LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA• 23
implementation and “check” again when the
program is completed. In other words, good
indicators set up during the planning phase help to
both monitor and evaluate the program. For each
objective, there may be several indicators, and the
most appropriate and relevant will need to be
selected. It is always advisable to have more than
one indicator for each objective.
Broadly, indicators come in two types: Outcome
Indicators and Process Indicators.
Outcome Indicators tell us what will happen, or
change, at the end of a given project. A simple way
of constructing these indicators is by saying “At the
end of the program, the children will....”
Know ..........
Feel ..............
Do .................
For example, after life skills sessions on
communication skills, children will:
Know - that communication is both verbal and
non-verbal and understand what they
communicate and with whom;
Feel - confident in practicing the new skills; and
Do - use communication skills with friends and family.
Process Indicators tell us about quality and whether
the activity is actually being carried out correctly. For
example, if planned life skills sessions do not take
place (process indicator), there is no point in
measuring whether assertiveness skills have been
learned or, in other words, measuring the impact of
the program (outcome and impact indicators).
Examples of process indicators could be
“participatory methods were used by facilitators” or
“the children surveyed the community and mapped
the services available,” or “all facilitators completed a
training-of-trainers (TOT) session” or “materials
were developed by the children for the program.”
Remember, process and outcome indicators need to
be SMART!
Objectives and indicators are useful when continually
referred to by project implementers. It is a good idea
to place a regular review of objectives and indicators
in the action plan. A review will not only help to
monitor progress, but will provide an opportunity to
review the relevance of the indicators. In many action
programs, indicators need to be flexible (of course,
within limits!) as field realities are never constant.
When a Life Skills Education Program is implemented
within an ongoing program for children, it is useful to
review goals and objectives within this framework.
How to link a Life Skills Education Program with
other programs is discussed on page 31: “Linking
with other Programs.” By setting goals within the
framework on an existing youth program, it is
possible to reinforce life skills and make it easier for
children to practice skills in different contexts.USING THE LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT
The toolkit has a number of modules, sessions and
activities. Each module is divided into two or three
program sessions. Each session has a number of
activities from which to choose.
A systematic planning process is important in
selecting relevant modules, sessions and activities
to prepare a curriculum for the Life Skills
Education Program. To summarize, various data
collection tools identify and prioritize the needs
of children; the Bridge Model identifies which life
skills the children need to learn, and SMART
objectives determine what the program will achieve.
To select modules, sessions and activities, the
organization needs to invest in planning of
meetings. Because Life Skills Education Programs
influence other programs, it is useful to include