View Content #21151

From https://juergenkurtz.wordpress.com/

Jürgen Kurtz writes, “In its landmark report to UNESCO on the role of education in the future, the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century (Delors et al.1996) underlined the growing importance of learning throughout life and the need to focus on four pillars of education, in particular: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be – ‘learning to be’ including ‘learning to learn’. In accordance with this vision, the United Nations Educational Framework for Action (UNESCO 2000: 36) obliged governments to ensure ‘that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes’ within the first decade of the twenty-first century.

“However, even though the main goals of life skills-based education are largely agreed upon world-wide (i.e. enabling young people to lead a fulfilling and healthful life and to take control of their destiny, as well as empowering them to fully, responsibly and creatively participate in their societies, which increasingly entails being familiar with and tolerant of other societies and cultures), a generally accepted definition as to what exactly is meant by ‘life skills’ is still missing.”

Read on for a nuanced definition of life skills and a discussion of its place in language education: https://juergenkurtz.wordpress.com/2016/04/24/life-skills-based-education-in-the-efl-classroom-cornerstone-of-a-challenging-vision/