An essay on life skills educations in schools?

Answer 1

The term Life Skill Education, is being widely used nowadays but it is often used interchangeably with livelihood skills. But the two are different. Livelihoods skills as the name suggests, are skills, related to generate income to fulfill one's household/individual economic goals.

These skills basically involve vocational skills, business management skills etc, where as life skills encompasses all the dimensions of human life, be it economical, social or psychological.

World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1993 defined life skills as, "the abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with demands and challenges of everyday life.

UNICEF defines life skills as, "a behaviour change or behaviour development approach designed to address a balance of three areas: knowledge, attitude and skills."

Therefore, life skills are a large group of psycho-social and interpersonal skills, which can help people, to make informed decisions, communicate effectively and develop coping and self management skills that may help an individual to lead a healthy and productive life.

Importance of Life SkillEducation:

1. Life skills help adolescents to transit successfully from childhood to adulthood by healthy development of social and emotional skills.

2. It helps in the development of social competence and problem solving skills, which in turn help adolescents to form their own identity.

3. It helps to weigh pros and cons of the situation, hence, act as a mediator to problem behaviour.

4. It promotes positive social, norms that an impact the adolescent health services, schools and family.

5. It helps adolescents to differentiate between hearing and listening and thus, ensuring less development misconceptions or miscommunications regarding issues such as drugs, Alcoholism etc.

6. It delays the onset of the abuse of tobacco, alcohol etc.

7. It promotes the development of positive self-esteem and teaches anger control.