Effectiveness of an Instructional Module for Enhancing Life Skills among Higher Secondary School Students in Kerala

Abstract

Adolescence is a sensitive developmental stage marked by cognitive, emotional, and social development, and adolescents experience numerous issues that affect their academic achievement and overall well-being. The skills that can help build resilience and flexibility in adolescents are life skills (communication, decision-making, problem-solving, empathy, and stress management). The proposed study was designed to develop and test an instructional module to enhance the life skills of higher secondary school students in Kerala. A quasi-experimental research design was used, involving 120 students from four higher secondary schools; 60 were in the experimental group and 60 in the control group. The experimental group underwent a six-week intervention that included case-study-based interaction sessions, role-plays, group discussions, and situational analysis. The life skills assessment scale assessed life skills competencies before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and ANOVA, which demonstrated the absence of significant differences between groups at baseline, thereby establishing initial equivalence. Post-intervention outcomes showed that all life skills domains were significantly improved in the experimental group compared to the control group. The advantages for both male and female students were equal, and the gains across modules were the same across all skills. The results indicate that culturally appropriate life skills programs have the potential to effectively improve adolescents’ personal, social, and emotional skills, underscoring the need to incorporate such programs into the school curriculum.