The 12 core life skills are relevant for personal development and success in life. Therefore, attention needs to be given to how these core life skills can be taught, learned and practiced in the education system and throughout life.
Teaching and learning principles of the 12 Life Skills:
Teaching and learning principles of the 12 Life Skills:
The main teaching
and learning principles that contribute to the
operationalization of the 12 core life skills.
Source: UNICEF 2017
1. Holistic approach.
Life skills involve the development of a balanced combination of cognitive, personal and emotional or self-management skills, as well as social and interpersonal skills covering the gamut of psychosocial skills. All core life skills equally matter
2. Age-appropriate. Teaching and learning needs to be adapted to different age groups, depending on their needs, level of development and capabilities. This means that the methods and the activities used to teach the 12 core life skills will be different for younger children early education, children in basiceducation, adolescents and youth in secondary education or TVET, and youth and adults in tertiary or continuing education, while continuously building on the earlier stages throughout schooling and life.
3. Gender-responsive. Life skills education involves the practice of active and engaged strategies to issues pertaining to gender equality. Specifically, life skills education actively promotes gender equality by addressing gender stereotypes and gender discrimination in teaching and learning at all levels, while showing all learners that the 12 core life skills are equally important to all, and that none is gendered. For example, all learners need to build their cooperation skills and their sense of empathy against the old stereotype that these would be ‘feminine’ traits
4. Needs based and learner-centred. Aiming to develop independent learners who can drive their own learning processes and outcomes, life skills education is based on the assessed needs of each learner individually, which demands a personalized approach with attention to the individual differences, strengths, and weaknesses, especially of learners’ communication skills and self-management skills
5. Relevant and skills-oriented. Life skills focus on delivering specific skill outcomes and related behaviours for real-life purposes, which includes developing and using capabilities involving the interplay of life skills, knowledge and values in social contexts. Communication skills benefit from being taught with regard to a given social context and situation, with learners practising and using the appropriate knowledge and values for specific acts of both verbal and non-verbal communication to get things done. Critical thinking, decision-making and negotiation skills are relevant in school and everyday life, and include important community issues. Negotiation and decision-making skills combine thinking and social skills, which children and youth need for better physical, social and mental health in order to resist peer pressure, especially related to health risks such as drugs, reproductive health and violence, as well as to effectively deal with workplace problems.
6. Conducive environment. To develop effectively, life skills learners need to be able to practice core life skills in different situations, and in safe, controlled environments before facing real-life situations. Hence, they must feel safe to express themselves and to experiment in the classroom, with the teachers, and among their peers.
7. Explicit teaching of the core life skills. Learning objectives related to the development of each core life skill are made explicit, i.e., both communicated to learners as well as translated into clear learning objectives. This is true for all 12 core life skills, yet explicit teaching requires ad-hoc approaches for some of the life skills.
8. Curriculum-based. Life skills education must be structured in a curriculum that is logically sequenced. For example, since creativity skills are linked to the ability to connect with others, they can be integrated into classroom activities in all core subjects of the curriculum. Further, critical thinking can be taught by being integrated in an existing subject matter in the curriculum or taught separately. In the specific case of curriculum integration, both critical thinking and decision-making can be developed and practised in all subject disciplines. Self-management, on the other hand, requires a twin track approach to teaching and learning. There is a need to teach self-management skills separately, possibly around study skills in a school context, while self-management also needs to be integrated in existing curricula in all subject areas.
9. Active learning-based. This encompasses both the use of cooperative learning methods and authentic tasks. For example, cooperative learning and structured group work can support communication skills development. Active, student-engaging, problem-focused, non-hierarchical teaching styles are helpful in developing creativity.
10. Deliberate practice is required, which includes clearly defined ‘stretch’ goals, full concentration and effort, immediate and informative feedback, and repetition with reflection and refinement. Deliberate practice is particularly needed to develop a range of problemsolving skills, as well as to develop critical thinking skills (Van Gelder, 2005). This requires that critical thinking is an explicit part of the curriculum with indepth instruction. Learners must also be taught to transfer critical thinking to a variety of situations by providing them with opportunities to apply the skills in diverse contexts. This is usually in the context of specific subject matter.
11. Learners’ responsibilities. Learners should be able to take on some of the responsibility for their own learning and take personal action to practice the core life skills and to transfer them into real-life situations. This entails, however, that support and guidance are provided, if needed, by teachers and other trained persons. Creativity skills require allowing learners to take responsibility for their own learning (Ferrari et al., 2009). The same holds true for problem-solving skills and conflict resolution by learning to discuss alternatives, and focusing on thinking as a vital element of the curriculum thus developing selfmanagement skills. Further, participation skills require from each learner the responsible learning of the procedures, methods and conventions for group participation, such as setting ground rules and abiding by them. Teaching resilience also encompasses providing opportunities for individual, learner-owned practice. Once the learners have been given both structure and guidance, it is important for them to be able to identify and face their own challenges, find their own solutions, and see the results for themselves. In this context, the teacher needs to step back and allow learners to develop responsibility for their own resilience skills development. Teaching self-management includes enabling learners to pay attention to their own behaviour by developing self-monitoring skills. They are helped to use appropriate play and social interaction skills, participate actively in classroom routines and engage in instructional activities. It is important for the teacher to assess the child’s current level of self-management skills by determining if the child can complete target behaviours.
12. Teachers’ and learners’ self-awareness. In order to respond to learners’ needs, as well as to monitor life skills and citizenship education sessions, teachers need to be aware of how much their students talk with each other, work in groups, or share what they have done with the rest of the class. This is of particular relevance with regard to communication skills, as teachers need to be aware of their own use of language to instruct, question and reply, acknowledging that the way in which teachers talk to children can influence understanding and motivation to learn. Furthermore, the teaching of empathy, respect for diversity and participation skills helps learners to be aware of their feelings and thoughts about their ability to understand and share in the feelings of others. With meta-cognitive awareness, learners become more effective at understanding others’ perspectives throughout their lives, while being respectful of diversity and more effective in participatory activities.
13. Psychosocial support. When introducing life skills and citizenship education, it is recommended to have access to the skills of a professional who can provide psychosocial support in addition to the services of the teacher in order to cater to psychosocial needs of all children. Further details on the approaches related to psychosocial support are provided in the section addressing child protection as a channel of delivery for life skills.
14. Continuous assessment. Learner progress in each core life skill needs to be monitored, regularly, assessed and reported to parents so that they are aware of their children’s progress. Assessment activities can be a wide array of assignments or projects, during or at the end of the term. Creativity, for instance, should be incorporated into curriculum-based assessment procedures and portfolios. Performance-based assessments are considered to be a valid measure of critical thinking, but there are issues of reliability. Critical thinking is often best assessed in the context of real-world scenarios and simulations. Further, available empirical evidence suggests that open-ended measures better capture critical thinking skills than multiple-choice measures (Ku, 2009). Different assessment methods are needed to allow learners to construct their own answers. With multiple-choice exercises, follow-up questions can be given to probe the underlying reasoning for the choices made. For critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, and negotiations skills, assessment tasks should reflect authentic problems and performances wherever possible, noting that this is more suitable for older learners. Learning self-control also requires the checking of progress and setting of clear goals (Lucas and Hanson, 2015) and entails that learners learn to self-assess.
15. Selected tools and activities. The 12 core life skills can be taught by using various types of activities that can be adapted and adjusted with regard to the individual life skill(s) targeted during a session.
16. Modelling. Learners, especially young children, learn to identify and internalize life skills and behaviours best if they can both observe and experience them directly. Learners learn from a teacher’s character and behaviours as much as they do from instruction. Teachers should be role models for all core life skills for learners in their classroom, as well as for the community, as modelling helps to develop and practice higher-order thinking skills.
17. Use of illustrative stories. Oral communication skills such as storytelling skills and the use of vocabulary have been shown to be strong predictors of academic success (Feinstein and Duckworth, 2005). With younger learners, stories can provide situations for examining the decision-making of the characters involved and considering whether they made suitable decisions in the light of the information available and the risks. Moreover, a teacher can use stories to teach different perspective, as well as illustrate a point of view with an example from his or her own life in which an argument takes place with somebody simply because they had a different point of view. Stories develop the learners’ ability to understand and sympathize with others’ experiences.
18. Collaborative group tasks. Most of the 12 core life skills are best practiced in the framework of collaborative group tasks, with an emphasis on small group work, with the large group format being preferred for interactions with the teacher/ facilitator. As learners work together on specific tasks or challenges, they experience a controlled group moulding that brings them together. Shared success or failure gives them a collaborative experience that requires them to exercise respect with their peers, thus developing team work skills, particularly with older learners, and practising all other core skills. Cooperative learning and structured group work support communication skills development, and small-group work and peer learning are conducive to dialogue and discussion.
19. Use of new technology. New technologies can assist and enable innovative teaching that, in the 21st century context, promotes creative learning in the practices of teaching for creativity and help to apply innovation to teaching (Ferrari et al., 2009). Hence, children can be encouraged to prepare and give oral presentations to the class and to varied audiences in the community by using technology and new media to communicate innovatively and effectively.
20. Step-structured models. Models have been developed specifically for problem-solving, decision-making and negotiation. Teachers can use these models in the classroom to introduce 12 core life skills to the learners and practice skills in a systematic and structured way. To teach problem-solving and decision-making, a six-step approach can be used. The class can select a common issue to experiment and learners are taught how to: (i) identify the problem, (ii) analyse the problem, (iii) generate potential solutions, (iv) select and plan the solution, (v) implement the solution, and (vi) evaluate the solution (Schein, 2010). This helps learners to understand the logic and the thinking skills involved in a problem-solving process. Teaching and learning negotiation skills involve interactive activities, including structured approaches to teaching negotiation, e.g., the seven-step method, of which there are numerous variants. The McKinsey approach, among others, follows a logical sequence: (i) define the problem, (ii) structure the problem, (iii) prioritize issues, (iv) develop issue analysis and work plan, (v) conduct analyses, (vi) synthesize findings, and (vii) develop recommendations.9 This approach is more suitable for post-basic education learners or those already at work.
Life skills involve the development of a balanced combination of cognitive, personal and emotional or self-management skills, as well as social and interpersonal skills covering the gamut of psychosocial skills. All core life skills equally matter
2. Age-appropriate. Teaching and learning needs to be adapted to different age groups, depending on their needs, level of development and capabilities. This means that the methods and the activities used to teach the 12 core life skills will be different for younger children early education, children in basiceducation, adolescents and youth in secondary education or TVET, and youth and adults in tertiary or continuing education, while continuously building on the earlier stages throughout schooling and life.
3. Gender-responsive. Life skills education involves the practice of active and engaged strategies to issues pertaining to gender equality. Specifically, life skills education actively promotes gender equality by addressing gender stereotypes and gender discrimination in teaching and learning at all levels, while showing all learners that the 12 core life skills are equally important to all, and that none is gendered. For example, all learners need to build their cooperation skills and their sense of empathy against the old stereotype that these would be ‘feminine’ traits
4. Needs based and learner-centred. Aiming to develop independent learners who can drive their own learning processes and outcomes, life skills education is based on the assessed needs of each learner individually, which demands a personalized approach with attention to the individual differences, strengths, and weaknesses, especially of learners’ communication skills and self-management skills
5. Relevant and skills-oriented. Life skills focus on delivering specific skill outcomes and related behaviours for real-life purposes, which includes developing and using capabilities involving the interplay of life skills, knowledge and values in social contexts. Communication skills benefit from being taught with regard to a given social context and situation, with learners practising and using the appropriate knowledge and values for specific acts of both verbal and non-verbal communication to get things done. Critical thinking, decision-making and negotiation skills are relevant in school and everyday life, and include important community issues. Negotiation and decision-making skills combine thinking and social skills, which children and youth need for better physical, social and mental health in order to resist peer pressure, especially related to health risks such as drugs, reproductive health and violence, as well as to effectively deal with workplace problems.
6. Conducive environment. To develop effectively, life skills learners need to be able to practice core life skills in different situations, and in safe, controlled environments before facing real-life situations. Hence, they must feel safe to express themselves and to experiment in the classroom, with the teachers, and among their peers.
7. Explicit teaching of the core life skills. Learning objectives related to the development of each core life skill are made explicit, i.e., both communicated to learners as well as translated into clear learning objectives. This is true for all 12 core life skills, yet explicit teaching requires ad-hoc approaches for some of the life skills.
8. Curriculum-based. Life skills education must be structured in a curriculum that is logically sequenced. For example, since creativity skills are linked to the ability to connect with others, they can be integrated into classroom activities in all core subjects of the curriculum. Further, critical thinking can be taught by being integrated in an existing subject matter in the curriculum or taught separately. In the specific case of curriculum integration, both critical thinking and decision-making can be developed and practised in all subject disciplines. Self-management, on the other hand, requires a twin track approach to teaching and learning. There is a need to teach self-management skills separately, possibly around study skills in a school context, while self-management also needs to be integrated in existing curricula in all subject areas.
9. Active learning-based. This encompasses both the use of cooperative learning methods and authentic tasks. For example, cooperative learning and structured group work can support communication skills development. Active, student-engaging, problem-focused, non-hierarchical teaching styles are helpful in developing creativity.
10. Deliberate practice is required, which includes clearly defined ‘stretch’ goals, full concentration and effort, immediate and informative feedback, and repetition with reflection and refinement. Deliberate practice is particularly needed to develop a range of problemsolving skills, as well as to develop critical thinking skills (Van Gelder, 2005). This requires that critical thinking is an explicit part of the curriculum with indepth instruction. Learners must also be taught to transfer critical thinking to a variety of situations by providing them with opportunities to apply the skills in diverse contexts. This is usually in the context of specific subject matter.
11. Learners’ responsibilities. Learners should be able to take on some of the responsibility for their own learning and take personal action to practice the core life skills and to transfer them into real-life situations. This entails, however, that support and guidance are provided, if needed, by teachers and other trained persons. Creativity skills require allowing learners to take responsibility for their own learning (Ferrari et al., 2009). The same holds true for problem-solving skills and conflict resolution by learning to discuss alternatives, and focusing on thinking as a vital element of the curriculum thus developing selfmanagement skills. Further, participation skills require from each learner the responsible learning of the procedures, methods and conventions for group participation, such as setting ground rules and abiding by them. Teaching resilience also encompasses providing opportunities for individual, learner-owned practice. Once the learners have been given both structure and guidance, it is important for them to be able to identify and face their own challenges, find their own solutions, and see the results for themselves. In this context, the teacher needs to step back and allow learners to develop responsibility for their own resilience skills development. Teaching self-management includes enabling learners to pay attention to their own behaviour by developing self-monitoring skills. They are helped to use appropriate play and social interaction skills, participate actively in classroom routines and engage in instructional activities. It is important for the teacher to assess the child’s current level of self-management skills by determining if the child can complete target behaviours.
12. Teachers’ and learners’ self-awareness. In order to respond to learners’ needs, as well as to monitor life skills and citizenship education sessions, teachers need to be aware of how much their students talk with each other, work in groups, or share what they have done with the rest of the class. This is of particular relevance with regard to communication skills, as teachers need to be aware of their own use of language to instruct, question and reply, acknowledging that the way in which teachers talk to children can influence understanding and motivation to learn. Furthermore, the teaching of empathy, respect for diversity and participation skills helps learners to be aware of their feelings and thoughts about their ability to understand and share in the feelings of others. With meta-cognitive awareness, learners become more effective at understanding others’ perspectives throughout their lives, while being respectful of diversity and more effective in participatory activities.
13. Psychosocial support. When introducing life skills and citizenship education, it is recommended to have access to the skills of a professional who can provide psychosocial support in addition to the services of the teacher in order to cater to psychosocial needs of all children. Further details on the approaches related to psychosocial support are provided in the section addressing child protection as a channel of delivery for life skills.
14. Continuous assessment. Learner progress in each core life skill needs to be monitored, regularly, assessed and reported to parents so that they are aware of their children’s progress. Assessment activities can be a wide array of assignments or projects, during or at the end of the term. Creativity, for instance, should be incorporated into curriculum-based assessment procedures and portfolios. Performance-based assessments are considered to be a valid measure of critical thinking, but there are issues of reliability. Critical thinking is often best assessed in the context of real-world scenarios and simulations. Further, available empirical evidence suggests that open-ended measures better capture critical thinking skills than multiple-choice measures (Ku, 2009). Different assessment methods are needed to allow learners to construct their own answers. With multiple-choice exercises, follow-up questions can be given to probe the underlying reasoning for the choices made. For critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, and negotiations skills, assessment tasks should reflect authentic problems and performances wherever possible, noting that this is more suitable for older learners. Learning self-control also requires the checking of progress and setting of clear goals (Lucas and Hanson, 2015) and entails that learners learn to self-assess.
15. Selected tools and activities. The 12 core life skills can be taught by using various types of activities that can be adapted and adjusted with regard to the individual life skill(s) targeted during a session.
16. Modelling. Learners, especially young children, learn to identify and internalize life skills and behaviours best if they can both observe and experience them directly. Learners learn from a teacher’s character and behaviours as much as they do from instruction. Teachers should be role models for all core life skills for learners in their classroom, as well as for the community, as modelling helps to develop and practice higher-order thinking skills.
17. Use of illustrative stories. Oral communication skills such as storytelling skills and the use of vocabulary have been shown to be strong predictors of academic success (Feinstein and Duckworth, 2005). With younger learners, stories can provide situations for examining the decision-making of the characters involved and considering whether they made suitable decisions in the light of the information available and the risks. Moreover, a teacher can use stories to teach different perspective, as well as illustrate a point of view with an example from his or her own life in which an argument takes place with somebody simply because they had a different point of view. Stories develop the learners’ ability to understand and sympathize with others’ experiences.
18. Collaborative group tasks. Most of the 12 core life skills are best practiced in the framework of collaborative group tasks, with an emphasis on small group work, with the large group format being preferred for interactions with the teacher/ facilitator. As learners work together on specific tasks or challenges, they experience a controlled group moulding that brings them together. Shared success or failure gives them a collaborative experience that requires them to exercise respect with their peers, thus developing team work skills, particularly with older learners, and practising all other core skills. Cooperative learning and structured group work support communication skills development, and small-group work and peer learning are conducive to dialogue and discussion.
19. Use of new technology. New technologies can assist and enable innovative teaching that, in the 21st century context, promotes creative learning in the practices of teaching for creativity and help to apply innovation to teaching (Ferrari et al., 2009). Hence, children can be encouraged to prepare and give oral presentations to the class and to varied audiences in the community by using technology and new media to communicate innovatively and effectively.
20. Step-structured models. Models have been developed specifically for problem-solving, decision-making and negotiation. Teachers can use these models in the classroom to introduce 12 core life skills to the learners and practice skills in a systematic and structured way. To teach problem-solving and decision-making, a six-step approach can be used. The class can select a common issue to experiment and learners are taught how to: (i) identify the problem, (ii) analyse the problem, (iii) generate potential solutions, (iv) select and plan the solution, (v) implement the solution, and (vi) evaluate the solution (Schein, 2010). This helps learners to understand the logic and the thinking skills involved in a problem-solving process. Teaching and learning negotiation skills involve interactive activities, including structured approaches to teaching negotiation, e.g., the seven-step method, of which there are numerous variants. The McKinsey approach, among others, follows a logical sequence: (i) define the problem, (ii) structure the problem, (iii) prioritize issues, (iv) develop issue analysis and work plan, (v) conduct analyses, (vi) synthesize findings, and (vii) develop recommendations.9 This approach is more suitable for post-basic education learners or those already at work.
