Guiding Principles for Building Youth Soft Skills among Adolescents and Young Adults

"Despite frequent calls to focus programming and research on soft skills, little attention has been placed on understanding how these skills are built and what practitioners should do to foster them. This report fills the gap by identifying six guiding principles for effective skill-building programs."

This document examines the acquisition of soft skills - "skills, behaviors, and personal qualities that help people to navigate their environment, relate well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals."  Through synthesising literature reviews and meta-analyses, general guides on how to develop soft skills, and technical reports, it identifies principles and strategies that underlie soft skills development for ages 12–29, across programme contexts and youth characteristics and gives "specific examples of effective practice applying each principle... across the fields of workforce development, violence prevention, and sexual and reproductive health [SRH]."

From "A Common Skills Approach to Youth Programming", seven skills are identified as: higher order thinking skills, social skills, communication, self-control, positive self-concept, empathy, and goal orientation (page 13). Theories and models supporting soft skills development are listed (page 11) as 

• ”Self-determination theory (SDT),
• Social learning theory,
• Self-efficacy theory,
• Cognitive-behavior model, and
• Self-theories (Mindsets).”

The review recommends the following as guiding principles for effective programmes:

1.  "Promote experiential learning through challenge, experience, practice, and reflection.
2. Address skills in combination rather than in isolation in the program design.
3. Promote strong relationships between adults and youth and among youth themselves.
4. Support staff positive practices, such as modeling and positive reinforcement.
5. Develop a safe, supportive, and enriching environment for program implementation.
6. Promote integration across the different learning contexts."

The report identifies both out-of-school programs for enrolled students and those for non-enrolled youth, including outdoor adventure programs, service-learning, sports, mentoring, and workshop skills training, among others, which may focus on health behaviours, vocational skills, or academic performance and may or may not have a clear theory of change. In formal education settings programmes may be curriculum integrated, free standing or whole school in approach. Role plays, project-based or real life situations offer practice opportunities. Experiential learning methods may include personal writing exercises, role play, and the use of case studies to facilitate group discussion.  Scaffolding, positive reinforcement, feedback, and chances for reflection support learning. The Ankasha Intervention, for example, uses workshops, drama, art, and storytelling depicting fictional characters and their experiences followed by those of non-fictional figures. Youth identify skills and keep a diary to record their daily use of them.

FHI’s Life Skills Toolkit for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in India, used in cooperative learning settings, suggests six concrete steps to promote organized problem solving. (See Table 1 page 22.) Service learning, workplace and experiential learning can offer students practice opportunities, for example, career academies. These link academic and technical curricula by pairing small groups of students with teachers from different subjects to work together as a team on a theme around a local industry. Partnerships with local industry provide workplace opportunity through internships, field trips, and post-graduation job placement. 

Cultivating positive staff practices includes scaffolding, mentoring, coaching, co-facilitation, and questioning. Group process ground rules high expectations and consistency can contribute to a caring, safe, supportive and enriching environment. Partnerships with employers, community members and families can broaden programme exposure and reach. A chart on pages 39 and 40 summarises strategies for each of the six principles.

A programme design section considers the age and developmental stage of the youth cohort; the context and risk characteristics of the group; the national and contextual factors involved - such as working with war-affected youth; and the constraints and challenges of low- and middle-income countries.

1. Among considerations for future research are the following questions: "How critical periods and processes for acquiring soft skills might be different for males and females
2. How gender dynamics in society at large and within the program’s scope affect the process of soft skills building differently for boys and girls
3. How programs can provide facilities, curricula, and learning processes that are welcoming to both girls and boys
4. When programs should be delivered to single-sex or gender-mixed groups" 

In conclusion, the document states that each principle is a challenge inviting many possible programme responses and opportunities for gathering more evidence on cost-effective and youth-friendly programming.