1. PROMOTION OF LIFE SKILLS
Concepts of Life skills, Problem and Social Problem
Life skills
Life skills refer to the knowledge and skills which give an individual ability to work independently
and accuracy with maximum efficiency. Life skills help an individual to deal with his or her daily life
like problem solving, decision making, critical thinking and self awareness. Life skills involve
thinking, planning and acting which enable someone to solve his or her problems in life
Problem
Problem is the something and an unpleasant or undesirable condition that cause the difficulties and
unsatisfactory to the people. Problem has to be solved and needs to be corrected in order to create
satisfied situation among the people in the society.
Social problems
Social problems are the things that cause the difficulties that affect the community. Social problems
may include violence, theft, drug abuse, corruption and many others.
Problem solving
Problem solving is an act which involves the relation of decision-making that requires someone to
make a choice and selecting the best alternative and implementing the solution.
Problem Solving Techniques
Problem solving techniques refers to the ways or methods that are applied by a person or a group of
people to deal with the difficult situation in the societies and find out the better solutions. These
methods are applied in order to solve the different problems that face people in the society when they
struggle to get the better life.
Ways of problem solving
i. Cooperation. A person, who has a problem, exposes it to other people around him or her.
People can decide to make contribution of their ideas in order to solve that problem.
ii. Hard working. Sometimes, some problems are caused by laziness, for example lack of
food and good clothes. These problems can be solved by working hard so as to get better
achievement.
iii. Guidance and counseling. There are some of the problems which cannot be solved
physically or mentally, instead they need psychological treatments. This can be applied to
the people who have mental or emotional suffering like people with HIV/AIDS.
iv. Seeking advice from individual person. In our daily life, there are people who are
considered to be wise with the knowledge and experience about the problems. So some
people who are facing with various problems pay list to these people seeking the advice of
their problems.
v. Reading the book. Some books are providing various knowledge in life. They can be used
to provide different. They can be used to provide different suggestion on how to solve the
problems. For example, there are some books which help people with psychological
problems to recover. Reading the books refresh the mind and acquire problems solving
skills.
vi. Consult expertise. There are some of the problems need to be solved by expertise. This
need scientific way of solving problem and it is important for a person who is seeking
advice to consider the nature of the problem and deciding which expert to see because there
are some problems which may not be solved by individual people instead need collective
solutions.
Importance of applying social problem techniques
i. Promotion of peace and security. Effective application of social problem-solving techniques
reduces the numbers of social problems in the society and promote peace, security, unity and a
strong bond among the citizens
ii. Disease control. Application of social problem solving techniques is a very important aspect to
control diseases. These diseases may include communicable and non- communicable diseases.
For example prolonged stress may cause heartbreak, pressure etc
iii. Promoting development in the society. Effective promotion of social development activities
enables people to engage themselves in different economic activities rather than spending a lot
of time figuring out how to solve social problems
iv. Provision of solution to various problems. The use of social problem solving techniques help
individuals or a society to get possible solutions to a number of unresolved social problem
v. Minimization of cost. The provision of appropriate locally social problem techniques help to
reduce unnecessary cost which would have been incurred by external experts to solve some
social problems
vi. Making people active and useful. Social problem solving techniques enable people to
participate in various productive activities. Through these techniques, people can solve their
social problems and become more active and useful members of the society.
vii. Reduction of social problems. People in a given society should take effective measures to
overcome various social problems.
Steps Taken in The Problem Solving
i. Identifying the problem. This is the first step of social problem solving. In this step, the
social problem experienced should be identified so that it becomes familiar to those who
are responsible to solve it
ii. Collecting Information. This is the stage whereby all necessary information concerning
the identified social problem is collected. The information is collected through various
methods such as questionnaire, observation or interview.
iii. Defining the Problem. This is the explanation of the conflict and disagreements between
people. The problem should be well known before solving it
iv. Generating alternatives. This involves the generating of many solutions which ultimately
assist in problem solving
v. Agreeing in solution. This is the step of making agreement which can be involve what to
do in order to avoid the reoccurrence of the same problem
vi. Carrying out evaluation. This is the final step in the process of solving a particular
problem. At this step the person in-charge determines whether or not the solution applied to
solve the social problem has been successful.
Methods of gathering information
i. Observation. This is one of the methods used in collecting information. Through this
method, a person responsible to resolve a problem may obtain relevant information by
observing what is actually happening.
ii. Interview. This method involves interrogating people. The information obtained through
an interview is likely to be more accurate compared to other methods. This is so because
the method involves face- to- face conversation between interviewer and interviewee.
iii. Questionnaire. This is method involves a list of questions to be answered by respondents
in a writing form. This method is useful in collecting information from a large sample size
within a short period
iv. Mass media. This is a method of collecting information involving the use of various
presses like television, radio, newspaper, journals blogs, social media and websites.
v. Documentary review. This method involves the use of authoritative documents such as
books and other publications to obtain information. For example, through books and other
publication, a person can get information on how to address a social problem.
QUESTIONS
1. What do you understand about the following terms?
a. Problem b. Social problem c. problem solving d. Problem solving techniques
2. Identify six benefits of applying problem solving techniques in our societies
3. What six ways can be used to solve the problems that face many people in the family level?
4. How can you help your father in the family to solve the problems encounter your family members?
Which stages will you most consider?
5. Suppose you have given the chance by the chairperson of Mtakuja village to explain on how to solve
the problems for the development of the village. Which six points will you most consider?
6. Your family members face difficulties in collecting the information to solve their problems in their daily
live. As one among of the family member, how can you help your family members overcome the
situation?
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