In light of rapidly changing societies, individual, as well as collective well-being, are in the focus of education. Quality education is concerned with the transfer of skills, knowledge, values, behavior and attitudes to students in order to have competent citizens. Hence, school curriculums need to implement education programs to equip students with the skills they need to become active, responsible, and engaged citizens (OECD, 2018).

Life skills include competencies that children and adolescents need in different school and life situations and help children in their encounters and in various situations of their present and future lives, both private and professional. According to the World Health Organization (2001), life skills are defined as skills that individuals need for success throughout the course of their lives. These life skills can be broken down into three main dimensions of social, cognitive, and emotional competencies. These life skills overlap with each other and can best be supported through a holistic approach. On the other hand, according to the OECD Learning Framework, three “transformative competencies” help shape the future: creating new value, reconciling tensions and dilemmas, and taking responsibility. The OECD mentions three areas of “core foundations” with “the fundamental skills, knowledge, attitudes and values that are prerequisites for further learning, which provide the basis for developing student agency and transformative competencies. Both areas, transformative competencies, as well as core foundations include elements of life skills and transversal skills which are sets of competencies independent from specific subjects.

The new Kosovo curriculum for pre-university education, with its focus on competence-based teaching and learning, shifts the focus of the education system from pure knowledge acquisition to the competencies that students need to succeed in life (Perolli-Shehu, 2019). According to the new Kosovo curriculum of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), revised in 2016, there are six competences stemming from the overall objectives of pre-university education that define the learning objectives to be acquired by students progressively and sustainably throughout their education (Perolli-Shehu, 2019). These competences are the competency in communication and expression; competency in thinking; competency in learning; competency in life, work and environment-related areas; personal and social competency; and civic competency (MEST, 2016). The personal competency includes, among others, demonstrating an understanding of oneself and others; demonstrating self-confidence; managing one’s emotions and stress; and exercising empathy for others. In this context, students are encouraged to develop self-confidence, while also fostering openness towards and confidence in others (MEST, 2016). And, although, the development of personal competencies is considered crucial in the state curricula, the country lacks direct initiatives or interventions that would support the development of these competencies in children, and the topic as such has never been researched in Kosovo before.

Based on the two abovementioned frameworks, two educational programs were created, FACE and PEACOCK program, comprised of manuals for training teachers and students’ books for life skills and personal developments. These programs were implemented in three randomly chosen schools in Kosovo using school-based teacher professional development. Eighty Eight teachers were trained.  During this process, students’ life skills and personal development were assessed pre and post program implementation. 

The present study is a quasi-experimental design exploring the development of life skills of children from the third to the ninth grade, pre- and post-implementation of the intervention program for development of life skills. The study was conducted in Kosovo, in three urban and rural schools which were part of the program for life skills development. A total of 1022 children participated in the study. The assessment of life skills was based on the Life Skills Assessment Scale (LSAS) developed in India by Kennedy et al. (2014). The LSAS itself is based on 10 core life-skills developed by the World Health Organization (see above). For the specific self-perception of children, the LSAS was adapted by the Zurich University of Teacher Education to the LSQC – Life Skills Questionnaire for Children. The LSQC and the LSAS specify five life skills which can be observed in children and young people: interacting with others; overcoming problems and finding solutions; taking initiative; managing conflict; and understanding and following instructions. The LSQC is a short questionnaire consisting of 20 statements, to which children give their ratings (indicating their self-assessment on specific life skills). Teachers were instructed through a short introduction on how to administer the LSQC in their classes. In addition to handing out the LSQC to all children in class, the teachers (N=50) chose a selected sample of children for closer observation. Observation was done through the original LSAS (Life Skills Assessment Scale) by the class teacher. The teachers observed each individual child and rated each of the skills on a 5-point Likert-type scale. During the whole school year the intervention program was delivered in the three selected schools by all the trained teachers attending FACE and PEACOCK program on life skills and personal development. Furthermore, the research study also assessed life skills development of teachers themselves using an online questionnaire to determine whether using life skills materials in their classroom, also had an impact on their own life skills competencies. In teachers questionnaires, in addition to demographic data, feedback on the FACE and Personal Development teaching materials, as well as specific experiences while using the teaching materials were asked for, a self-assessment of teachers for support for the sustainable continuation of training and development was included.

The OECD’s expanding evidence base and international work have highlighted the importance of high-quality teachers and teaching. Yet, many countries face persistent challenges and resistance to change. Current educational reforms demand different roles for teachers connected with teaching for understanding and preparing students for a society with complexities that many teachers themselves find difficult to come to terms with (Delors, 1996). There are a number of procedures that could be discussed, from personal self-development activities to seminars or in-service school days, and collaborative work among teachers and with other educators. This takes the form of school-based professional development that consist of teachers collaborating as teams, stimulated by persons and/or materials, who review their knowledge, construct new knowledge, transform it for teaching, review the curriculum and develop alternative forms, think and learn about their pupils' learning, experiment and assess the results of their actions (Avalos, 1998). This model was used to develop Life skills program. Preliminary data of the study indicate that understanding other’s feelings, problem-solving and taking initiative seems to be the most struggling issues for students compared to other indicators. It is expected that post-test will indicate an improvement in all five life skills assuming that the intervention will affect this developmental area. Interpretations of the program will be subject for adaptation and will serve as an input for further trainings for teachers. Main results will provide an example for life skills development as an element of professionalization of teachers, schools and the educational system. Results will be used as evidence to lead towards future interventions and program reviews recommending that the life-skills as a transversal competencies become more visible, tangible, and measurable. Finally, the study will also show if teachers felt that they had grown as persons through the experience of participating in the school based professional development.

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