Abstract

Life skills help children navigate the challenges of everyday life. They enable them to develop into healthy, responsible, and productive member of the society. The life skills have been identified as a key resource for enhancing positive and dynamic development in the adolescents. Being an adolescent, they need authentic guidance to direct them towards informed decision in areas that have direct impact in their development.  Keeping this fact in view, investigator aimed at assessing the relationship between life skills and guidance needs of adolescents studying in higher secondary schools so as to enhance students’ achievement.  Sample consists of 102 adolescents (27 males and 75 females) studying in classes IX and XI in Coimbatore by using simple random sampling method. A descriptive survey was adopted with the help of self-administered questionnaires to collect data regarding life skills and guidance needs. The results revealed that there was no significant difference found between male and female, nuclear and joint family in the life skills of adolescents whereas there existed significant difference between class IX and XI students. It is also observed that female adolescents, adolescents from nuclear family and standard XI students need high guidance need requirements in the Physical, Social, Psychological, Educational and Vocational areas. Relationship analysis shows that there exists significant positive correlation between life skills and guidance needs of adolescents which shows that when students develop their life skills in every stage of life, they require guidance needs as well. Hence, study reveals life skills achievement needs proper guidance in every stage of human being especially in adolescent which requires extra care to acquire life skills.

Key words: life skills, guidance needs, adolescents.