that give scope for
learning these skills. Understanding human nature is one of the first steps in developing
good relationships.
8. Empathy: Empathy is another life skill that helps us understand others. It refers to the
feeling of emotional understanding and unity with another, such that an emotion felt by
one person is experienced to some degree by another who is empathic to them. In other
words, empathy involves the ability to mimic externally the feelings of another person.
The essence of empathy is being able to see reality from the other person’s perspective.
As others talk to us, they reveal their feeling through their tone of voice, facial
expressions or other non-verbal ways. A successful human relationship involves

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understanding others and their nature. Through empathic listening we will be able to find
what the other person is, and not what we think he or she is. This understanding will help
you respond appropriately to their moods, temperaments, motivations and desires and act
wisely in your interactions and dealings.
9. Coping with Stress: Coping with stress is just another life skill that you need to know.
Stress generally refers to the reaction that people show when they encounter excessive
pressure. Depending upon our attitude and our level of tolerance, the pressure we
experience may keep varying. Stress lays much more of a demand on the person’s ability
than it can meet. This tension which is beyond one’s capacity to cope with lead to stress.
People tend to experience stress when the pressure becomes excessive.
10. Coping with Emotions: Emotions are powerful feelings that are directed at something or
someone. Emotions and impulses propel people to action. Emotions can be positive or
negative. Anger, fear, anxiety, worry etc. are examples of negative emotions while hope,
optimism, love, etc. are examples of positive ones. Emotions, be they positive or
negative, would keep on crossing the mind. We cannot stop them. But whether we
entertain them is something that is within our power.
LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION
Life skill education is a value-added program which aims to provide students with strategies to
make healthy choices that contribute to a meaningful life. It is proved that schools are playing
the most important role in the emotional and social development of the individuals. If life skills
are implemented through school education we can effectively develop and sustain the mental
health and social values among the students. Life skills education is applicable to all ages of
children and adolescents in school. However, it targets adolescents since young people seem to
be most vulnerable and behavior related health problems. It helps adolescents to recognise their
self and to understand their abilities, skills, and domains of development. It also helps
adolescents to get along with other people and adjust to their environment and making a
responsible decision. The main aim of life skill education is to equip the learner to develop a
concept of oneself as a person of value and dignity. It is not possible to learn Life skills by mere
reading of books, it should be done through practice. The scope of life skills education differs
with the level of the education system. As a long – term goal the life skills education should

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cover the entire education process that is from primary school to higher education. Life skills as
a separate subject as well as by integrated method can be spread across the curriculum. Life
skills education should be very dynamic that can incorporate not only teacher and students but
also parents, community members and organisations. The programme should consider the local
issues that are familiar to students. There are many techniques – both qualitative and quantitative
tools are developed for the evaluation of life skills education.
LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION - OBJECTIVES
The objective of life skills education programme is to teach students how to:
 Contribute actively in various decision-making and processes
 Resolve disputes and conflicts and to weigh up what is right and wrong
 Understand and to respect different beliefs, customs and traditions of a multi-cultural
world.
 Understand the strength and limitations of the personality and to modify accordingly
 Manage emotions and sustain mental health
 Identify diverse cultures, ethnic and communities
IMPLEMENTATION OF LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION IN CLASSROOM
The researches in this field recommend that use of different innovative activities and approaches
will leads to better development of life skills among students. Following are some activities that
can be used in classroom for inculcating life skills.
a. Classroom Discussions: Discussions provide opportunities for learners to understand and
to solving problems of day today life. Discussion helps the students to broaden their
thinking abilities and also facilitate in depth reasoning of the topic. Through discussion
many skills and qualities like assertiveness, listening skills, and interpersonal skills can
be improved.
b. Brainstorming: Brainstorming facilitates children to make ideas rapidly and impulsively.
It helps to foster the systematic imagination skills of the students. Active discussion in
the class can generate innovative ideas. It is helpful for evaluating the pros and cons of a
situation or event effectively.

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c. Role Plays: Role plays helps to keep the whole students active throughout the class. It is
very much effective for students. Role play also facilitate the practicing the skills and to
provide a better understanding for handling real life problems.
d. Groups: When the number of students is high and time is limited, groups are helpful for
better result. It facilitates the interpersonal skills of the students and learns how to work
as a team through effective communication and understanding. It is also helpful for
developing empathy.
e. Games and Simulations: Games are always favourite to the students irrespective of the
age. It can provide rich learning experience through fun and activities. They demands
knowledge, attitude and skills. It provides a safe and stress free classroom atmosphere
and facilitate the practicing of many skills.
f. Analysis of Situation and Case Studies: Situation analyzing and case studies demands
little more serious and careful practices from the students and teachers and trainers need
to support students for the proper direction. They give chances to understand and
discover problems and to find out their solutions. Students’ interpersonal skills,
cooperation, communication skills are also promoted along with the critical thinking
skills and cognitive development. Case studies are powerful tools for analytical and
problem solving skills.
g. Story-Telling: Story telling helps children to develop creative and critical thinking. It
give chance to draw analogies with real life situations. It also increases the skills such as
listening skill, attention, and endurance.
h. Debates: For addressing a specific problem and to explore in depth, debates are best used.
Socially important issues are handled using debates for better result and active
participation. Skills such as assertiveness, communication skills, listening skills, critical
thinking etc are fostered through this activity. Students also learn to respect the opinion
of the opposite views and to defend
SIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION
Life-skills education programme has now become an integral part of education system all over
the world. The CBSE introduced in 2012 a life skills training programme as part of Continuous
and Comprehensive Evaluation targeting students between 10-18 years of age. Similarly, the

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Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) under its agenda for quality elementary education of upper
primary girls gives them life skills training. Efficient and appropriate execution of life skill
education is a necessity of the time. Implementing life skills education to the students will be
beneficial as it deals with the requirements of students, helps to improve the management of
emotions and fostering thinking skills. Altogether life skills education, have found to be a fruitful
approach for fostering positive social, and mental health of people which plays an important role
in all round development. Hence it is essential to integrate life skills education into the regular
school curriculum and given on a regular basis to increase the physical as well as mental
wellbeing of the students. Not only in school but out of the school programmes also helpful such
as workshops and campaigns especially for adults. Such programmes would be helpful for the
society members who were not part of the main educational stream since life skills education is
applicable for all.
The UNESCO has now joined hands with various state government education departments and is
trying to equip adolescents with life skills. They mainly use two strategies for this purpose,
namely, (i) infusion approach, (ii) direct approach. The infusion approach tries to identify
suitable situations within the established subject areas and extend the matter in such a way as to
facilitate the teaching of various life skills. Whatever may be the methods adopted, life skills
education is very important for adolescents. Though some stray attempts have been made here
and there to introduce life skills, it is yet to become part and parcel of the curriculum in most of
the schools in major parts of India.