Life skills are both concrete and abstract-practical skills can be learned directly, as a subject. For example, a learner can take a course in laying bricks and learn that skill. Other life skills, such as self-confidence, self-esteem, and skills for relating to others or thinking critically cannot be taught in such direct ways. They should be part of any learning process, where teachers or instructors are concerned that learners should not just learn about subjects, but learn how to cope with life and make the most of their potential.

So these life skills may be learnt when learning other things. For example:

Learning literacy may have a big impact on self-esteem, on critical thinking or on communication skills;

Learning practical skills such as driving, healthcare or tailoring may increase self-confidence, teach problem- solving processes or help in understanding consequences.

Whether this is true depends on the way of teaching -what kinds of thinking, relationship-building and communication the teacher or facilitator models themselves and promotes among the learners.

Progress towards this goal

It would require measuring the individual and collective progress in making the most of learning and of life, or assessing how far human potential is being realized, or estimating how well people cope with change. It is easier to measure the development of practical skills, for instance by counting the number of students who register for vocabonal skills courses. However, this still may not tell us how effectively these skills are being used.

The psycho-social skills cannot easily be measured by tests and scores, but become visible in changed behavior. Progress in this area has often been noted by teachers on reports which they make to the parents of their pupils. The teachers experience of life, of teaching and of what can be expected from education in the broadest sense serve as a standard by which the growth and development of individuals can be assessed to some extent. This kind of assessment is individual and may never appear in international tables and charts.

Current challenges

The current challenges relate to these difficulties:

We need to recognize the importance of life skills-both practical and psycho-social-as part of education which leads to the full development of human potential and to the development of society;

The links between psycho-social skills and practical skills must be more clearly spelled out, so that educators can promote both together and find effective ways to do this;

Since life skills are taught as part of a wide range of subjects, teachers need to have training in how to put them across and how to monitor learners' growth in these areas;

In designing curricula and syllabuses for academic subjects, there must be a balance between content teaching and attention to the accompanying life skills;

A more conscious and deliberate effort to promote life skills will enable learners to become more active citizens in the life of society.