Self-Awareness Effective Communication Critical Thinking (PDF)

Self-Awareness Effective Communication Critical Thinking Problem Solving Decision Making Dr. Bhagyashree Dudhade COPING COPING  Life Skills: Self-awareness, Effective communication, Critical thinking, Problem solving, Decision making India | UAE | Nigeria | Uzbekistan | Montenegro  Life Skills: Self-awareness, Effective communication, Critical thinking, Problem solving, Decision making Dr. Bhagyashree Dudhade  First Impression: 2019 Life Skills: Self-awareness, Effective communication, Critical thinking, Problem solving, Decision making ISBN : 978-81-944069-5-2 Rs. 650/- ( $18 ) No part of the book may be printed, copied, stored, retrieved, duplicated and reproduced in any form without the written permission of the author/publisher. DISCLAIMER Information contained in this book has been published by Empyreal Publishing House and has been obtained by the author from sources believed to be reliable and are correct to the best of her knowledge. The author is solely responsible for the contents of the articles compiled in this book. Responsibility of authenticity of the work or the concepts / views presented by the author through this book shall lie with the author and the publisher has no role or claim or any responsibility in this regards. Errors, if any, are purely unintentional and readers are requested to communicate such error to the author to avoid discrepancies in future. Published by: Empyreal Publishing House  V Preface At the heart of Life Skills education is the learning of Life Skills. Life Skills are ‘abilities for adaptive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life’ (WHO, 1997, p.1). The core set of Life Skills (WHO 1997: p.1) that follow the above description are: • Problem solving • Communication • Coping with emotion • Decision-making • Interpersonal skills • Coping with stress • Critical Thinking • Creative thinking • Self-awareness • Empathy Life Skills education promotes mental well-being in young people and equips them to face the realities of life. By supporting mental well-being and behavioural preparedness, Life Skills education equips individuals to behave in a pro-social ways and it is additionally health giving (Birell Weisen and Orley, 1996). To achieve health giving pro-social behaviour a Life Skills programme must have effect on the inner layer of mental well-being and middle layers of behavioural preparedness. Consequently, Life Skills education can be seen as empowering children and thus enabling them to take more responsibility for their actions (Orley, 1997). At the United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting held at WHO, Geneva (WHO, 1999: p.4) Life Skills education was considered as crucial for: • The promotion of healthy child and adolescent development; • Primary prevention of some key causes of child and adolescent death, disease and disability; • Socialization; • Preparing young people for changing social circumstances. Life Skills education has been developed by different organisations with different objectives, for example, prevention of substance abuse (Perry and Kelder, 1992) prevention of bullying and prevention of AIDS (WHO, 1994). However, Orley (1997) argues that learning Life Skills is a desirable activity on its own as it helps individuals to deal effectively with everyday demands and does not have to be justified as preventing anything. Nor it is necessary to introduce a Life Skills education programme only when and where there are mental and behavioural disorders (WHO, 1999). Effective application of Life Skills can influence the way children feel about others and themselves, which in turn can contribute to the children’s self-confidence and self-esteem. I believe that the school is a good place to introduce Life Skills programmes, as the school years, during which children acquire a major part of their formal education, are important developmental years in an individual’s life. In school, besides academics children also learn social skills and encounter authority other than their parents (Matheson and Grosvenor, 1999). Students often look to adults in the school community for guidance, support and direction (Brooks, 2004). Furthermore, schools have a high credibility with parents and community members (WHO, 1997) and thus have a great influence on children and their families. For these reasons, I think the school is a formidable  VI institution for a Life Skills intervention. I believe school education should emphasise not only academics but also the mental well-being of children to make it a positive place of learning. Moreover, schools are crucial in building or undermining self-esteem and sense of competence as teachers and peers play an important role in the development of self-esteem of school going children (Woolfolk, 2001). I therefore believe a comprehensive teacher-training programme in Life Skills education would facilitate not only better teachers but also would support children’s educational and mental health requirements (Edwards, 1994; Cohen, 1999; Brooks, 2001). In this manner schools can act as a safety net, protecting children from hazards, which affect their education, developmental and psychosocial well-being. Health as stated by WHO is not, merely the absence of any disease, but it refers to the total wellbeing of students. Health is the outcome of the interaction between the person and environment. To be healthy, one needs to make conscious choice. This choice is influenced by their values and beliefs. Peer influence has a profound impact on the choice. Students need more than information to make choices, they need to know how to make decisions. Life Skills help students to make informed choices. Life Skills are those that students need in order to cope up with issues and problems related to the entire spectrum of their survival and wellbeing (UNICEF: 1999). Life Skills help students to convert intangible assets like knowledge and attitude into healthy behaviours. Researches have shown that Life Skills have produced the following effects:  Increase in pro-social behaviour & Decrease in self-destructive behaviour.  Strengthened effective choice making.  Improved self-awareness & relationship.  Strengthening of constructive thinking. NICEF identifies the following criteria to ensure a successful Life Skills based education:  It should not only address knowledge and attitude change, but, more importantly, behaviour change.  Traditional "information-based" approaches are generally not sufficient to yield changes in attitudes and behaviours. The lecture should be substantiated with exercises and situations where participants can practice and experience its effects. The adult learning theory emphasizes that adults learn best that which they can associate with their experience and practice.  It will work best when augmented or reinforced. If a message is given once, the brain remembers only 10 % of it one day later, and when the same message is given six times a day, the brain remembers 90 % of it. Hence, the need to repeat, recap, reinforce and review.  It will work best if combined with policy development, access to appropriate health services, community development and media.  VII Acknowledgements I express my deepest gratitude to Hon. N.C. Joshi Sir, Founder Director of Institute of Science, for his best wishes. I thank Dr. Sanjeev Sonawane Sir, Dean and H.O.D., Department of Education and Extension, Savitribai Phule Pune University for being a source of inspiration, his constant support and co-operation. I am grateful to Dr. V.Z. Sali for being a source of motivation. I am thankful to all my teachers, seniors, well-wishers, friends and colleagues from the Education Faculty for their guidance and motivation. I am grateful to my family members for their blessings, best wishes and support. Dr. Bhagyashree Dudhade  VIII Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgement V - VI VII Table of Contents VIII List of Tables IX – X List of Graphs XI List of Figures XII List of Appendices XIII Chapter – I Introduction 1 – 33 Chapter – II Review of the Related Literature 34 – 74 Chapter – III Plan and Procedure of Research 75 – 102 Chapter – IV Data Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation 103 – 144 Chapter – V Summary, Findings and Conclusions 145 – 270  IX LIST OF TABLES TABLE NO. DESCRIPTION PAGE NO. 1 Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive development 20 2 Research Methodology, Sample and Tools 30 3 Review Matrix according to the sources 72 4 Review Matrix according to the variables 73 5 Categories of Rating Scale 88 6 Description of the Rating scale of Usability 92 7 Research Method, Sampling procedure, method, technique and Tools 93 8 Threats to Internal validity 96 9 Life Skills Programme at a glance 98 – 101 10 Life Skills 105 11 Need and importance of Life Skills 106 12 Need of developing Life Skills 106 13 Development of Life Skills in the students 107 14 Role of Science teacher in the development of Life Skills 108 15 Methods/techniques/strategies/models of teaching/approaches etc. to be adopted for developing the Life Skills 109 16 Difficulties faced while developing/inculcating the Life Skills 110 17 Remedies for effective development of all the 10 Life Skills 111 18 Suggestions to make Life Skills Education and Development more effective 113 19 Comparison of Mean of Pre –test and Post – test 116 20 Pre – test scores of Self – awareness 116 21 Post – test scores of Self – awareness 117 22 Comparison of Standard Deviation of Pre –test and Post – test 118 23 Comparison of Mean and Standard Deviation of Pre –test and Post – test 118 24 Descriptive Statistics (Skewness and Kurtosis) 119 25 Descriptive Statistics (MANOVA) 124 26 Bartlett's Test of Sphericity 124 27 Multivariate Testsa 125 28 Univariate Tests 125 29 Usability Quality Component - Statement 1 133 30 Usability Quality Component - Statement 2 134 31 Usability Quality Component - Statement 3 134 32 Usability Quality Component - Statement 4 134 33 Usability Quality Component - Statement 5 135 34 Usability Quality Component - Statement 6 135 35 Usability Quality Component - Statement 7 135 36 Usability Quality Component - Statement 8 136  X 37 Usability Quality Component - Statement 9 136 38 Usability Quality Component - Statement 10 136 39 Usability Quality Component - Statement 11 137 40 Usability Quality Component - Statement 12 137 41 Usability Quality Component - Statement 13 137 42 Usability Quality Component - Statement 14 138 43 Usability Quality Component - Statement 15 138 44 Usability Quality Component - Statement 16 138 45 Usability Quality Component - Statement 17 139 46 Usability Quality Component - Statement 18 139 47 Usability Quality Component - Statement 19 139 48 Usability Quality Component - Statement 20 140 49 Overall Analysis of Usability Quality Components 140 50 Total Usability of Quality Components 141 51 Analysis of Research Questions 142 52 Analysis of data according to the Objectives 143 53 Discussion of conclusions of present and past Researches 143 54 Theories supporting Research study 150 – 151 55 Review Matrix according to the sources 154 56 Review Matrix according to the variables 154 57 Research Method, Sampling procedure, method, technique and Tools 158 58 Mean values of pre – test and post –test 165  XI LIST OF GRAPHS GRAPH NO. DESCRIPTION PAGE NO. 1 Bar Graph of Life Skills vs Mean Scores 115 2 Q – Q plot of Self – awareness Pre – test 120 3 Q – Q plot of Effective Communication Pre – test 120 4 Q – Q plot of Critical Thinking Pre – test 120 5 Q – Q plot of Decision Making Pre – test 121 6 Q – Q plot of Problem Solving Pre – test 121 7 Q – Q plot of Self – awareness Post – test 121 8 Q – Q plot of Effective Communication Post – test 122 9 Q – Q plot of Critical Thinking Post – test 122 10 Q – Q plot of Decision Making Post – test 122 11 Q – Q plot of Problem Solving Post – test 123 12 Line Graph of Comparison of Pre – test and Post – test scores for Self – awareness 128 13 Line Graph of Comparison of Pre – test and Post – test scores for Effective Communication 128 14 Line Graph of Comparison of Pre – test and Post – test scores for Critical Thinking 129 15 Line Graph of Comparison of Pre – test and Post – test scores for Decision Making 129 16 Line Graph of Comparison of Pre – test and Post – test scores for Problem Solving 130 17 Line Graph of Comparison of the total/consolidated Pre – test and Post – test scores of all the five Life Skills (Self – awareness, Effective Communication, Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Problem Solving) 130 18 Error Bar Graph for Self – awareness 131 19 Error Bar Graph for Effective Communication 131 20 Error Bar Graph for Critical Thinking 132 21 Error Bar Graph for Decision Making 132 22 Error Bar Graph for Problem Solving 133 23 Usability of Life Skills Programme 141  XII LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE NO. DESCRIPTION PAGE NO. 1 Skill Development Process 7 2 Multi - Method 30 3 Mixed - Method 30 4 Flow chart of Procedure of Research 33 5 Working with Literature 37 6 Skill Development Process 54 7 Multi – Method 81 8 Mixed – Method 82 9 Flow chart of Procedure of Research 97 10 Multi - Method 156 11 Mixed - Method 157 12 Flow chart of Procedure of Research 160  XIII LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX NO. DESCRIPTION PAGE NO. A List of Subject and/or Research Experts 176 B Questionnaire for Science teachers 177 C Checklist for Science teachers 178 – 179 D Data Presentation of Checklist 180 – 182 E List of science teachers 183 F Standardized Rating Scale of Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Sriperumbudur, Chennai 184 – 187 G List of schools 188 H Rating Scale – Usability of Life Skills Programme 189 – 191 I Mean Scores of 1528 students acquired from 16 schools, through survey 192 – 193 J Categorization of Life Skills according to the range of scores 194 K List of students of Pilot study 195 L List of students of Experimentation 196 M Pre – test and Post – test 197 – 198 N Pre – test scores 199 O Post – test scores 200 P Sample Lesson Plan 201 – 202 Q Certificate issued by the School (Pilot Study) 203 – 210 R Certificates issued by schools (Survey) 209 – 223 S Certificate issued by the school (Experimentation) 224 – 270  Life Skills: Self-awareness, Effective communication, Critical thinking, Problem solving, Decision making 1 CHAPTER - I INTRODUCTION  Life Skills: Self-awareness, Effective communication, Critical thinking, Problem solving, Decision making 2 1.1 The Problem In the 21st century, the objective of education for all must be geared towards enhancing capabilities, enlarging choices and developing agency by building different dimensions of well- to be less vulnerable to the variations within a given context. Educational content must therefore be reviewed to remove the stereotypes and age-old norms that persist. Every aspect of education must then work towards fighting all types of poverty, including reducing vulnerability by building potential and increasing agency and well- being of individuals and societies. Life skills are a set of human skills acquired via teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in daily human life. The basic element of a skill is the ability to create and materialize an effective sequence of choices, to achieve the desirable effect. It is important that somebody allocate life skills in six broad sectors: sensitivity, experiencing emotions, realism thought, language and the internal logos, harmony in self-attribution and communication and finally, remuneration activity in finding a meaning in profession being, by building self- image and self-worth, which in turn help individuals. Hereford, Z. (n.d.). Life Skills. Retrieved June 2012, from http://www.essentiallifeskills.net/ Personal development is the pursuit of developing, honing and mastering the skills that help us become the best that we can, with all that we have. It is the reaching for, and realizing of, our full potential as human beings. We all want to live full; productive lives, but sometimes, we just do not know where to begin. There is so much information 'out there' that it can be overwhelming and hard to sort out. Depending on the problem, what seems to work for one person, may not necessarily work for everyone. There are so many different programmes, strategies and techniques that it is hard to choose the right one. Thus, if we want to accomplish anything in life and realize our full potential, we must have some skills - in this case, life skills. “To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.” - Robert Louis Stevenson "If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life." - Abraham Maslow "Established in Self-Realization, one is not moved even by the greatest calamity." - Bhagavad Gita "I do the best I know how, the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing it to the end." - Abraham Lincoln 1.2 Historical (Theoretical) Background The challenges, children and young people regularly faces are many, and require more than even the best numeracy and literacy skills. That is why the 164 nations committed to Education for All (external) have included "life skills" as a basic learning need for all young people. Tobacco – Free Youth. Retrieved May 2011, from http://www.amro.who.int/English/DD/PUB/SP579_04.pdf As do earlier prevention programmes, “Life Skills” programmes in operation today also are based on the social learning theory. This theory promotes opportunities for processing life experiences, structuring experiences, and actively gaining experiences (Bandura, 1977 [as cited in Botvin, 1986]). The Life Skills approach is built around creating opportunities for youth to acquire skills—such as media literacy or critical thinking—that enable them to avoid manipulation by outside influences. The idea is for young people to be able to recognize the coercive forces of social pressures, as well as organized campaigns, such as tobacco advertising, that promote behaviors known to jeopardize their health. The Life Skills approach aims to assist young people to regain control over their behavior while taking informed decisions that can lead to positive behaviors and values (e.g., deciding not to smoke). Additional Life Skills generally taught by such programmes include self-awareness, stress management, assertiveness, and negotiation. Curricula based on this theory stress experiential learning and opportunities to practice new skills acquired during instruction. Programme activities actively involve young people through work in small groups, peer facilitation, role-