What Are Life Skills?
UNICEF defines life skills as knowledge, attitudes and the ability for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the challenges of everyday life.1 For the purposes of this discussion, life skills are divided up into three main categories:
- Communication and Interpersonal Skills
- Decision Making and Critical Thinking Skills
- Coping and Self-Management
What Are Adolescent Girl Life Skills?
“Life skills” is a very broad term. Women Win defines “life skills” as any tool that serves a girl outside of sport, such as body awareness, financial savvy or self-confidence. Depending on the specific needs and life circumstances of participants, life skills education can include a wide variety of topics. Women Win has taken these life skills topics and identified (as well as added) key issues specific to the growth and development of healthy adolescent girls. These are skills that can be beneficial for girls to acquire, in addition to those skills that are more general.
1. Communication and Interpersonal Skills
General Adolescent Life Skills:
- Communication
- Negotiation/Conflict Management Skills
- Empathy
- Cooperation and Teamwork
- Advocacy
Adolescent Girl Life Skills:
- Self-esteem and Confidence
- Negotiation and Refusal
- Bullying and Gossiping
- Skills and Qualities
- Power and Gender Relationships
2. Decision Making and Critical Thinking Skills
General Adolescent Life Skills:
- Decision Making and Evaluating Future Consequences of Present Actions for Self and Others
- Problem Solving and Identifying Alternative Solutions
- Analysing Relevant Information, Attitudes, Social Norms, Beliefs, and Peer and Media Influences
Adolescent Girl Life Skills:
- Rights
- Body and Reproductive Health
- Accessing Community Services
- Economic Empowerment
- Gender-Based Violence
3. Coping and Self-Management
General Adolescent Life Skills:
- Increasing Internal Self-control
- Managing Feelings
- Managing Stress
Adolescent Girl Life Skills: