Promote Learning and Life Skills for Young People and Adults
A) This goal places the emphasis on the learning needs of young people and adults in the context of lifelong learning. It calls for fair access to learning programs that are appropriate, and mentions life skills particularly.
B) Education is about giving people the opportunity to develop their potential, their personality and their strengths. This does not merely mean learning new knowledge, but also developing abilities to make the most of life. These are called life skills — including the inner capacities and the practical skills we need.
C) Many of the inner capacities — often known as psycho-social skills — cannot be taught as subjects. They are not the same as academic or technical learning. They must rather be modeled and promoted as part of learning, and in particular by teachers. These skills have to do with the way we behave — towards other people, towards ourselves, towards the challenges and problems of life. They include skills in communicating, in making decisions and solving problems, in negotiating and expressing ourselves, in thinking critically and understanding our feelings.
D) More practical life skills are the kinds of manual skills we need for the physical tasks we face. Some would include vocational skills under the heading of life skills — the ability to lay bricks, sew clothes, catch fish or repair a motorbike. These are skills by which people may earn their livelihood and which are often available to young people leaving school. In fact, very often young people learn psycho-social skills as they learn more practical skills. Learning vocational skills can be a strategy for acquiring both practical and psycho-social skills.
E) We need to increase our life skills at every stage of life, so learning them may be part of early childhood education, of primary and secondary education and of adult learning groups. Life skills can be put into the categories that the Jacques Delors report suggested; it spoke of four pillars of education, which correspond to certain kinds of life skills — Learning to know: thinking abilities (such as problem-solving, critical thinking, decision making, understanding consequences); Learning to be: personal abilities (such as managing stress and feelings, self-awareness, self-confidence); Learning to live together: social abilities (such as communication, negotiation, teamwork); Learning to do: manual skills (practicing know-how required for work and tasks).
F) In today’s world all these skills are necessary, in order to face rapid change in society. This means that it is important to know how to go on learning as we require new skills for life and work. In addition, we need to know how to cope with the flood of information and turn it in to useful knowledge. We also need to learn how to handle change in society and in our own lives.
G) Life skills are both concrete and abstract — practical skills can be learned directly, as a subject. For example, a learner can take a course in laying bricks and learn that skill. Other life skills, such as self-confidence, self-esteem, and skills for relating to others or thinking critically cannot be taught in such direct ways. They should be part of any learning process, where teachers or instructors are concerned that learners should not just learn about subjects, but learn how to cope with life and make the most of their potential.
H) So these life skills may be learnt when learning other things. For example: learning literacy may have a big impact on self-esteem, on critical thinking or on communication skills; Learning practical skills such as driving, healthcare or tailoring may increase self-confidence, teach problem-solving processes or help in understanding consequences.
I) Whether this is true depends on the way of teaching — what kinds of thinking, relationship building and communication the teacher or facilitator models themselves and promotes among the learners. It would require measuring the individual and collective progress in making the most of learning and of life, or assessing how far human potential is being realized, or estimating how well people cope with change. It is easier to measure the development of practical skills, for instance by counting the number of students who register for vocational skills courses. However, this still may not tell us how effectively these skills are being used.
J) The psycho-social skills cannot easily be measured by tests and scores, but become visible in behavior. Progress in this area has often been noted by teachers on reports which they make to the parents of their pupils. The teacher’s experience of life, of teaching and of what can be expected from education in the broadest sense serve as a standard by which the growth and development of individuals can be assessed to some extent. This kind of assessment is individual and may never appear in international tables and charts.
K) The current challenges relate to these difficulties: we need to recognize the importance of life skills both practical and psycho-social — as part of education which leads to the full development of human potential and to the development of society. The links between psycho-social skills and practical skills must be more clearly spelled out, so that educators can promote both together and find effective ways to do this. Since life skills are taught as part of a wide range of subjects, teachers need to have training in how to put them across and how to monitor learners’ growth in these areas. In designing curricula and syllabuses for academic subjects, there must be a balance between content teaching and attention to the accompanying life skills. A more conscious and deliberate effort to promote life skills will enable learners to become more active citizens in the life of society.
L) Governments should recognize and actively advocate for the transformational role of education in realizing human potential and in socio-economic development. Ensure that curricula and syllabuses address life skills and give learners the opportunity to make real-life applications of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Show how life skills of all kinds apply in the world of work, for example, negotiating and communication skills, as well as practical skills. Through initial and in-service teacher training, increase the use of active and participatory learning／teaching approaches. Examine and adapt the processes and content of education so that there is a balance between academic input and life skills development. Make sure that education inspectors look not only for academic progress through teaching and learning, but also progress in the communication, modeling and application of life skills. Advocate for the links between primary and (early) secondary education because learning life skills needs eight or nine years and recognize that the prospect of effective secondary education is an incentive to children, and their parents, to complete primary education successfully.
M) Funding agencies should support research exchange and debate nationally and regionally, on ways of strengthening life skills education. Support innovative (创新的) teacher training in order to combine life skills promotion into subjects across the curriculum and as a fundamental part of what school and education are about. Recognize the links between primary and secondary education in ensuring that children develop strong life skills. Support, therefore, the early years of secondary education as part of basic education.
N) As support to governments and in cooperation with other international agencies, UNESCO works to define life skills better and clarify what it means to teach and learn them. It also assists educational policy makers and teachers to develop and use a life skills approach to education. Advocates for the links between a life skills approach to education and broader society and human development.
