Reading Exercise 8

Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. This concept is also termed as psychosocial competency. The subject varies greatly depending on social norms and community expectations but skills that function for well-being and aid individuals to develop into active and productive members of their communities are considered as life skills.

In the Arab world, people lack life skills because of the collective nature of the family. The fatherly figures do all relevant tasks and take all decisions. This makes the young generation lack life skills as they are never put in important situations. Many Arab students lack all these skills because of the idea of teaching to the test and the disregard of the notion of preparing students for life. Parents also believe that life skills are common sense and once their children grow up and are put in relevant situation they will know what to do. 

The UNICEF Evaluation Office suggests that "there is no definitive list" of psychosocial skills; nevertheless UNICEF enumerates psychosocial and interpersonal skills that are generally well-being oriented, and essential alongside literacy and numeracy skills. Since it changes its meaning from culture to culture and life positions, it is considered a concept that is elastic in nature. But UNICEF acknowledges social and emotional life skills identified by Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).  Life skills are a product of synthesis: many skills are developed simultaneously through practice, like humor, which allows a person to feel in control of a situation and make it more manageable in perspective. It allows the person to release fears, anger, and stress and achieve a qualitative life.

For example, decision-making often involves critical thinking ("what are my options?") and values clarification ("what is important to me?"), ("How do I feel about this?"). Ultimately, the interplay between the skills is what produces powerful behavioral outcomes, especially where this approach is supported by other strategies.

The World Health Organization in 1999 identified the following core cross-cultural areas of life skills:

decision-making and problem-solving,

creative thinking  and critical thinking,

communication and interpersonal skills,

self-awareness and empathy,

assertiveness and equanimity; and

resilience and coping with emotions and coping with stress.

UNICEF listed similar skills and related categories in its 2012 report. In the US, life skills curricula designed for K-12 often emphasize communications and practical skills needed for successful independent living as well as for developmental-disabilities/special-education students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Many life skills programs are offered when traditional family structures and healthy relationships have broken down, whether due to parental lapses, divorce, psychological disorders or due to issues with the children (such as substance abuse or other risky behavior). For example, the International Labour Organization is teaching life skills to ex-child laborers and at-risk children in Indonesia to help them avoid and to recover from worst forms of child abuse. Such courses are not available in the Arab world. Even those Human Resource programs are considered "common sense" and many of those who enroll either drop out or give the feedback that it is "common sense".

References:

Andrew J. DuBrin (2016). Human Relations for Career and Personal Success: Concepts, Applications, and Skills. Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-13-413171-9.

 "Life Skills Education for Children and Adolescents in Schools" World Health Organization

 November 2018. 

 "Global evaluation of life skills education programmes" (PDF). www.unicef.org (Evaluation Report). New York: United Nations Children’s Fund. August 2012. p. 8-9. Retrieved 21 November 2018.

Reaching Your Potential: Personal and Professional Development, 4th Edition.

Questions for Discussion: 

" People in the Arab world lack life skills". |Do you agree with the statement? Explain.
Would you enroll in courses for life skills? Why?