Identifying Executive Challenges of Life Skills Education in Secondary School (A Phenomenological Study)

Subject Areas : Curriculum Design and Development

Tayebeh Ranjbar Ahmadabadi ¹ , Gholam Ali Ahmadi ² , Mehdi Davaei ³ , Alireza Asareh ⁴

1 - Ph.D. student in Curriculum Development, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Faculty of Humanities, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran
3 - Department of Educational Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
4 - Faculty of Humanities, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2022-05-18 Accepted : 2022-08-23 Published : 2022-09-20

Keywords: Life skills, Teachers' Lived Experiences, Executive Challenges,

Abstract :

Purpose: This study was aimed at understanding the lived experiences of teachers about the executive challenges of life skills education in secondary school.Methodology: This qualitative research was performed using the phenomenological method. Data collection tools were semi-structured interviews. For this purpose, using the criterion-based method and chain-based sampling, 13 interviews with teachers who were familiar with the skills of education were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. To validate the research, Lincoln and Guba's evaluative criteria were used.Findings: The analysis of the interviews indicates four comprehensive themes (social challenges, economic challenges, content challenges, and method challenges), 17 organizing themes, and 43 basic themes. The results showed that items such as non-involvement of students, non-involvement of parents, unfamiliarity with the life skills, resistance of stakeholders, ideological view, lack of attention to the needs of adolescents, lack of appropriate resources, irrelevant content, overemphasis on knowledge, chaotic content structure, double financial burden on the education system, lack of financial involvement of stakeholders, No budget allocation, lack of familiarity of teachers in teacher training with topics related to life skills, multiple academic pressure on students, inappropriate assessment and inappropriate teaching tools play a major role in the ineffective implementation of life skills training.Conclusion: According to the above findings, it can be said that teaching life skills will not be effective regardless of the challenges that exist in this regard, so solving these challenges is one of the most basic prerequisites for teaching life skills.