‘Life skills’ refer to the collection of abilities needed to adapt to and successfully navigate adult life. Such skills vary from person to person depending on factors such as circumstance and culture, as well as how each person applies these skills.
The World Health Organization lists six key groupings of life skills: communication and interpersonal skills, decision making and problem solving, creative thinking and critical thinking, self awareness and empathy, assertiveness and self-control, and resilience. Many feel that current schooling lacks practical learning, and that bringing life skills to the classroom would correct this.
A life skills class, or curriculum, could cover topics from citizenship to cooking, that many adults feel are key to their success in life. While the efficacy of life skills is clear and commonly accepted, significant questions about teaching them in schools continue.
Is the classroom the best place to improve children’s readiness for later life? Should parents take the lead? Will life skills education help or harm teaching and academic environments? Is it possible to meet the needs of all students?