there are many different learning barriers. this set of slides has to do with life skills as a barrier to learning.

1. LEARNING BARRIERS-
LIFE SKILLS

2. WHAT IS LIFE SKILLS?
source:
rp.edu.sg

3. • There are many different definitions of life
skills. Different people give different
definitions. An example is given below:
Life
skills
Paraplegic
Learning how to
drive a motor car
again after a car
accident
Informal settlement
dweller
The ability to build
a secure house.
Blind person
Life skills may be
the safe crossing of
a busy street.

4. Source:Life Skills- Wikimedia
Commons

5. • Life skills is a skill that is necessary or desirable for full
participation in everyday life (DoBE,2011a: 8).
• Life skills can be seen a coping tool to survive everyday
life.
• To “cope” means to deal effectively or successfully with a
challenge (Hutchinson, 2000: 180).
• A “tool” can be defined as an implement that gives the
user an advantage over a person who does not have such
a tool (Hutchinson, 2000: 828).

6. Source:
macmillanenglish.com

7. • Cope with demands of modern life
• Survive everyday emotional, social and cognitive
onslaught
• Insight into life tasks
• Manage life tasks
• Necessary for personal, educational, financial and
socioeconomic realities
• Learn more about themselves

8. Source:
onestepfurther.co

9. HOW TO IDENTIFY WHEN LIFE SKILLS
IS A LEARNING BARRIER?

10. Learners that lack life skills:
• do not treat others with respect and understanding
• do not respect other peoples cultures
• do not exhibit creative thinking
• do not exhibit critical thinking and effective problem
solving
• do not work hard, stay on task and be motivated
According to Edge Research(2018)

11. However...
• As Vygotsky (as cited in Kinginger, 2002: 240) has
stated that all learners should be able to learn about
themselves and their environments with guidance
and the help of a mentor.

12. Some challenges in acquiring life skills:
• Many learners grow up in non-caring, non-sharing
environments (Lantieri, 2001: 33)
• People are unaware of their contribution to learners’
developing antisocial behaviour(Morris, 2002: 66)
• Schools do not always have time to focus on life
skills. Schools may focus on the distribution of
knowledge and not developing young minds.

13. How to support life skills as a learning barrier?
• Mentoring is becoming a popular strategy for addressing the needs
of young learner(Evans & Ave,2000).
• life skills( Life orientation) is a subject at school which should be
taken seriously.
• Incorporate life skills themes and principles into other subjects
• learners have the need to belong and to be appreciated (Elias, 2001:
20-33)
• There are links between life skills and other impairments. Educators
need to understand when learners may have non-verbal learning
impairments
• motivation
• Cooperative learning (McLaughin, 2001:14)

14. References
Department of Basic Education (DoBE). 2011a. National Curriculum Statement (NCS). Curriculum and
Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). English Life Skills. Foundation Phase Grades R-3. Pretoria:
Department of Basic Education.
Elias, M.J.2001. Easing transitions with social-emotional learning. Principal Leadership,1(7):20-25.
Evans, I.M. Ave, K.T. 2000.Mentoring children and youth: principles, issues and policy implications for
community programmes in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 29(1):41-49.
Hutchinson Concise Encyclopaedic dictionary. 2000. London: Helicon.
Kinginger, C. 2002. Defining the zone of proximal development in US foreign language education.
Applied Linguistics, 23(2):240-261.
Lantieri,L.2001. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound more than metal detectors. Reclaiming
Children and Youth, 10(1):33-38.
McLaughlin, M.W. 2001. Community counts. Educational Leadership, 58(7): 14-18.
Morris, S. 2002. Promoting social skills among students with non-verbal learning disabilities. Teaching
Exceptional Children, 34(3): 66-70.