Life skills are cognitive, personal, interpersonal, and professional abilities that support effective decision-making, communication, problem-solving, and self-management. These skills contribute to promoting well-being and a productive life.
The local life skills curriculum is a form of education that focuses on both hard and soft skills, or 21st-century skills, such as self-reflection, critical thinking, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills, especially the 12 core skills. It also emphasizes students’ character development. Studying the local life skills subject helps students succeed in life by teaching them how to solve real-life problems they encounter or take advantage of simple career development opportunities available in their communities. Experiences from implementing the local life skills curriculum in schools include:
· Students change their behavior and develop self-confidence. They learn with joy and responsibility, and develop appreciation, satisfaction, skills, and values that are essential for daily life and the 21st-century job market.
· Teachers shift from rote teaching methods to inquiry-based and research-oriented approaches, working with real-life problem-based learning.
· Schools experience improvements in both the learning environment and students’ academic outcomes.
· Communities become more engaged because schools, teachers, and students demonstrate responsible, transparent, ethical, and moral leadership, helping build trust between schools and the community.