Running head: MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC

SCHOOLS

Mandating Life Skills-Based Education in Public Schools (Grade 6-12)

Allison M. Bateman, BA, MPH(s)

Rae Chelle D. Gabriel, BS, MPH(s)

Department of Health Science and Human Ecology

HSCI 660D: Advance Topics in Health Science and Human Ecology

Dr. Nicole Henley

California State University, San Bernardino

June 11, 2019

MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Executive Summary

Public schools today focus heavily on Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to

keep up with standardized testing but lack life skills-based education (LSBE) as a part

of their curriculum standards. While CCSS are necessary to measure growth, success

in the classroom, and college readiness, LSBE provides students with the ability to

master essential skills that will prepare them for life obstacles and future careers. These

skills include social and practical skills, such as communication, problem-solving and

financial budgeting (Soft Skills: Definitions and Examples, n.d). Additionally, these

essential skills are beneficial as a member of society and are highly desirable in the

workplace, while also improving health indicators.

While CCSS does an excellent job of preparing students for the next grade level

and for college, LSBE strengthens students for the tasks and challenges of everyday life

(World Health Organization, n.d.). These skills should be introduced and mastered

during middle school and high school to prepare students regardless of the path taken

after high school. However, life-based skills are not added in classroom curricula since it

is not a component of the mandated education code. Subsequently, it should be a goal

in public schools for their students to achieve these skills. As a result, it is

recommended for public school systems to mandate LSBE as a part of the education

code by efficiently training teachers and providing guidelines to successfully implement

this education at least once in middle school and once in high school to ensure students

are confident and readily prepared to apply these skills to real-life challenges.

Issue and Importance

MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Schools today focus heavily on the implementation of Science, Technology,

Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills in their school curriculum. Although these

skill sets are part of the fundamentals of higher education and job requirements, the

importance of LSBE in school curricula is often overlooked. Life skills, which also

includes soft skills, will provide youth with adequate skills to build relationships, think

independently, and help them take action whenever authoritative figures are not present

(The Importance of Life Skills-Based Education, 2018). These skills also ​include

effective communication, self-motivation, leadership, team-working, time management,

problem-solving and financial budgeting (Soft Skills: Definitions and Examples, n.d).

Moreover, ​life skills are proven to prevent susceptibility to bullying, substance abuse,

financial issues, and even unemployment, while positively influencing academic

achievement and health indicators (Garcia, E. & Weiss, E., 2016; Overcoming

Obstacles, 2019).

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2019), 85% of high

school students graduated in the 2016-2017 school year. This number suggests

approximately 15% of the students who did not graduate were exposed to life outside of

high school and the workforce at an earlier age. In preparation of students who do not

complete high school, it is vital to introduce students to these practical skills in middle

and high school in order for them to master these skills early on. In the event of

incompletion of high school, students would have the knowledge and skills to apply

LSBE into practice and their everyday life. Due to the lack of LSBE within CCSS in

schools, there is a need to mandate this education in middle school and high school to
MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

properly prepare them for the real world. ​While several programs have been developed

to deliver life skills-based education (LSBE), policies are not in place to mandate this

education in public schools.

Critique of Policy Option(s)

In 2010, numerous states in the nation including California adopted the CCSS in

schools starting from kindergarten through high school (CDE; 2018). These standards

describe what subjects should be implemented in the classroom to prepare students for

life after high school, such as college and in the workplace. This includes the K-12

expected standards, but also the college and career standards (Common Core State

Standards Initiative, 2019). Such standard subjects include English and Language Arts,

Science, Mathematics, Computer Science, Health Education, and Physical Education.

More recently, the CDE have adopted Visual and Performing Arts and World Language

into their CCSS (CDE, 2018). The CCSS ensures the quality of education received is

coherent throughout California public schools while also maintaining a consistent

framework to successfully meet standards should students move between cities or

states (CDE, 2018).

While the CCSS are necessary for meeting standards at each grade level, it

lacks LSBE competencies that will provide preparation and transferable skills needed

throughout life (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2019). Life-based skills are

not only highly desired skills to acquire in society but in the workforce as well (Majid,

Liming, Tong, & Raihana, 2012). Pew Research Center (2016) reported that roughly

50% of employees believe their jobs rely heavily on soft skills such as patience,
MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

compassion and relationship building. Soft skills are adequate skills to have in the

workplace as they compliment technical skills. Technical skills, or hard skills, are

essentially useless without the collaboration of soft skills (Hes, 2017). For example, a

salesperson will struggle to be successful in their career if they do not possess

interpersonal skills that allow them to communicate effectively and build relationships

with clients (Hes, 2017). Additionally, future workplaces will rely heavily on soft skills

since evolving technology is replacing some of the technical skills that were once

requirements for certain jobs. It is evident that there is true importance and desire to

have these skill sets in the workforce.

Furthermore, ​these life skills are essential to master at a young age to effectively

maneuver obstacles that are presented, such as financial responsibility.​ ​In a 2014

survey by The Case of Financial Literacy (n.d.), only 24% of Millennials successfully

answered four out of five financial literacy questions. By implementing LSBE in schools,

students would understand the importance of financial planning, saving, while also

learning where all their money is going (Ryerson Entrepreneur Institute, 2014).

Additionally, acquiring these skills before they become independent adults would bring

financial responsibility when faced with credit card offers, taxes, and bills.

While CCSS strives to achieve quality education, this should also include life

based skills. LSBE provides a plethora of preparation skills that can be applied in daily

life, like overcoming obstacles and developing positive relationships (Appleby, D.C.,

2017). Moreover, building positive attitudes that enable students to lead healthy and
MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

fruitful lives (Garcia, E. & Weiss, E., 2016). To ensure students are receiving LSBE,

policies should be in order to further the quality of education students receive.

Policy Recommendations

No current policies are in place mandating LSBE, however, in 2016, the

California Healthy Youth Act (CHYA) took effect. CHYA updated the California

Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV Prevention Act of 2003 to provide clear support

in implementing comprehensive sexual health in schools (Adolescent Sexual Health

Policy Work Group, 2018). CHYA now mandates middle and high public schools in

California, including charter schools, to provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive

health education (CDE, 2019). This education provides knowledge and skills for

students to protect their sexual and reproductive health, and skills to build healthy

behaviors, attitudes, and positive and safe relationships. As written in the Berkeley

Political Review by Catherine Chang (2016), this education provides education about

the natural part of human life while also delivering medically accurate information and

skills, which ultimately provides students the opportunity to make informed decisions

and prepare for adulthood. This education does not add to CCSS but is supplemental to

the education requirements, and must be implemented at least two times throughout

middle and high school.

A realistic approach to implement LSBE in schools is by mandating the

education, similarly to CHYA. CHYA mandates sexual and reproductive health

education at least once in middle school and once in high school for all California public

schools (CDE, 2019). By mandating LSBE in the same manner, it would be more
MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

feasible and will not take away from the CCSS. Additionally, teachers would not feel

overwhelmed to develop a new lesson plan since current programs are already

developed, such as Overcoming Obstacles. Overcoming Obstacles Program is a life

skills curriculum that provides educators the tools to teach students the competencies

necessary for success (Overcoming Obstacles, 2019). This is a free curriculum that can

be adopted and implemented into the classroom to follow the mandate but can also be

implemented as often as teachers see fit. With this curriculum, students can graduate

from high school better feeling prepared for their future (Overcoming Obstacles, 2019).

In order for this policy recommendation to be successfully implemented, it is

recommended that specific guidelines and training are provided to teachers. Since

LSBE can be taught directly and indirectly to the students, it is crucial that teachers fully

understand the importance of LSBE and learn the best ways to embed the new

curriculum into their lesson plans (Garcia, 2014). Additionally, these trainings could also

contribute to the overall quality of education as they gear their new focus addressing the

student’s overall skill development (Garcia, 2014).

By mandating LSBE in public school systems, it will ensure exposure of life skills

in the classroom while also opening the opportunity to focus beyond CCSS and

standardized testings. The practical skills developed through LSBE will help students

gain insight into handling real-life scenarios like financial budgeting, effective

communication, and building positive relationships. Additionally, mandating LSBE in

public schools will allow students to build upon these skills annually and thus, gain

confidence as they move forward in their life, whether or not higher education is part of
MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

the path they choose to continue with. Overall, mandating LSBE as part of the

education code will positively influence and shape youth to become self-sufficient and

confident members of society as they navigate through life.

MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

References

Appleby, D.C. (2017). ​The soft skills college students need to succeed now and in the

future. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psn/2017/09/soft-skills

California Department of Education. (2018). Common Core State Standards. Retrieved

from https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/

California Department of Education. (2019). Comprehensive Sexual Health & HIV/AIDS

instruction. Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2019). Why are the Common Core State

Standards Important? Retrieved from

http://www.corestandards.org/faq/why-are-the-common-core-state-standards-imp

ortant/

García, E. (2016). The Need to Address Non-Cognitive Skills in the Education Policy

Agenda1. ​Non-cognitive Skills and Factors in Educational Attainment,​31-64.

doi:10.1007/978-94-6300-591-3_3

Garcia, E. & Weiss, E. (2016). Making whole-child education the norm. Retrieved from

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED568889.pdf

Hes, D. (2017). 5 Reasons Why Soft Skills Are More Important than Ever. Retrieved

from

https://www.oxbridgeacademy.edu.za/blog/5-reasons-soft-skills-important-ever/

Majid, S., Liming, Z., Tong, S., & Raihana, S. (2012). Importance of Soft Skills for

Education and Career Success. ​International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary

MANDATING LIFE SKILLS-BASED EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Subjects in Education,2(​ Special 2), 1036-1042.

doi:10.20533/ijcdse.2042.6364.2012.0147

National Center for Education Statistics: Public High School Graduation Rates. (n.d.).

Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_coi.asp

Soft Skills: Definitions and Examples. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/soft-skills

The Case for High School Financial Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.champlain.edu/centers-of-experience/center-for-financial-literacy/rep

ort-national-high-school-financial-literacy/the-case-for-high-school-financial-litera

cy

What skills and training Americans say they need to compete in today's economy.

(2016). Retrieved from

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/10/06/4-skills-and-training-needed-to-com

pete-in-todays-economy/

World Health Organization (WHO). (n.d.) Skills for Health. Retrieved from

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42818/924159103X.pdf