The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 painted a vivid picture of how much our world is changing, estimating that 80 per cent of the jobs people will do in 10 years have yet to be invented. This poses a challenge for educators: how can we prepare students for success today while ensuring they are equipped for an evolving future in what is often referred to as a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world?
The answer lies in what educators call ‘life competencies’ – the collection of knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to participate effectively in the world and fulfil one’s overall potential. The concept first emerged in the early 20th century when education systems began to move away from rote learning in favour of fostering independent thinking and skill development. For many years life competencies have been described as ‘soft skills’, but in our fast-evolving world they are now understood to be essential to students’ futures.
Education group International Schools Partnership (ISP) has conducted its own research, including an analysis of global life skills frameworks – such as McKinsey’s Skills for Work (2021) and PISA’s Global Competencies – to identify five categories of competencies that can help students thrive in an unpredictable and rapidly changing future. Unique to ISP, this approach for developing life competencies focuses on deliberate and repeated experiences in everyday classes that, when put together, develop a range of cognitive, global, digital, self-leadership and interpersonal skills, behaviours and attributes.
With the importance of life competencies now understood, the next challenge is providing consistent opportunities for students to practise and develop these skills, and for schools to ensure students are making meaningful progress. To address this, ISP partnered with CamTree (the Cambridge Teacher Research Exchange) of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, a global platform focused on improving teaching practices for better learner outcomes. CamTree’s evidence-based research has played a crucial role in helping ISP identify what effective life competencies teaching looks like in the classroom, supporting schools in delivering high-impact learning.
The resulting ISP Life Competencies Framework is designed to help teachers understand how these competencies can be seen in students at different stages of development. It provides clear examples of how to embed and teach life competencies in daily lessons, ensuring students can practise and reflect on their progress. The framework also supports teachers in measuring and evidencing students’ growth in these essential skills, providing a structured approach to integrating life competencies into every class.
Steve Brown, ISP’s Chief Executive Officer, says: “Partnering with CamTree has allowed us to combine our research efforts and accelerate the process of turning our ideas into practical application. This collaboration has enabled us to create a framework where teachers are equipped to introduce these concepts in classrooms every day, embedding practices that give students the opportunity to truly develop critical skills and mindsets.”
Classroom-based evidence
The Life Competencies Framework will be piloted across LabSchools, ISP’s flagship ecosystem for testing and learning. The 11 schools in the LabSchools ecosystem serve as epicentres of EdTech and innovation across varied cultural and educational contexts, each one focused on specific kinds of learning. LabSchools allow ISP to rapidly trial multiple platforms to gather evidence, measure progress and assess life competencies in a formalised setting.
In El Altillo International School in Spain and Sancta Maria International School in India, two solutions are being put to the test: one focusing on evidencing life competencies and student self-reflection, the other on future-oriented learning experiences for higher education and career readiness. These trials aim to transform the often intangible process of developing life skills into a data-driven, measurable endeavour while supporting students to put the skills they have developed into practice.
The implications of this initiative are far-reaching and, once validated, these tools will be rolled out across ISP's entire network, potentially impacting over 100,000 students and 9,000 teachers worldwide. "This research has the potential to transform how life skills are taught in classrooms around the world," says Emily Porter, Chief Education and Innovation Officer at ISP. "By ensuring our students have repeated opportunities to practise these essential skills in real ways every day, we are preparing them to be successful not only in their academic pursuits, but also in their personal and professional lives."
A foundation for the future
The biggest benefactors of the model will be the children themselves. “By integrating life competencies into the broader educational framework, our students can develop confidence in their own skills while discovering their passions, and intentionally hone their skills based on the careers they have identified” says Porter. This is embodied in ISP’s Learning First approach, where students take charge of their own learning journey to confidently reflect upon and articulate the competencies they have developed and understand how these skills prepare them for future success.
The project also provides timely and relevant professional learning and tools for teachers on modern workplace skills development. Evolving these uniquely human qualities that are unlikely to be replaced by technology is particularly important during the advent of AI, when autonomous thought and the ability to reinvent your professional identity are becoming more highly prized and necessary. Life competencies are also a priority for families viewing life competencies development as very or extremely important in determining the quality of a school.
“We are on a journey to deliver a transformative education that sparks curiosity and builds self-confidence in our students,” concludes Brown. “This innovative approach ensures that when they leave our schools, they are the resilient, prepared young people they need to be to thrive.”
