Lecture Notes (5).pptx

EDC 2301 LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION WEEK 3 - CATEGORIES AND TYPES OF LIFE SKILLS What Are Life Skills? THE VALUE OF LIFE SKILLS  The Life Skills Approach: Putting it all Together Various youth and health organisations and adolescent researchers have...

EDC 2301 LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION WEEK 3 - CATEGORIES AND TYPES OF LIFE SKILLS What Are Life Skills? THE VALUE OF LIFE SKILLS  The Life Skills Approach: Putting it all Together Various youth and health organisations and adolescent researchers have defined and categorised the key skills in different ways. CATEGORIES OF LIFE SKILLS Categorisations depend on the desired outcome, the disciplinary perspective of the programme developer or researcher and the dominant theories underlying programme design.  EXAMPLES OF LIFE SKILLS CATEGORIES The following are examples of life skills categories that focus on social competencies, violence prevention, and general health promotion: CATEGORIES OF LIFE SKILLS There are THREE main categories of life skills: Social Skills Cognitive Skills Emotional Coping Skills  SOCIAL SKILLS Communication skills Negotiation/Refusal skills Assertiveness skills - Interpersonal skills (for developing healthy relationships) Cooperation skills Empathy and perspective taking  COGNITIVE SKILLS Decision making/Problem solving skills Understanding the consequences of actions Determining alternative solutions to problems  COGNITIVE SKILLS CONT’D Critical thinking skills Analyzing peer and media influences Analyzing one’s perceptions of social norms and beliefs Self evaluation and values clarification  EMOTIONAL SKILLS Managing stress Managing feelings, including anger Skills for increasing internal locus of control (self management, self- monitoring)  EXAMPLES OF LIFE SKILLS CATEGORIES CONT’D Skills related to social knowledge, perception, and emotional encoding and decoding, perspective taking, interpersonal reasoning, and interpersonal problem-solving (Bierman and Montimy, 1993). WHAT IS EMOTIONAL ENCODING AND DECODING? Emotional encoding is the idea that material that is relevant to our emotional state receives special attention during memorization, which will make it easier to remember later.  DECODING EMOTIONS Decoding Emotions: This is where we simply act on our emotions, without knowing the underlying reason for our actions. To decode your emotions means to slow down the entire emotion/thought/act process.  EXAMPLES OF LIFE SKILLS CATEGORIES CONT’D Cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self- control (Gresham and Elliott, 1989)  EXAMPLES OF LIFE SKILLS CATEGORIES CONT’D Social entry skills, conversational skills, conflict-resolution and problem-solving skills, and anger- control skills (Guevremont et al, 1990)  EXAMPES OF LIFE SKILLS CATEGORIES CONT’D Decision making/problem solving, creative thinking/critical thinking, communication /interpersonal relationships, self- awareness/empathy, and coping with emotions/stress (WHO, 1993).  HOW THE THREE SKILLS WORK? These three skill categories are not employed separately, but rather complement and reinforce each other. For example, a programme aimed at promoting social competence in children would teach ways to communicate feelings (a social skill), to analyze different ways of handling social situations (a cognitive skill), and to manage their reactions to conflict USING LIFE SKILLS TO PROMOTE POSITIVE HEALTH BEHAVIOURS In the area of substance abuse, prevention programmes have focused on assertiveness training and communication strategies for refusal and negotiation, combined with problem solving and decision-making skills and relaxation techniques USING LIFE SKILLS TO PROMOTE POSITIVE HEALTH BEHAVIOURS In the area of preventing high-risk sexual behaviors, interventions have combined knowledge-based education with social skills training, including teaching negotiation skills and refusal skills, to produce changes in contraceptive behavior of adolescents (Nangle and Hansen, 1993, pg. 115). USING LIFE SKILLS TO PROMOTE POSITIVE HEALTH BEHAVIOURS Research found that problems associated with adolescent sexual activity (low contraception use, STDs, and teenage pregnancy) were related to deficits in communication skills, assertion skills and problem-solving skills (ibid, p. 127). USING LIFE SKILLS TO PROMOTE POSITIVE HEALTH BEHAVIOURS Many conflict resolution and violence prevention programmes are geared towards developing social skills and understanding about alternatives to violence. USING LIFE SKILLS TO PROMOTE POSITIVE HEALTH BEHAVIOURS One project, Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) targets “problem-solving and communication skills used in deescalating conflict,” including: active listening, expression of feelings, perspective taking, negotiation, and encountering bias.” (Sadowski, 1998). USING LIFE SKILLS TO PROMOTE POSITIVE HEALTH BEHAVIOURS “Social skills training focus(es) on increasing positive social skills with which to handle inevitable social disagreement and conflict… As (they) employ these skills, anger is reduced through improved communication, and the consequences of uncontrolled anger are therefore reduced.”  TRANSLATING SKILLS INTO ACTION Social, cognitive and emotional coping skills are essential components for healthy development in childhood and adolescence. They are needed for making a successful transition from childhood to adulthood. Life skills programmes can specifically address the needs of children growing up in disadvantaged environments that lack opportunities to develop these skills.  TRANSLATING SKILLS INTO ACTION CONT’D Social competence and problem-solving skills are among the characteristics that define a resilient child. Knowing how to manage emotions and interpersonal relationships is as important to success in life as intellect  TRANSLATING SKILLS INTO ACTION CONT’D Health promotion and prevention programmes focusing only on transferal of information are less effective than programmes incorporating skills development. The social, cognitive and emotional coping skills targeted by life skills programmes are shown to be  TRANSLATING SKILLS INTO ACTION CONT’D Life skills have an impact on multiple adolescent health and development needs. A life skills approach helps schools address multiple demands for prevention education curricula by presenting a comprehensive, unified  TRANSLATING SKILLS INTO ACTION CONT’D Communication skills, decision-making skills, critical thinking skills, and negotiation skills needed for healthy development are also skills that are valued by employees in the workplace. Life skills programmes promote positive social norms that can impact the greater environment of adolescent health services,  POINTS TO NOTE While the local context determines the specific skills and content focus, the three key elements of life skills programmes are as follows: skills development; information/content addressing relevant social and developmental tasks; and interactive methods of teaching and learning.  POINTS TO NOTE AND QUESTION In addition, programme planners need to think through the following aspects of the programme:  who will provide the programme, and in what setting?  Questions to Ponder Do you intentionally teach these life skills to your learners? Or is it done on an ad hoc basis? What skills do you need to deliver this programme successfully? How will the students benefit if they are exposed to life skills education? Thank you for Listening