Parents’ perceptions of life skills education for empowering secondary school students: a qualitative exploration

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explores the parents’ perceptions about the meaning and importance of various life skills education as tool for empowering young children, and about the role of schools and parents in stimulating these skills. The study was qualitative, involving a sample of 30 parents of secondary-level students selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview and the obtained responses were analyzed through thematic analysis. It was established that most parents considered life skills as key to empowering young students and that is why all types of skills were deemed equally important. Parents also expressed their concerns and reflected that most children were lacking these skills and that both, schools as well as themselves, should play a role in training these skills. The study highlights the importance of a strong partnership between parents and teachers in imparting life skills to young students and emphasizes the need for collaboration, shared responsibility, and explicit integration of life skills into the education system to empower the next generation. So, it is recommended that life skills related experiences need to be an explicit part of the training and learning of children and that parents and teachers need to collaborate strongly in this to make it a success story.