Should students be taught how to cook a meal, change a tire, or use cleaning products, at school?
That’s what the Ontario government wants to know as it seeks the opinions of parents and students through an online survey about which life skills should be taught in schools across the province.
The survey, Equipping Students With Practical Life Skills, was published on Sept. 4 and is open until 5 p.m. on Oct. 1.
The goal, the government says, is to find out what practical life skills are viewed as important for students to achieve a “strong foundation that will set them up for success.”
Participants are asked to complete a 10-minute survey composed of three sections: personal health and safety skills, household management skills, and time management and technological skills.
The first section focuses on personal health and safety skills, such as first aid, food preparation, and making informed decisions about health and nutrition. It also asks if students should learn about meal planning, such as reading nutrition labels.
In the second section, participants are asked to rank household management skills, like bicycle maintenance, car maintenance, clothing maintenance, home maintenance, and household tasks, such as talking to a landlord.
The third section covers technology and time management skills, such as the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI), commonly used computer applications (documents, spreadsheets, etc), and scheduling.
Each section asks participants to rank the importance of students learning each of the listed skills by marking it in a range from ‘not at all’ important to ‘very important.’
The sections ask the participant to identify the most important of the four skills for students to learn and also give respondents space to write down other skills they think schools should teach.
It also asks how the skills should be categorized, whether as ‘practical skills for living,’ ‘modern home economics,’ ‘essential life skills,’ or ‘other.’ There is also space for participants to write down a category for the skills.
A final question asks for demographic information about the survey participant, to have them identify if they are a stakeholder or individual.
Some of the categories mentioned in the survey, like digital skills, are currently covered by the Ontario curriculum.
‘Modernized Home Economics’
The survey follows an announcement by the province that it is revamping requirements for obtaining a high school diploma. Changes include a mandatory financial literacy requirement to graduate, as well as life and job skills.“Students will be able to create and manage a household budget, save for a home or asset, and protect themselves from financial fraud,” a May 30 Ontario government news release said.
Former Education Minister Stephen Lecce said at the time the province is looking at a “return of modernized home economics education.”
“By elevating life skills in the classroom, along with better career education and higher math standards on educators, we are setting up every student for life-long success,” he said. “Our bottom line: ensuring students graduate with practical learning that leads them to better jobs and bigger paycheques.”
