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Importance of Life Skills in Education: What exactly are life skills, and why are they important in education? If you are wondering about this, we have got the answer! Education is intended to improve the quality of life, not just your chances of getting a job. In this blog, we will discuss the essential life skills every person should have and even those recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Table of Contents
What are Life Skills?
Life skills education refers to the fundamental abilities that assist adolescents in developing the skills required to deal with life’s realities. Life skills enable people to learn new things, gain control over their behaviour, and make informed decisions.
Life skills can be defined in a variety of ways, one of which is as follows:
To interact with oneself and other people in and around one’s environment and to make a decision that requires high ability, one needs a certain set of social traits and personal qualities. One also needs these qualities to solve different kinds of problems. Additionally, life skills are the abilities needed to approach any situation positively in order to achieve the desired result. Adapting to society, promoting positivity in one’s own behaviour, and adopting a positive outlook on work are all ways to develop life skills.
The World Health Organisation has suggested a list of life skills. They are as follows:
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Thinking outside the box
- Thinking critically
- Resolving issues
- Making a decision
- Managing Stress Managing Emotions
- A good interpersonal relationship
- Communication that works
Also Read: Learning Skills For Students & Working Professionals
The list of these skills makes it clear that they are global in scope and include both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. These skills are frequently divided into three major categories:
- Thinking skills include the capacity to come up with original ideas or to consider various solutions to a problem.
- Social Skills include understanding how to establish solid bonds with people, communicate clearly, and engage in fruitful social interactions.
- Emotional skills include knowing who you are, controlling your emotions, and feeling at ease in your own skin.
Why Teaching Life Skills in School Is Critical?
There are a lot of reasons as to why teaching life skills in school is critical. Some of the reason are mentioned below:-
Improves Self Awareness and Mental Health
Learning life skills help a student understand their true identity, who they are, and what they want from life. It makes them self-aware. They also become aware of the struggles of people around them.
Now that they become self-aware, the are better equipped to handle what they are going through and understand when they need help. This directly has an impact on students’ mental health. It improves quite a bit.
Promotes Effective Decision-Making
Everyday in our lives, we come across situations where effective decision making is essential. Learning life skills helps us in effective decision making. It makes our much more confident and in taking well informed decisions which can potentially be life changing
Building Healthy Relationships
One of the life skills is effective communication. And by learning that, students are able to speak clearly and much more assertively while still maintaining respect for other people’s opinions. What’s more is that the even learn good listening skills and are able to provide appropriate responses to them.
Learning life skills will also teach students to show empathy and give them a clear distinction between listening and hearing.This will help them avoid overreacting, misinterpretation, and miscommunication. Hence, they will be able to build a much more healthy relation with their family and friends along with building healthy workplace connections and even in the society as well.
What is Life Skill Education?
One of these skill types is life skills education. Through this, the kid learns how to live his life to the fullest and how to plan his daily activities in a methodical way. It is a style of education where the child is given the tools to become effective so that he can make decisions based on his intelligence and ability in challenging circumstances.
Must Read: Importance of Soft Skills for Career Growth
Common Life Skills For Everyone
Developing life skills is important, and each life skill has a specific application in life. Life skills include the following:
General skills
- Decision-making abilities: Everyone encounters situations from time to time where they must make choices that could have a significant impact on their lives. A person can learn how to make the right decision and then impart it to others by developing decision-making skills. They can make decisions in any situation that calls for a quick, firm decision.
- Self-awareness skills- Developing the Self-awareness skill allows one to be aware of his or her actions. They will be aware of their own performance and behaviours, allowing them to deal with any situation. A person will discover his or her feelings for things or for other people. It also helps them make sound decisions.
- Communication – You cannot express and make others understand your thoughts without effective communication, which can be achieved by honing your communication skills. It enables them to make their points clearly and convincingly to the audience. It also helps people gain confidence, and having effective communication skills is beneficial in a professional setting.
Other Important Skills
- The skill of having a negative tendency towards wrongdoing.
- Positive behaviour.
- Critical thinking.
- Society’s skills towards each other.
High-level skills
The following skills are covered under High-Level Skills.
- Social support.
- Standard of living in good health.
- Excellent warmth and high mental level.
- Way of thinking.
- Mental and physical relaxation
- Goal Setting and Problem Solving
Life skills instruct us on how to live a happy, positive life and how to manage our time effectively. Life skills are therefore crucial in our daily lives. It sharpens the capacity for situational adaptation and societal success in all spheres.
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FAQs
1) What are 10 life skills?
Ten life skills are;-
- Critical thinking
- Decision Making
- Inter-personal relationship skills
- Problem solving
- Effective communication skills
- Creative thinking
- Self-awareness building skills
- Empathy
- Coping with stress
- Coping with emotions
2) What are the 4 C’s of life skills?
The 4 Cs of life skills are mentioned below:
- Communications
- Collaboration
- Critical thinking
- Creative Thinking
3) What are types of life skills?
The different types of life skills are mentioned below:-
- Critical thinking
- Decision Making
- Inter-personal relationship skills
- Problem solving
- Effective communication skills
- Creative thinking
- Self-awareness building skills
- Empathy
- Coping with stress
- Coping with emotions
That’s all about Life Skills! If you have any questions related to universities, careers, or courses to study abroad, let Leverage Edu be your helping hand.