Life Skills Education

About this chapter

Life Skills Education for Adolescents defines life skills as psychosocial abilities — bundles of habits — that help adolescents aged 11-14 face the storm of puberty, peer pressure and rapid change with confidence. The World Health Organization identifies ten core life skills, grouped under three heads: (i) self-understanding and self-management — self-esteem, self-awareness, assertiveness, coping with stress, coping with emotions; (ii) knowing and living with others — effective communication, interpersonal relationships, empathy, conflict resolution; and (iii) dealing with issues and problems — critical thinking, creative thinking, decision-making and problem-solving. CTET Paper 2 tests this through definition-recall MCQs, WHO classifications, the five-step conflict-resolution sequence, the four-step decision-making model, the four-step problem-solving process, the infusion-vs-direct approach, and pedagogy items on how an upper-primary teacher in classes VI-VIII can build these skills through subject infusion. The four tests — Practice 15, Quiz 15, Hard 15, Mastery 30 — cover all six topics at CTET depth and difficulty.