Life skills (based) education www.unicef.org/lifeskills/index_4105.html

Definition “Life skills are psychosocial abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life”

Life Skills based Education • Generic life skills  Content-specific life skills • Cognitive, psychosocial and interpersonal skills

• Complex world: HIV/aids, health, emergencies, conflict, climate change, … • Quality education = life skills + literacy and numeracy skills GOAL: • critical thinking and problem solving skills • sense of personal worth • interact constructively and effectively • better improvement

What does LBSE cover? Disease prevention to health promotion Disaster Risk Reduction to environmental protection Conflict resolution to peace building Human rights violations to social cohesion

How does LSBE contribute to quality education? 1. By strenghthening educational processes 2. By enhancing quality of content 3. By achieving quality educational outcomes and quality learners 4. By contributing to a safe and childfriendly learning environment

UNICEF and LSBE • LSBE incorporated in Child-friendly schools • Key in developing more effective school health programmes => FRESH initiative www.freshschools.org • Focus areas: HIV prevention, care and support Health Human rights Violence prevention & peace building  Sustainable development    

Implementation models 1. Formal: carrier subject alone, separate subject, integration/infusion alone 2. Cross-over: school-linked 3. Non-formal: community/facility-linked 4. Technology/Media: educational messages/activities 5. Piggy back: within another programme 6. Involontary situations: within institutions 7. Emergency situations: within emergency setting

LSBE in practice – Southern Sudan Developed and tested  HIV/aids prevention  Health/Sanitation

=> Under development  Peace education  Environment

1. 2. 3. 4.

Environment Content Process Outcome

LSBE in Occupied Palestinian Territory • LSBE in the national curriculum in 40 pilot primary, secondary and vocational schools

• The strategies include: - Developing a national policy commitment to provide sustainable LSBE initiative for all children - Promoting collaboration among governmental and NGO in addition to UNRWA to support incorporation of LSBE in and out of schools - Supporting a long term process that ensures integration of LSBE into the Palestinian curriculum

LSBE in DRCongo Healthy schools programme - based on health indicators - school/child participation - LSBE as part of a set of activities - compulsory weekly lessons on life skills (hygiene/health) for students from primary and secondary schools - booklets - peer to peer education with “brigades”

LSBE in Namibia My future is my choice programme - compulsory weekly lessons on life skills for students from primary and secondary schools - Booklets address four main themes: relationships, growing up, life skills and health - role playing, peer to peer education, awareness clubs

Standards for effective LSE (1) => Theory- and evidence-based    

Evidence on effectiveness at all stages of planning Based on valid and recent learning theories Identification of risk and protective factors Participation of stakeolders including learners

=> Needs- and results-based  In a continuum from crisis to development  Focus on increasing opportunity/protection and minimizing risks  Measuring learning progress (indicators)

Standards for effective LSE (2) => Skills-based    

Adequate teaching activities Information on learning outcomes Appropriate to age, gender and experience Participatory, skills-building logical and cumulative methods with skilled and trained teachers

=> Protective environment with access to services  Learning environment  Encouraging interactions with services for planning and support  Coordination/synergies

Standards for effective LSE (3) => Monitoring and evaluation  Regular assesment on individual learning outcomes and programme impact  Information collection and analyse on stakeolders satifaction  Information collection and analyse on impact of learning environment on learning outcomes

Scaling up of LSE  In national education sector  Centrality of formal education

 School as learning, care and support center  extra-curricular and non-formal actions

 Community approaches for supportive social norms  Reaching the tipping point for change

Thank you! More information: ww.unicef.org/lifeskills/index_4105.html