The framework begins with the personal/interpersonal capability as this describes the skills, knowledge and attitudes which underpin the other seven capabilities (Literacy and language capability, numeracy capability, financial capability, digital and media capability, health capability, environmental capability and civic capability). The framework should not be considered as a programme that learners work through from start to finish: capabilities should be selected and prioritised according to the learners’ needs.
“There is an acknowledged overlap between some capabilities, for example numeracy and financial”, explains Alex Stevenson, from the Learning and Work Institute, co-author of the framework along with Jackie Woodhouse, “this reflects the real-world interrelatedness of life skills”.
Features and principles
An important feature of the framework is that for each capability there are two aspects -difficulty of skill/capability level and familiarity of context-, which allow for a range of starting points and support the recognition of learners’ progression. Indeed, the consortium believes learning should always incorporate facilitative approaches which encourage self-reflection and critical thinking as well as help learners to take charge of their own learning and problem-solve for themselves.
Since the Life Skills for Europe project promotes learning that is designed, delivered and evaluated with the active participation of learners, the framework is not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive. Rather, it is presented as a starting point which can be added to and adapted to address the needs and requirements of the learners. “Since a framework is much more flexible and transferable than a traditional curriculum, the consortium believes that it will be applicable across Europe and adaptable to different target groups”, states Francesca Operti, the LSE Project Manager.
References and next steps
The knowledge, skills and attitudes described in the framework take account of a range of international and European national competence frameworks and build on the European Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, which supports learners of all ages in developing key competences and basic skills for learning.
Some parts of the framework were sent to peers for review. The LSE partners are keen on evaluating further suggestions: please contact them by writing to the LSE project manager.
The framework is available in English on the dedicated page of the LSE project website. It will be soon translated in Danish, Slovenian, Greek and French. The framework will be official presented at the final project conference, which will take place in Brussels on the 16th of October 2018.
Text: LSE consortium Pictures: Angeliki Giannakopoulou, Alex Stevenson