Human Development and Family Studies: A Course that Develops Life Skills in Adolescents

Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) is a specialized area within Home Science Programmes that focuses on understanding human life from conception to death. The curriculum provides individuals with a robust theoretical foundation and essential skills to support optimal development and promote happy, healthy families, ultimately contributing to creation of a positive and holistic society. The course also promotes the integration of diverse innovative pedagogical approaches to facilitate deep, lifelong learning of concepts and skills, moving beyond rote memorization and exam-oriented objectives. To assess the influence of the Course on development of life-skills, researchers from a Home Science Degree College in Goa conducted Focus Group Discussions with alumni, final-year students, and students who had recently chosen this specialization. These discussions explored participants’ perspectives on their learning experiences and the life-skills they attributed to their specialization. Key themes emerging from the analysis highlighted positive perceptions of the Course. Alumni specifically reported that the knowledge and life-skills gained had significantly contributed to their personal and professional development, enabling them to excel in various capacities at the workplace and also effectively assume supportive roles within their families and social networks. Students highlighted specific practical exposure and skills they had picked up which would help secure a job and possible entrepreneurship opportunities. Additionally, they reported gaining awareness of personal qualities and latent skills, suggesting an improvement in self-awareness. Participants underscored the breadth and depth of lifelong learning, advocating for the inclusion of specific HDFS papers in the curricula of other UG programmes as well. This research has implications for education and policy as it highlights the importance and applicability of the HDFS specialization to development of life-skills and advocates its inclusion in varied formats tailored to a variety of educational levels and settings.