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{{Short description|Abilities for adaptive and positive behavior}}
'''Life skills''' are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/63552 |title=Life Skills Education for Children and Adolescents in Schools |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |hdl=10665/63552 |access-date=29 December 2020}}</ref> This concept is also termed as [[psychosocial]] competency.<ref>Best Thomas, A study on stress and its correlatives with family environment. Retrieved from [[ResearchGate]].</ref> The subject varies greatly depending on [[Norm (social)|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.

==Enumeration and categorization==

The [[UNICEF]] Evaluation Office suggests that "there is no definitive list" of psychosocial skills;<ref name="UNICEF 2012">
{{cite web
| url = https://evaluationreports.unicef.org/GetDocument?fileID=242
| title = Global evaluation of life skills education programmes
| date = 17 November 2016
| website = unicef.org
| publisher = United Nations Children's Fund
| location = New York
| pages = 8–9
| type = Evaluation Report
| access-date = 29 December 2020
}}
</ref>
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).<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513044119/https://casel.org/why-it-matters/what-is-sel/skills-competencies|url=https://casel.org/why-it-matters/what-is-sel/skills-competencies|title=Skills & Competencies - CASEL|work=CASEL |archive-date=13 May 2011|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> Life skills are a product of synthesis: many skills are developed simultaneously through practice, like [[humor]], which allows a person to feel in [[Locus of control|control]] of a situation and make it more manageable in perspective. It allows the person to release fears, anger, and stress & achieve a qualitative life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/tc/humor-therapy-topic-overview|title=Do Hasya Yoga|work=WebMD }}</ref>

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.<ref name="unicef">{{cite web|url=http://www.unicef.org/search/search.php?q=Life-skills&type=Main|title=UNICEF – Search Results|publisher=unicef.org|access-date=2015-10-20}}</ref>

Life skills can vary from [[financial literacy]],<ref name="USA Funds Life Skills">[http://content.usafunds.org/financial_aid/products/ourproducts/pages/lifeskills.aspx USA Funds Life Skills] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317045654/http://content.usafunds.org/financial_aid/products/ourproducts/Pages/lifeskills.aspx |date=2011-03-17 }}</ref> through [[Substance abuse prevention|substance-abuse prevention]], to therapeutic techniques to deal with disabilities such as [[autism]].

===Core skills===

The [[World Health Organization]] in 1999 identified the following core cross-cultural areas of life skills:<ref name="WHO 1999">{{Cite web |url=https://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/30.pdf |title=Partners in Life Skills Education : Conclusions from a United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting |date=1999 |website=[[World Health Organization]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920102852/https://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/30.pdf |access-date=2018-07-15|archive-date=2018-09-20 }}</ref>
{{sfn
|WHO|1993|p=[https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/63552/WHO_MNH_PSF_93.7A_Rev.2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#page=18 14]:
decision-making - problem-solving
creative thinking - critical thinking
communication - interpersonal relationships
self-awareness - empathy
coping with - emotions and stressors
}}

* [[decision-making]] and [[problem-solving]];
* [[creative thinking]] (''see also:'' [[lateral thinking]]) and [[critical thinking]];
* [[communication]] and [[interpersonal skills]];
* [[self-awareness]] and [[empathy]];
* [[assertiveness]] and [[equanimity]]; and
* [[Psychological resilience|resilience]] and [[Coping (psychology)|coping]] with emotions and coping with [[Psychological stress|stress]].

UNICEF listed similar skills and related categories in its 2012 report.<ref name="UNICEF 2012"/>

Life skills curricula designed for [[K–12 (education)|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).<ref name="PSESD">{{cite web|url=http://www.psesd.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=297&Itemid=448 |title=Puget Sound ESD – excellence & equity in education | Pre-K-12 Life Skills Curriculum Guide |publisher=psesd.org|access-date=2015-10-20}}</ref>

There are various courses being run based on WHO's list supported by UNFPA. In Madhya Pradesh, India, the programme is being run with Government to teach these through Government Schools.<ref> [https://lifeskillsumang.in/ Life Skills Education (LSE)]</ref>

== Skills for work and life ==
Skills for work and life, known as [[TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training)|technical and vocational education and training (TVET)]] is comprising education, training and skills development relating to a wide range of occupational fields, production, services and livelihoods. TVET, as part of [[lifelong learning]], can take place at [[Secondary school|secondary]], post-secondary and [[tertiary level]]s, and includes work-based learning and continuing training and [[professional development]] which may lead to qualifications. TVET also includes a wide range of skills development opportunities attuned to national and local contexts. Learning to learn and the development of [[literacy]] and numeracy skills, transversal skills and citizenship skills are integral components of TVET.<ref>{{Cite book|last=UNESCO|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265943|title=Pathways of progression: linking technical and vocational education and training with post-secondary education|publisher=UNESCO|year=2018|isbn=978-92-3-100290-8}}</ref>

==Parenting: a venue of life skills nourishment==
Life skills are often taught in the domain of [[Parenting#Skills and Behaviors|parenting]], either indirectly through the observation and experience of the child, or directly with the purpose of teaching a specific skill. Parenting itself can be considered as a set of life skills which can be taught or comes natural to a person.<ref>{{Cite book | doi=10.4135/9781412958479.n53|chapter = Behavioral parent training|title = Encyclopedia of Human Relationships|year = 2009|last1 = Prinz|first1 = Ron| isbn=9781412958462}}</ref> Educating a person in skills for dealing with [[pregnancy]] and parenting can also coincide with additional life skills development for the child and enable the parents to guide their children in adulthood.

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 students#At-risk students|at-risk children]] in Indonesia to help them avoid and to recover from worst forms of [[child abuse]].<ref name="ILO">[http://www.ilo.org/jakarta/whatwedo/eventsandmeetings/lang--en/WCMS_151750/index.htm Improving Vocational and Life Skills of Ex-Child Labourers and at Risk Children Aged 15 to 17 Years] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926070201/http://www.ilo.org/jakarta/whatwedo/eventsandmeetings/lang--en/WCMS_151750/index.htm |date=2011-09-26 }}</ref>

==Models: behavior prevention vs. positive development==

While certain life skills programs focus on teaching the prevention of certain behaviors, they can be relatively ineffective. Based upon their research, the Family and Youth Services Bureau,<ref name="hhs">{{cite web|url=http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fysb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020802232527/http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fysb/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 2, 2002|title=Home | Family and Youth Services Bureau|publisher=acf.hhs.gov|access-date=2015-10-20}}</ref> a division of the [[U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]] advocates the theory of [[positive youth development]] (PYD) as a replacement for the less effective prevention programs. PYD focuses on the strengths of an individual as opposed to the older decrepit models which tend to focus on the "potential" weaknesses that have yet to be shown. "..life skills education, have found to be an effective psychosocial intervention strategy for promoting positive social, and mental health of adolescents which plays an important role in all aspects such as strengthening coping strategies and developing self-confidence and emotional intelligence..."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Prajapati |first=Ravindra |date=2017 |title=Significance of Life Skills Education |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1126842.pdf |journal=Contemporary Issues in Education Research |volume=10 |pages=4 |via=The Clute Institute}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Columns-list|colwidth=18em|
* [[Attitude (psychology)|Attitude]]
* [[Emotional intelligence]]
* [[Emotional literacy]]
* [[Emotional self-regulation]]
* [[Gelotology]]
* [[Hope#Hope theory|Hope theory]]
* [[Impermanence]]
* [[Kindness]]
* [[Empathy]]
* [[Life skills-based education]]
* [[Moral development]]
* [[People skills]]
* [[Personal boundaries]]
* [[Positive psychology]]
* [[Marc Brackett#RULER|RULER]]
* [[Social intelligence]]
* [[Social skills]]
* [[Soft skills]]
* [[Study skills]]
* [[Theory of multiple intelligences]]
* [[Vocational skills]]
}}

== Sources ==
{{Free-content attribution
| title = Pathways of progression: linking technical and vocational education and training with post-secondary education
| author = UNESCO
| publisher = UNESCO
| page numbers =
| source = UNESCO
| documentURL = https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265943
| license statement URL =
| license = CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
}}

== Further reading ==
{{commonscat}}
{{Wikiversity}}
* [https://elguide.cc People Skills & Self-Management (free online guide)], Alliances for Psychosocial Advancements in Living: Communication Connections (APAL-CC)
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=zPiVUHdeJ-gC Reaching Your Potential: Personal and Professional Development, 4th Edition]
* {{cite book|author=Andrew J. DuBrin|title=Human Relations for Career and Personal Success: Concepts, Applications, and Skills|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a7B5CwAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=Pearson Education|isbn=978-0-13-413171-9}}
* [http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED049353.pdf Life Skills: A Course in Applied Problem Solving.], Saskatchewan NewStart Inc., First Ave and River Street East, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{refbegin}}
{{cite q | Q114785254
| access-date = 2022-10-21
| ref = {{sfnref|WHO|1993}}
}}
{{refend}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Nonverbal communication}}

[[Category:Life skills| ]]

Life skills - Revision history

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