Evaluating the Delivery of Life Skills (LS) at the First Cycle of the Basic Education in the Sultanate of Oman: Teachers’ Perspectives

Abstract

This study aims at evaluating the delivery of Life Skills (LS) at the first cycle of the basic education in Oman. Information was sought relative to teachers' perception of their abilities and confidence in implementing LS activities, the primary factors that affect teachers' initial involvement in LS, benefits of LS activities for children, how LS activities are being implemented, physical resources that teachers need in implementing LS activities, and barriers to the implementation of LS. The population of this study consisted of all teachers teaching at the first cycle of the basic stage of schooling in Oman (N=2396). A multi-stage random sampling approach was used to select 315 teachers using the 2010/2011 Ministry of Education (MoE) directory. A questionnaire was adopted and modified to gather the required data. To analyze the data, means and standard deviations as well as frequencies and percentages were computed for responses to each item. The study revealed that teachers at the first cycle of the basic education stage possess several skills related to LS delivery. The results, however, revealed that teachers at the first cycle lack the necessary skills to adopt problem-solving approach in the implementation of LS activities, in addition to their incompetency to integrate information technology in LS related instruction. Several barriers to LS delivery were also identified.