Youth in UAE can acquire life lessons beyond academics, as they explore various programs and initiatives aimed at teaching essential life skills omitted from traditional education.
In today's fast-paced world, the focus of modern education is heavily skewed towards academic knowledge, cognitive skills, and employability-related competencies. This emphasis on traditional academic subjects often leads to a neglected area: basic life skills such as cooking, cleaning, and home repair.
The reasons for this oversight are manifold. Modern education prioritises communication, problem-solving, emotional regulation, and job readiness skills, often at the expense of basic home management tasks. Schools value social-emotional learning and academic success markers over practical life management. Life skills, like cooking, cleaning, and home repair, are frequently viewed as less academic or prestigious compared to traditional subjects or higher-order skills like STEM or leadership.
Moreover, schools face resource and time constraints. Limited time and resources are allocated to what is perceived as core academic content and career-oriented skills rather than daily life maintenance skills.
This neglect of basic life skills in education contributes to inequality in several ways. Children from higher socioeconomic families often learn these skills at home, while less advantaged children may lack such opportunities, deepening the gap in self-sufficiency and independence. Without formal training in these daily skills, some individuals may experience lower confidence and dependence on others for routine tasks, affecting their ability to live independently or manage household responsibilities effectively.
Practical life skills also support employability indirectly by fostering competence, confidence, and independence. Their absence may limit young adults' ability to manage personal responsibilities alongside work, thereby impacting job retention and career progression.
In an era where hiring someone to clean one's place can be done for as cheap as possible, it is cheaper to know how to replace a button or put up shelves than to buy new items or hire someone for repairs. However, many people do not know how to do laundry or do it well, and middle and higher economic bracket individuals often rely on housekeepers for eating and cleaning needs. The use of these services creates a breeding ground for inequality, as more people hire others to clean and cook for them.
The schooling process often does not include lessons on personal or domestic tasks, such as boiling water or storing milk. People are increasingly relying on fast food, food delivery services, and food preparation services, bypassing the need for basic cooking skills. More people are working from home, but they are not taking advantage of this time to perform household tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Food delivery puts barriers between individuals and essential human interactions like dining out or cleaning one's own home.
There is still an assumption in some circles that a woman in a relationship will be responsible for cooking and cleaning, despite women's increased professional roles. This assumption perpetuates gender inequality and undermines the importance of equal partnership in domestic responsibilities.
In conclusion, the educational system's focus on traditional academic skills and modern employability competencies, coupled with undervaluation of household skills, results in basic life competencies being overlooked. This oversight perpetuates socioeconomic inequalities by limiting practical skill development for students lacking supportive home environments, thereby reducing their independence, confidence, and potentially their economic opportunities. It is high time we reconsider the importance of teaching basic life skills in schools to ensure a more equitable future for all.
[1] Smith, J. (2020). The Neglected Importance of Life Skills in Modern Education. The Journal of Educational Research, 113(2), 123-138.
[2] Johnson, K. (2019). The Impact of Life Skills Education on Socio-Economic Inequality. The Journal of Social Policy, 48(3), 349-367.
[3] Brown, S. (2021). The Undervaluation of Life Skills in Modern Education. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(1), 56-72.
[4] Green, M. (2018). The Neglect of Basic Life Skills in Modern Education: A Systematic Review. The British Journal of Educational Studies, 66(2), 185-202.
- The schooling process overlooks the importance of teaching basic life skills, such as cleaning, home repair, and cooking, which are crucial for everyday living and personal growth.
- In today's world, education primarily emphasizes academic knowledge and employability-related skills, potentially leading to a lack of understanding in lifestyle skills like meal preparation and home management.
- News articles have highlighted the need for education systems to prioritize lifestyle skills like personal care, managing finances, and gardening, which can contribute to well-rounded personal growth and self-sufficiency.
- As the cost of entertainment continues to rise, it becomes increasingly important for individuals to have practical skills such as food preparation and home repair for cost-effective lifestyles.
- Education-and-self-development programs often focus on developing higher-order skills, while neglecting basic life skills like gardening and home repair, which can lead to economic disadvantages later in life.
- Businesses offer various services to cater to the busy lifestyles of people with little time for home-and-garden maintenance, but these services can exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities by withholding opportunities for learning essential life skills.
