A Study On The Perceptions Of Teachers Towards Developing 21st Century Life Skills Among Secondary School Students In Visakhapatnam District
Abstract
The world is undergoing rapid changes in the knowledge landscape. Life skills development has been a global concern of school curricula. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF, 2012) shows that life skills education is an important vehicle to equip young people to negotiate and mediate challenges and risks in their lives and to enable their productive participation in society. Life skills include personal, interpersonal and cognitive skills that help people interact well, manage their emotions and make decisions for a safe and productive life. They help people develop the right attitude to think smartly, act wisely and live consciously. These skills boost a person's ability to thrive in the fast-paced, virtual world of the 21st century. As teachers are the cornerstone of this educational paradigm, there is an urgent need to develop in them a positive attitude and right perceptions towards life skills education with a view to foster competencies relating to life skills effectively among their students. The present study is an attempt to explore the perceptions of teachers towards developing 21st century life skills among secondary school students. The researchers used a well prepared and standardized questionnaire as the tool for collection of data from a sample of 250 teachers (50 Headmasters and 200 School Assistants) selected from 50 Secondary schools located in Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh using Stratified Random Sampling technique. Mean score values, standard deviations and independent t-tests were used for analysis of data. The findings of the study revealed that the demographic variables – Gender, Age and Teaching Experience have no influence on the perceptions of teachers towards developing 21st century life skills among secondary school students. The study suggested that in-service training should be provided to school teachers on life skills education.
