Acta Academica 2007 39(2): 208-227
Tilla Olivier & Lesley Wood
Eastern Cape teachers’ views on
their ability to equip learners to
cope with life after school
June 2006
“Life skills education” plays an important part in the preparation of school-leavers
for life after school, yet it is often neglected. In the light of the problems in the South
African education system, the question arises as to whether teachers themselves possess
the life skills with which they are supposed to empower their learners. A research pro-
ject was therefore undertaken among a group of Eastern Cape teachers with the aim
of exploring their perception of their ability to actualise life skills education in the
classroom, and of equipping them better for this task. A qualitative research approach
was adopted, making use of individual interviews with teachers. This study gives an
account of the findings of the empirical research that was undertaken as the first part
of a bigger project, highlighting the importance of preparing learners for life after
school, and how teachers should be equipped for such life skills teaching.
Die persepsies van Oos-Kaapse onderwysers omtrent hulle
vermoë om leerders vir die naskoolse lewe toe te rus
“Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding” speel ’n belangrike rol in die lewensvoorbereiding van
skoolverlaters, tog word dit dikwels in skole nagelaat. Met die hedendaagse probleme
in die Suid-Afrikaanse opvoedingstelsel ontstaan die vraag of onderwysers self oor die
lewensvaardighede beskik waarmee hulle veronderstel is om hulle leerders te bemagtig.
Die navorsing is derhalwe onderneem met ’n groep onderwysers van die Oos-Kaap
met die doel om die persepsies van onderwysers met betrekking to die aktualisering van
lewensvaardighede in die klaskamer te ondersoek, en voorts om hulle beter vir dié taak
toe te rus. ’n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering is gevolg om hierdie doel te bereik.
Hierdie artikel verskaf ’n oorsig oor die bevindinge van die empiriese ondersoek van ’n
groter projek. Dit beklemtoon die voorbereiding van leerders vir die naskoolse lewe
asook hoe die onderwysers vir lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding toegerus behoort te word.
Prof M A J Olivier & Dr L Wood, Research Technology and Innovation Unit,
Faculty of Education, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P O Box 77000,
Port Elizabeth 6037; E-mail: tilla.olivier@nmmu.ac.za
Olivier & Wood/Eastern Cape teachers’ views
Life skills education is viewed by principal global role-players ineducation as crucial to the development of learners’ wellbeingand fundamental to their meeting the requirements of life after
school, whether in tertiary education or in the workforce. At the Wo rl d
Education Forum in Dakar in 2000, the advancement of life skills was
also singled out by governments as one of their four paramount missions
(Kimberg 2002: 5).
The critical and developmental outcomes cited in the 2002 Revised
Curriculum Statement of the South African Department of Education
confirm this priority, sketching a profile of “the citizen the education
and training system should produce” (DoE 2002: 8). The relevance and
importance of life skills education as part of a balanced education, to
prepare learners to cope with the life that awaits them once they leave
school, is thus incontestable.
A balanced education should emphasise the importance of all aca-
demic learning areas, including Life Orientation (one of the Learning
Areas of the South African school curriculum). In this regard, Asmal
& James (2001: 1) argue that
[... while] a reformed curriculum must place a greater stress on mathe-
matics, science and technology, we must guard against a mechanistic and
narrow form of education, geared only towards market requirements.
This highlights the school’s important responsibility for contributing
to all aspects of learner development, without neglecting the personal
empowerment that will enable the learner to deal with life’s demands
and to cope in a healthy manner in the global society once he/she leaves
school.
To d a y ’s society is dynamic and mobile, and characterised by compe-
tition, rapid change, scientific and technological development, globali-
sation, massification and manipulation (Pretorius 1998: 232). These
factors often result in personal estrangement, inadequate socialisation,
neurosis, and what Pretorius (1998: 241) calls “contact inflation”, re-
ferring to the fact that, although people have more everyday social con-
tacts in today’s society, such interaction is on a superficial level and lacks
authenticity. Preparing learners for life after school has thus become
a challenge for schools (Mda 1995: 219).
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Acta Academica 2007: 39(2)
Furthermore, the modern labour market requires highly skilled in-
dividuals who are willing to work on a contract basis. The security of
permanent employment is fast becoming a luxury of the past. This
means that employees have to market themselves successfully, or become
successfully self-employed (Badat 2002: 15, Kirkland 2000: 49, Raij-
makers 1998: 2, Rooth 1997: 2). It is thus clear that school-leavers face
an immense challenge if they are to live meaningful lives, attain their
full potential, or even simply cope with life in our times.
School-leavers have specific needs in terms of the life skills that can
contribute to their wellbeing (Greyling 1995: 197), including problem
solving, career planning, stress management and obtaining employment.
A high priority should therefore be given to their empowerment for
lasting wellbeing and stability (Marais 1998: 148).
According to Spierings (2002: 5), the responsibility for life skills
education rests primarily on schools. However, this responsibility does
not appear to be taken seriously enough by teachers in South Africa
(Marais 1998: 148). Teachers do not receive adequate life skills training,
whether at the pre-service or the in-service level, and they struggle to
cope with the under-resourced teaching situation which is still the norm
in the majority of South African schools as a result of the inequalities
of the past (Wood 2004: 5).
In addition, many teachers themselves come from an under- r e s o u rced
background, which has a negative impact on both their abilities and
their morale (DoE 2001: 2, Snyders 2001: 228, Johnson et al 2000: 179).
Teachers’ own academic training may have been poor and their role
models may have had to contend with conditions similar to their own.
Their homes may be over-crowded and uncomfortable, with food and
clothing in short supply. Teachers “cannot act as role models if they do
not feel like role models […] and do not have a sense of the nobility
of their calling” (DoE 2001: 68).
This raises the question of whether teachers themselves in fact possess
the very life skills they are supposed to teach their learners.
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Olivier & Wood/Eastern Cape teachers’ views
1. Research problem and purpose of the study
The majority of school-leavers are not adequately equipped with life
skills, but this is not because of any shortage of material. Rather, there
seems to be insufficient knowledge among teachers about how life
skills education, as part of their task, should be accomplished. Given
the often underprivileged context of teachers and the dysfunctional edu-
c ation system in South Africa (Mda 1995: 219), motivating learners
and educating them to cope with life after school can be a daunting
task, particularly when they themselves may be suffering feelings of
inadequacy and lack of confidence.
Against this background, the question formulated to delineate the
problem and steer the research reported on in this study was: How do
teachers perceive their own ability to equip school-leavers with life skills?
(The second part of the research, namely theory generation and model
design, are reported on in a follow-up study by the same authors.)
The purpose of the research was in line with the stated problem,
namely to investigate how teachers — especially those having to face
the major challenge of teaching effectively in an under-resourced school
— personally perceived their ability (in terms of knowledge, skills
and attitudes) to contribute to the wellbeing of learners and to teach
them life skills (Johnson et al 2000: 179). Only once we understand how
teachers feel and what their perceptions are, can we attempt to address
the problem. By means of this investigation, a model (to be discussed
in a follow-up article) will be developed to better empower teachers
to equip school-leavers with life skills.
2. Clarification of concepts
Different perspectives exist on the concept of life skills, but for the pur-
pose of this research it may be viewed as intertwined with societal values
(DoE 2001: 8), determined by societal needs (Rice 1991: 62) and able
to be taught (Brooks 1984: 6). Life skills are the competences that enable
a person to cope in a changing environment and to live life fully and
effectively (Olivier et al 1997: 25, Schumacher 1980: 136). They thus
contribute to the person’s wellbeing.
211
Acta Academica 2007: 39(2)
3. Research design and methodology
The research design of this phase of the project falls within a construc-
tivist, interpretative philosophical paradigm.1 The primary purpose of
constructivism and interpretivism is to attain in-depth understanding
a nd to transform perceptions, thus empowering people to make informed
changes in order to improve their situation (Mehra 2002: 8, Rodwell
1998: 7).
A qualitative, phenomenological approach was selected in order to
facilitate understanding and interpretation of the deeper meaning given
to the problem, as experienced by the participant teachers in their own
natural settings (cf Cresswell 1998: 17, Rossman & Rallis 1998: 15,
Mouton 1986: 42). In addition, phenomenology was chosen because
it is emerging, inductive, contextual, descriptive, interactive, explorative ,
e v a luative and holistic in nature.2
Based on the theory-generative approach advocated by Chinn &
Kramer (1995: 58-123), Straus & Corbin (1998: 143), Walker & Av ant
(1995: 28) and Dickhoff et al (1968: 422), the research followed five
steps, of which this article describes the first. The main purpose of the
field-work was to deal with Step 1 of the theory generative design,
namely the identification, by means of data collection and analysis,
of a primary concept based on the findings to serve as a foundation for
the design of a model and to guide practical intervention.
3.1 Sampling
Participants for the research were selected purposively (Strydom 1998:
198) from schools with which the University had previously made con-
tact for marketing purposes, in order to elicit rich information about
the research question (Schurink et al 1998: 317). Furthermore, avail-
ability sampling (Grinnell 1988: 251) was employed, to ensure tha t
the research was not jeopardised, as school principals in some cases
nominated available participants from their schools. All participants met
the set criteria, namely that they were able to communicate in English,
1 Cf McFarlane 2000: 13, Rodwell 1998: 4, 18, Denzin & Lincoln 1994: 4, Schwandt
1994: 129.
2 Cf Silverman 2000: 2, Rossman & Rallis 1998: 5-10, Burns & Grove 1999: 60,
Creswell 1994: 1, 145.
212
Olivier & Wood/Eastern Cape teachers’ views
were teaching learners in Grades ten to twelve on a full-time basis ,
had had no formal training in life skills education, and were working at an
under-resourced school in the local townships.
3.2 Data collection
The interview was piloted in advance to ensure that the data-gathering
procedures were appropriate, as suggested by Strydom (1998). In-depth,
individual interviews were then conducted with participant teachers to
gather data (Kvale 1996: 27). The researcher was the main research
instrument and facilitated the interviews (Mehra 2002: 9, Creswell 1994:
145). A second researcher acted as observer during the data-gathering
process and wrote the field notes for the sake of triangulation (Morse
& Field 1996: 91).
The data were elicited by means of vignettes (scenarios) and a guiding
question which required the participant to respond to the vignettes.
Vignettes are widely used in the social sciences (Hughes & Huby 2002:
382) to prompt responses to interview questions. A vignette is a short
story “about hypothetical characters in specified circumstances, to whose
situation the interviewee is invited to respond” (Finch 1987: 105). Vi d eo
clips, pictures, role-plays, poems or music can be used in the same way
(Barter & Renold 2002: 5, Richman & Mercer 2002: 70).
The participants in this study were shown a short video-clip of first-
year students discussing what life skills they wished they had been
taught at school in order to be better prepared for what they chose to
do after school, as well as lecturers giving their opinion on what life
skills are lacking in learners coming from school. The video-clip clearly
indicated that both students and lecturers considered life skills deve-
lopment at school to be inadequate. The teachers were then asked one
central question: “How would you respond to this video illustrating
a lack of life skills development at school?”
The interviews, lasting approximately forty minutes, each were taped
and transcribed v e r b a t i m . Data saturation was reached after eleven inter-
views conducted at six schools.
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Acta Academica 2007: 39(2)
3.3 Data analysis
The transcriptions of the interviews were coded according to the steps
suggested by Tesch (Creswell 1994: 153). A re-coder performed an
independent coding and the findings were confirmed during a con-
sensus discussion.
3.4 Literature study
A thorough literature study was done to form the conceptual frame-
work for the study, as well as to substantiate the findings of the research
(Creswell 1994: 21) by comparing it with existing findings in order
to establish similarities, contradictions, or gaps.
3.5 Measures to ensure trustworthiness
The trustworthiness of the research was based on the criteria for credi-
bility (truth-value), transferability (applicability), dependability (con-
sistency) and confirmability (neutrality) (cf Guba’s model in Krefting
1991: 215 and Leedy 1993: 143), as well as authenticity (Rodwell 1998:
97). It was attained by means of triangulation, including field notes;
prolonged engagement; peer review; participant checking; detailed,
dense descriptions; scientific distance; the re-coding procedure; con-
sensus on the themes and categories that finally emerged; preservation
of raw material as an audit trail; mastery of the enquiry method, and
reference adequacy (Leedy 1993: 143).
3.6 Ethical considerations
The research adhered to ethical measures including informed consent;
voluntary participation; anonymity; confidentiality; explanation of the
project, and feedback to participants (Lipson 1994: 343). The teachers
were given a letter explaining the purpose of the research and gua-
ranteeing their anonymity. They were requested to sign the letter as an
acknowledgement that they agreed to participate on a voluntary basis.
214
Olivier & Wood/Eastern Cape teachers’ views
4. Research findings: discussion and recommendations
4.1 Theme 1: Teachers perceive preparation for life 
after school as important
The participating teachers generally perceived that contributing to
learners’ wellbeing and their preparation for life after school is an im-
portant facet of education. In this regard they expressed the unanimous
opinion that learners are presently inadequately prepared for life after
school, and that it is the teacher’s responsibility to empower them
with the necessary life skills. They said that this part of the educational
task should be driven by the teacher’s love for the learners:
The preparedness for life afterwards, […] the majority of us is [sic]
l a c k i ng in terms of preparing the kids for life […] we want to be
teachers to help these kids and make a difference to the kids, but
we’ve lost the focus somewhere along the line …
Recent research backs up the sentiment that the education system
is not adequately preparing learners for life after school or sufficiently
fostering their wellbeing (Harris 2001). Education can no longer be
perceived as merely imparting knowledge. In order to be able to live
a meaningful life after school, learners need a balanced education which
focuses on all aspects of human development and contributes to their
wellbeing and motivation (Kruger & Adams 1998).
In addition, Davidoff & Lazarus (1997: 66) contend that education
n e e ds to re-think the way schools function, how learners learn, how
t e a c hers teach, and how people relate to one another, in order to ensure
t h at the capacity under discussion is developed. Lethoko (2002: 240)
further emphasises that the contribution of the teacher’s personal qua-
lities and his/her love for children and teaching should not be under-
estimated in life skills education, as they provide the foundation for
positive relationships between teachers and learners.
The participants further declared that they, as teachers, were not
adequately equipped to perform this kind of preparation of their learners
for life. In this regard they complained about the overemphasis on
academic work. They blamed the pressure to produce high marks and
good pass rates, the focus on academic subjects, and the lack of extra-
mural activities at school for this state of affairs:
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Acta Academica 2007: 39(2)
Table 1: Theme 1
Theme Sub-themes Categories
Teachers 1.1 Learners are inade-
perceive quately prepared for life
preparation after school
for life after
school as 1.2 Preparation for life 1.2.1 Preparation for life is part of
important after school is the every teacher’s job; love for learnersteacher’s responsibility and teaching should drive the pro-
cess of life skills instruction
1.3 Teachers are not 1.3.1 Over-emphasis on academic
equipped to prepare subjects:
learners for life after - pressure to produce matriculation
school passes
- value of academic subjects, and
- lack of extramural activities
1.3.2 A teacher-centred approach to
learning
1.3.3 Large classes lead to poor
teacher-learner relationships
1.3.4 Teachers are not equipped to
integrate life skills with academic
subjects
1.3.5 The teacher’s personal impact
on learners:
- negative feelings and attitudes, 
and
- negative values and work ethics,
resulting in negative behaviour
1.3.6 Lack of parental support in
life skills teaching
1.3.7 Negative collegial relation-
ships among teachers
1.3.8 The under-resourced situation
in schools:
- lack of material resources
- lack of leadership
- lack of personpower, and
- situation in deprived communities
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Olivier & Wood/Eastern Cape teachers’ views
… because now we have to focus, like you see, there [sic] on the
results, getting the kids through, and with all the pressure on us,
all the negative publicity teachers get, […] we can’t get through to
some of the kids.
Participants perceived the Department of Education as blaming
teachers for the fact that learners are not emotionally stable or well-
equipped. Teachers saw themselves as perceived to lack a sense of pro-
fessionalism and ethics, and to be poor role models for mental health.
They thus felt resentful and unsupported, which in fact was an aggra-
vating factor.
The Revised National Curriculum Statement of South Africa (DoE
2002) allocates more time than before to all aspects of Life Orienta-
tion (one of the Focus Areas for teaching), yet justice cannot be done
to this learning area if teachers are insufficiently equipped to teach it.
The success of the introduction of Life Orientation in the new curri-
culum up to Grade 12 depends on whether it is correctly taught.
All over the world educators are recognising that, in order to equip
learners to cope with the rapid expansion of knowledge and the changing
world they inhabit, it is necessary to empower them with life skills,
embedded in a strong value system (Elias 2003). This can also be im-
parted during extramural activities, where learners get the opportunity
to internalise the values and skills displayed by their teachers/coaches
(Smith & Small 1991). In South Africa such activities are actually non-
existent in most disadvantaged schools, due to a lack of resources
(Wood 2004).
Participating teachers offered many excuses in defence of them-
selves. Their perception was that they were forced to follow a teacher-
centred, instead of a learner-centred, approach because of large classes.
This also resulted in poor teacher-learner relationships.  Furthermore,
teachers had not been equipped during their training to integrate life
skills with other academic work.
Teachers’ own negativity and low morale were projected onto learners,
while negative collegial relationships existed among teachers. Schools
were under-resourced, and the lack of materials, leadership, and person-
pow e r, as well as the poor environment, impacted negatively on teachers’
ability to teach life skills. Parental non-involvement in school affairs
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Acta Academica 2007: 39(2)
also contributed to the problem (Steyn & Van Wyk 1999: 41). In this
regard participants expressed themselves as follows:
We spoonfeed them. We sit with classes of about 45.
… you had incorrect modelling at home, whatever, and so how do
you turn that around in school?
The relationships are not good in our schools. We don’t talk to one
another.  That can have an effect on the kids, you see, and also on
yourself, because suddenly you are de-motivated, you see?
At our schools we don’t have resources.
You have to be mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually strong
yourself. (to be able to empower learners).
According to the literature, many teachers still find it difficult to
adopt a more learner-centred approach to teaching that will be more
conducive to life skills education (Johnson et al 2000). Group work
is recognised as a valuable method for encouraging a more learner-
centred approach (Dalin 1993). However, this becomes very difficult
in cases where classes are over-crowded (Hutchinson et al 2003).
Yet, teachers remain “one of the most powerful variables in the
educational environment”, referring to their enthusiasm for the work
they present as well as their interest in and motivation of learners
(Hutchinson et al 2003: 811). However, in most cases they lack the
training and confidence to do a proper job of life skills education.
“Teachers’ own academic training may have been poor and their role
models may have been people suffering in conditions similar to those
they now suffer” (Johnson et al 2000: 183).
Elias (2003) points out that learners gain more in terms of socio-
emotional learning when close collaboration takes place between parents
and teachers. Furthermore, divided staff sentiments are not conducive to
education, but unfortunately exist as a common problem among teach e r s ,
especially in disadvantaged schools (Steyn & Van Wyk 1999). Likewise,
lack of resources in schools, in particular a lack of strong leadership
(Mybu rgh & Poggenpoel 2002) will impact negatively on the effective-
ness of teaching (Hutchinson et al 2003).
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Olivier & Wood/Eastern Cape teachers’ views
4.2 Theme 2: Teachers believe they should be better 
equipped to prepare learners for life after school by 
means of life skills teaching
The participants were adamant that teachers need to become better
equipped to prepare school-leavers for life after school. In this regard
they expected the Department of Education to provide them with
material and emotional support. They suggested this could be done
by offering training in the implementation of educational policies,
providing adequate material resources at schools, and promoting the
status of teachers in the community.
I think we need some sort of training program in place, to equip
teachers to be able to handle certain things.
Teachers in fact feel very frustrated, because, especially with the
introduction of OBE, they were really left to their own devices …
everything that has anything to do with the Department, you don’t
feel as if you are getting any support.
According to a Department of Education (2002: 2) document, teachers
were completely negative about the new policies and initiatives for
teaching. Such training as is offered by the Department is compromised
by a lack of follow-up or ongoing learning (Bradley 1996). In addi-
tion, the status of teachers in the community is not improving, as the
media often report on unacceptable behaviour such as teacher absent-
eeism in the disadvantaged areas of South Africa (Manyisana 2003).
The participating teachers also asserted that school managements
should become more involved in empowering teachers with life skills.
This could be done by means of support for initiatives shown by teachers,
staff development, and the involvement of teachers in school manage-
ment. Furthermore, managements should encourage parental involve-
ment in school initiatives relating to life skills. They should also offer
leadership in improving the general school climate: “… if schools were
to engage more closely with the community, with parental involvement
perhaps, maybe that would be some source of relief for teachers.”
The literature confirms that teachers have reason to complain about
dysfunctional governing bodies and lack of support from district ma-
nagement (Manyisana 2003). McCarthy (2003) is of the opinion that
more could be done by management structures to help teachers feel
safe, to recognise their value, support their initiatives, include them in
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Acta Academica 2007: 39(2)
Table 2: Theme 2
Theme Sub-themes Categories
Teachers should 2.1 The 2.1.1 Training for implementation of
be better Department of educational policies
equipped to Education should
prepare learners provide material 2.1.2 Provision of adequate material
for life after and emotional resources for schools
school support for 2.1.3 Improving the status of teachers
teachers in the community
2.2 School 2.2.1 Management should support
management and encourage teachers:
should become - acknowledge their initiatives
more involved in - offer staff development, and
empowering - involve them in school management
teachers
2.2.2 Management should encourage
parental involvement
2.2.3 Management should provide
leadership to improve the school
culture, or climate
2.3 Teachers 2.3.1 Improvement of teachers’ own
should improve life skills
their own ability
to prepare 2.3.2 Development of intrinsic moti-
learners for life vation
after school 2.3.3 Development of a strong values
system
decision-making, plan staff development opportunities and empower
teachers with life skills. An empowering environment would enable
teachers to develop their own competence and consequently place them
in a better position to pass their skills on to their learners.
Furthermore, the participants were convinced that teachers should
try to improve their own capacity by means of life skills training and
the development of their own intrinsic motivation and a strong value
system: “Yes, if I develop myself emotionally, yes I am equipped to do
that [contribute to the wellbeing of learners through life skills educa-
tion], but I am not specifically trained to do that.” Other comments
by the participants were:
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Olivier & Wood/Eastern Cape teachers’ views
A prime factor is the attitude of the teacher, since that is going to
rub off onto the kids.
There is hopelessness among the teachers […] the teacher feels power-
less. Most of us are not comfortable in what we are doing, we are
demoralised.
These teachers seem to have lost all pride in their profession (Wo od
2004 112). This has decreased their self-motivation and confidence, which
in turn has had an unhealthy impact on the school climate. Teachers are
leaving the profession because of low salaries and under-resourced scho o l
settings (Wood 2004: 122). A sense of self-regard is absolutely essential
if teachers are to be enthusiastic role models of life skills for learners.
5. Recommendations
It can therefore be recommended that:
• staff development should be planned to focus on life skills and the
intrinsic growth of teachers, helping them to overcome the negative
feelings, attitudes, values and work ethics identified in the research;
• teachers themselves should seek out growth opportunities and strive
for self-development which would enable them to adopt a more
learner-centred approach to learning, co-operate with colleagues,
and integrate life skills into all subjects;
• the Government and the Department of Education should contri-
bute to a working environment conducive to personal growth, in
which teachers’ strengths can be utilised and further developed; pro-
vide teachers with training in life skills, and provide the necessary
materials and resources for life skills education;
• school managements should support and acknowledge teachers’
initiatives, encourage parents to become more involved, and pro-
vide strong leadership.
6. Limitations and suggestions for further research
The following limitations of the study are acknowledged:
• The fieldwork was conducted only in under-resourced schools all
situated in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. There-
fore the findings cannot be generalised.
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Acta Academica 2007: 39(2)
• The teachers who participated were all interested in being empowered
with life skills, thus their perspective may differ from that of teachers
who are not interested in life skills.
• The researchers sensed that not all teachers were completely open
in their responses, for fear of being seen as judgemental of their
colleagues. For this reason they may have painted a picture more
positive than the reality.
The following suggestions for further research are offered:
• A pilot programme based on the findings should be developed, to
empower teachers with life skills.
• A questionnaire based on the findings could be designed as a quan-
titative follow-up of the research, in order to cover a broader area.
7. Conclusion
The findings of the research clearly indicated that the participating
teachers did not feel equipped to prepare learners for life after school.
They thought that life skills education was not getting the attention
at school that it deserves, in spite of the recognition that such prepa-
ration is vital to the future success of the learner. The teachers also
believed that they should be given the opportunity to become better
equipped to prepare learners for life after school. All role-players
(namely the Department of Education, school managements, parents
and teachers themselves) need to create a more empowering teaching
environment, in which life skills education can flourish.
This poses a great challenge to education. In order to assist teachers
in this regard a model, based on the findings reported in this article,
was designed for the empowerment of teachers to equip school-leavers
with life skills. Such empowerment would give teachers the confidence
to make a significant contribution to the development of life skills
by learners, thus preparing them for life after school.
222
Olivier & Wood/Eastern Cape teachers’ views
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