Life skills
Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life.
Enumeration and categorization
The UNICEF Evaluation Office suggests that "there is no definitive list" of psychosocial skills;[3] nevertheless
For example, decision-making often involves critical thinking ("what are my options?") and values clarification ("what is important to me?"), ("How do I feel about this?"). Ultimately, the interplay between the skills is what produces powerful behavioral outcomes, especially where this approach is supported by other strategies.[6]
Life skills can vary from
Core skills
The World Health Organization in 1999 identified the following core cross-cultural areas of life skills:[8] [9]
- problem-solving;
- creative thinking (see also: lateral thinking) and critical thinking;
- interpersonal skills;
- self-awareness and empathy;
- assertiveness and equanimity; and
- coping with emotions and coping with stress.
UNICEF listed similar skills and related categories in its 2012 report.[3]
Life skills curricular designed for
There are various courses being run based on WHO's list supported by UNFPA. In Madhya Pradesh, India, the programme is being run with Government to teach these through Government Schools.[1]
Skills for work and life
Skills for work and life, known as
Parenting: a venue of life skills nourishment
Life skills are often taught in the domain of parenting, either indirectly through the observation and experience of the child, or directly with the purpose of teaching a specific skill. Parenting itself can be considered as a set of life skills which can be taught or comes natural to a person.[12] Educating a person in skills for dealing with pregnancy and parenting can also coincide with additional life skills development for the child and enable the parents to guide their children in adulthood.
Many life skills programs are offered when traditional family structures and healthy relationships have broken down, whether due to parental lapses, divorce, psychological disorders or due to issues with the children (such as substance abuse or other risky behavior). For example, the International Labour Organization is teaching life skills to ex-child laborers and at-risk children in Indonesia to help them avoid and to recover from worst forms of child abuse.[13]
Models: behavior prevention vs. positive development
While certain life skills programs focus on teaching the prevention of certain behaviors, they can be relatively ineffective. Based upon their research, the Family and Youth Services Bureau,
See also
- Attitude
- Emotional intelligence
- Emotional literacy
- Emotional self-regulation
- Gelotology
- Hope theory
- Impermanence
- Kindness
- Empathy
- Life skills-based education
- Moral development
- People skills
- Personal boundaries
- Positive psychology
- RULER
- Social intelligence
- Social skills
- Soft skills
- Study skills
- Theory of multiple intelligences
- Vocational skills
Sources
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Text taken from Pathways of progression: linking technical and vocational education and training with post-secondary education, UNESCO, UNESCO. UNESCO.
Further reading
- People Skills & Self-Management (free online guide), Alliances for Psychosocial Advancements in Living: Communication Connections (APAL-CC)
- Reaching Your Potential: Personal and Professional Development, 4th Edition
- Andrew J. DuBrin (2016). Human Relations for Career and Personal Success: Concepts, Applications, and Skills. Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-13-413171-9.
- Life Skills: A Course in Applied Problem Solving., Saskatchewan NewStart Inc., First Ave and River Street East, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.
References
- hdl:10665/63552. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ Best Thomas, A study on stress and its correlatives with family environment. Retrieved from ResearchGate.
- ^ a b "Global evaluation of life skills education programmes". unicef.org (Evaluation Report). New York: United Nations Children's Fund. 17 November 2016. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ "Skills & Competencies - CASEL". Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ "Do Hasya Yoga".
- ^ "UNICEF – Search Results". unicef.org. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
- ^ USA Funds Life Skills Archived 2011-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Partners in Life Skills Education : Conclusions from a United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1999. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
- ^ WHO 1993, p. 14: decision-making - problem-solving creative thinking - critical thinking communication - interpersonal relationships self-awareness - empathy coping with - emotions and stressors.
- ^ "Puget Sound ESD – excellence & equity in education | Pre-K-12 Life Skills Curriculum Guide". psesd.org. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
- ISBN 978-92-3-100290-8.
- ISBN 9781412958462.
- ^ Improving Vocational and Life Skills of Ex-Child Labourers and at Risk Children Aged 15 to 17 Years Archived 2011-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Home | Family and Youth Services Bureau | Administration for Children and Families". acf.hhs.gov. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
- ^ Prajapati, Ravindra (2017). "Significance of Life Skills Education" (PDF). Contemporary Issues in Education Research. 10: 4 – via The Clute Institute.