LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA• 35
Implementation of a Life Skills
Education Program
(^16) The UN General Assembly adopted these rights on 20 November 1989 and since then most countries in the world have ratified them.
For details on other rights, see http://www.unicef.org/crc. Also see Information Sheet No. 1: Children’s Rights and AIDS in this toolkit.
Teaching life skills works best when learning is
participatory and child-centered. This approach
enables children to first learn and practice new skills
in a training environment, and then learn how to
transfer these new skills to their lives outside the
training sessions. Life skills are about “doing” and
developing positive behaviors. Implementers
therefore need to understand:
- What participation means;
- Ways to enhance children’s participation;
- Active learning approaches that can be used
with children; and - Qualities needed by facilitators to
be effective.
This section also discusses when to start a peer
education program, and how young people can be
trained and supported.
UNDERSTANDING PARTICIPATION
Participation means inclusiveness and involvement
in decision-making, implementation and
evaluation. When children participate, we ensure
programs are implemented by them and not
for them.
True participation is a process that develops over
time. It needs constant review and adaptation to
changing needs. Participation can be expressed in
different ways, some of which are superficial, while
others indicate a deeper involvement by the
children. Examples of tokenism and decoration are
many: children are invited to light the lamp during
a workshop, carry placards in a rally; nominated to
serve on an adult committee; told to memorize
lines and perform a role play written by their
facilitator, or asked to read a speech written by
their teacher. When there is a higher level of
participation, children will plan their own
workshops, make posters to create awareness, have
clear roles and responsibilities on adult
committees, discuss and write the role play in a
group and voice their opinions in different forums.Since the International Year of the Child in 1977,
there has been considerable international debate
about children’s rights. One of the basic principles
of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
promotes the “Right to Participate.”^16 At the same
time, the convention recognized the inherent
difficulties in implementing these rights. Difficulties
may occur because in promoting the right of the
child to participate, we may inadvertently place the
child at risk. Programs that promote children’s
participation may in reality be exploiting or acting
in ways that do not truly serve their best interests.
All organizations that work with children need to
review their work to ensure that children are able
to exercise their right to participation in a
meaningful way.Efforts must be made to ensure that the children
understand the purpose and implication of their
participation. Children’s rights to confidentiality
and non-discrimination should not be
compromised by their participation.