The Inclusion of Life Skills in Secondary School English Textbooks in Saudi Arabia
الكلمات المفتاحية:
Life Skills, Content Analysis, English reading textbook, Secondary school
الملخص
The ultimate goal of education is to enable people from life skills which help them to fitting for living in 21st century. Therefore, infusing life skills within the materials of the school curricula such as English student's textbook is an important issue to fulfill such goal. Yet, the purpose of this study was to find out the life skills in the content of the Saudi Student's Secondary School English Textbooks according to an inventory of the life skills which is developed by the researcher herself. To this end, an Inventory of the life skills, and a checklist of content analysis were developed and conducted to a sample consisted of 73 reading texts which were selected from a population consisted of the Saudi Student's Secondary School English Textbooks for the 4th -grade up to the 6th-grade (i.e. MGSs). Results of the study revealed that a total of (70) life skills, distributed among (10) main categories (MCs) and (25) sub-categories (SCs), were found as a result of the completely consensus among the panel of experts. Also the results revealed that all life skills of the supposed inventory were included within the analyzed textbooks. Yet, the distribution of these skills was somehow unbalanced and insufficient. Based on the study's results some recommendations were recommended.
المراجع
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2. Al-Hadabi, A., S., S., D. (2007). Analysis of The Environmental Concepts in Science Textbooks of the Basic Education Stage in The Republic of Yemen. PhD Thesis. University of UKM, Malysia.
3. Al-Mamary, S., A. (2018) Acquisition Level of Life Skills by Level Four Students and its Relationship with the Students’ Application of those Skills during Practicum. Journal of Educational and psychological Sciences, 3(19), 400-428.
4. Aparna, N., & Raakhee, A. S. (2011). Life Skill Education for Adolescents: its Relevance and Importance. Journal of Education Sciences and Psychology, 2(19), 3-7 ISSN 1512-1801 5
5. Ari, P., Dewi, R., & Diah, K. (2017). A Content Analysis of Bright 1: A 2013 Curriculum-Based Textbook for VII Grade Students. Advances In Social Science, Education and Humanities Research (ASSEHR), 158, 89-100.
6. Ashraf, H., Jadidolesam. M. R., & Jan-nesar. Q. (2017, November 21-23). Life Skills in Iranian EFL Textbooks: A Mixed Method. A research submitted to the 15th International TELLSI Conference, Islamic Azad University, Roudehen Branch, Tehran, Iran.
7. Bailey, S., & Deen, M. (2002). Development of a Web-Based Evaluation System: A Tool for Measuring Life Skills in Youth and Family Programs. Family Relations, 51(2), 138-147
8. Bouzid, H. A. (2016). Boosting the 21st Century Skills through Moroccan ELT Textbooks. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics (JELTL), 1(1), 97-108.
9. Erawan, P. (2010). Developing Life Skills Scale for High School Students through Mixed Methods Research. European Journal of Scientific Research, 47(2), 169-186. Retrieved from: http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.htm
10. Esmaeilinasab, M., & Davoud, M. M. (2011). Effectiveness of Life Skills Training on Increasing Self-esteem of High School Students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 1043-1047. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.203
11. Gayatri, MSW. Channaveer, RM., & Lakshmana, G. (2017). Life skills education program among high school children: An intervention study. Journal of Mental Health Education, 1 (1), 19-29. Retrieved from:
12. file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Life%20skills%20final%20(3).pdf
13. Al-Ghazo, A. & Samadi, O. M. (2013). A Content Analysis of the English Reading Texts Authenticity in Student's Book of Action Pack Eleven in Jordan. European Scientific Journal, 9(29), 345-359.
14. Giri, D., & Sharma, J. (2016: February). Promotion of Life Skills Education for Adolescents. A research submitted to International Conference: Science of Human Learning. New Delhi volume 2
15. Haji, T. M., Mohannadkhani, S. & Hahtami, M. (2011). The Effectiveness of Life Skills Training on Happiness, Quality of Life and Emotion Regulation. Procedia- Social and Behaviral Sciences, 30, 407-411.
16. Hamodona, Y.O. (2007). Life Skills in the Content of English for Palestine- Grade Six Textbook. (Unpublished Master's Thesis). The Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine. Retrieved from https://library.iugaza.edu.ps/Thesis/74439.pdf
17. Hsieh, H., Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis. Qual Health Res, 15(9), 1277-1288.
18. Incebacak, B. B. & Erosy, E. (2018). Problem Solving of Secondary School Students. China-USA Business Review, 15(6), 275-285.
19. Instructional Services–Textbook Adoptions Office. (2004). Invitation to Submit Textbooks for Evaluation and Adoption in North Carolina. North Carolina.
20. Khosravani, M., Motallebzadeh, K., & Ashraf, H. (2014). Designing a ' Life Skills Questionnaire" for analyzing the Socio-cultural Constructs of EFL Textbooks. The International Jouranl of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World (IJLLALW), 5(2), 200-207.
21. Khosravani, M., Khosravani, M., & Khorashadyzadeh, A. (2014). Analyzing the Effects of Iranian EFL Textbooks on Developing Learners’ Life Skills. English Language Teaching, 7(6), 54-67.
22. Kumar, J., & Chhabra, A. (2014). Life Skill Education for Adolescents: Coping with Challenges. Scholarly Research Journal for Humanity Science & English Language, 1(2), 181-190.
23. Lagat, G. (2017). Life Skills Education Curriculum Implementation: Appropriateness of Teaching Methodologies Used by Secondary School Teachers In Usain Gishu Country, Kenya. International Journal of Education, Learning and Development, 5(4), 86-95.
24. Lavallee, D., & Jones, M. I. (2009). Explorign the Life Skills needs of British adolescent athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10 ,159–167.
25. Allehyani, B., Burnapp, D., & Wilson, J. (2017). The Place of Inner-Circle Culture in Saudi Secondary School Textbooks. International Journal of English and Education, 6(2), 11-21.
26. Al-Masri, A., Smadi, M., Aqel, A., &Hamed, W. (2016). The Inclusion of Life Skills in English Textbooks in Jordan. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(16), 81- 96.
27. Ministry of Education (MOE). (2018). Secondary education guide, curriculum system, first edition. Ministry of Education Agency, Curriculum System Unit.
28. Mostafa, R. A., Dadour, E. M., & Al-Shafei, A. I. (2016). Developing Life Skills in the Egyptian Curriculum at Primary Stage. Journal of Research in Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Technology, 2(1), 43-62,
29. Mugami, M., & Muthui, R. (2013). Influence of Structural Context on Implementation of Secondary School Life Skills Curriculum in Kajiado Country, Kenya. International Journal of Education and Research, 1(30), 1-22.
30. Munsi, K.& Guha, D. (2014). Status of life skills education in teacher education curriculum of SAARC countries: A comparative evaluation. Journal of Education & Social Policy, 1(1),93-99.
31. Okeefee, L. (2013). A Framework for Textbook Analysis. International Review of Contemporary Learning Research, 2(1), 1-13.
32. Panduranga, S. N., Madkhali, A., Wasli, S., Daghriry, A. , & Abdullah, F. (2018). Empowering Saudi EFL Learners with Life Skills- The Need of the Hour. International Journal of Science and Research,8(5), 383- 850.
33. Pingel, F. 1999. UNESCO guidebook on textbook research and textbook revision. Paris: UNESCO, Braunschweig: Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research.
34. Rakhmawati, D. M., & Priyana, J. (2019). A Study on 21st Century Skills Integration in the English Textbook for Senior High School. Journal of English Educators Society, 4 (1), 9-16.
35. Ratka, A. (2018). Empathy and the Development of Affective Skills. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 82(10), 1140-1143.
36. Richards, J. (2001) Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. New York, USA.
37. Rinekso, A. B. (2021). The Representation of 21st Century Skills in an Indonesian EFL Textbook. LLT Journal, 24 (1), 191-211.
38. Sajid, N. J. , Saleh, M., & Retmono. (2013). Integrating Life Skills in English Language Teaching (ELT): Strategies, Problems and their Possible Solutions. LANGUAGE CIRCLE Journal of Language and Literature, 7(2), 75-91.
39. Shahmohammadi, N. (2013). Content Analysis of Elementary Science Text Book Based on the Achievement Motivation Constructs. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 84, 426-430.
40. Alshumaimeri, Y. A. (2015). Using Material Authenticity in the Saudi English Textbook Design: A Content Analysis from the Viewpoints of EFL Teachers. Australian International Academic Centre, 6(2), 229-240.
41. Sing, M., & Sing, N. (2014). An Analytical Study of English and Hindi Language Textbooks of Clsdd-IX U. P. Board in Perspective of Life Skills. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 4(1), 23-26.
42. Sing, H., & Gera, M. (2015). Stratiges for Development of Life Skills anf Global Competencies. International Journal of Scientific Research, 4(6),760-763.
43. Strikala, B., & Kishore, K. ( 2010). Empowering Adolescent with Life Skills Education in Shool-School Mental Health Program: Does it work? Indian J Psychiatry, 52(4), 344-349.
44. Al-Tamimi, R. (2019). Policies and Issues in Teaching English to Arab EFL Learners: A Saudi Arabian Perspective. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 10(2), 68-76.
45. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (2019). Comprehensive Life Skills Framework: Rights based and life cycle approach to building skills for empowerment. Retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org/india/sites/unicef.org.india/files/2020-02/Comprehensive-lifeskills-framework.pdf
46. Valverde, G. and L. Bianchi and R. Wolfe and W. Schmidt and R. Houang, (2002), According to the Book: Using TIMSS to Investigate the Translation of Policy into Practice through the World of Textbooks, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Retrieved from: https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9781402010330
47. Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic Content Analysis (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.
48. World Health Organization (WHO) (1997). Life Skills Education for Children in schools: Introduction and Guidelines to facilitate the development and implementation of life skills programme. Geneva, World Health Organization.
49. World Health Organization (WHO) (2020). Life Skills Education Schools: Handbook: Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases. Geneva, World Health Organization. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240005020
50. Wilson, V. (2011). Research Method: Content Analysis. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice,6 (4), 177- 179.
2. Al-Hadabi, A., S., S., D. (2007). Analysis of The Environmental Concepts in Science Textbooks of the Basic Education Stage in The Republic of Yemen. PhD Thesis. University of UKM, Malysia.
3. Al-Mamary, S., A. (2018) Acquisition Level of Life Skills by Level Four Students and its Relationship with the Students’ Application of those Skills during Practicum. Journal of Educational and psychological Sciences, 3(19), 400-428.
4. Aparna, N., & Raakhee, A. S. (2011). Life Skill Education for Adolescents: its Relevance and Importance. Journal of Education Sciences and Psychology, 2(19), 3-7 ISSN 1512-1801 5
5. Ari, P., Dewi, R., & Diah, K. (2017). A Content Analysis of Bright 1: A 2013 Curriculum-Based Textbook for VII Grade Students. Advances In Social Science, Education and Humanities Research (ASSEHR), 158, 89-100.
6. Ashraf, H., Jadidolesam. M. R., & Jan-nesar. Q. (2017, November 21-23). Life Skills in Iranian EFL Textbooks: A Mixed Method. A research submitted to the 15th International TELLSI Conference, Islamic Azad University, Roudehen Branch, Tehran, Iran.
7. Bailey, S., & Deen, M. (2002). Development of a Web-Based Evaluation System: A Tool for Measuring Life Skills in Youth and Family Programs. Family Relations, 51(2), 138-147
8. Bouzid, H. A. (2016). Boosting the 21st Century Skills through Moroccan ELT Textbooks. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics (JELTL), 1(1), 97-108.
9. Erawan, P. (2010). Developing Life Skills Scale for High School Students through Mixed Methods Research. European Journal of Scientific Research, 47(2), 169-186. Retrieved from: http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.htm
10. Esmaeilinasab, M., & Davoud, M. M. (2011). Effectiveness of Life Skills Training on Increasing Self-esteem of High School Students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 1043-1047. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.203
11. Gayatri, MSW. Channaveer, RM., & Lakshmana, G. (2017). Life skills education program among high school children: An intervention study. Journal of Mental Health Education, 1 (1), 19-29. Retrieved from:
12. file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Life%20skills%20final%20(3).pdf
13. Al-Ghazo, A. & Samadi, O. M. (2013). A Content Analysis of the English Reading Texts Authenticity in Student's Book of Action Pack Eleven in Jordan. European Scientific Journal, 9(29), 345-359.
14. Giri, D., & Sharma, J. (2016: February). Promotion of Life Skills Education for Adolescents. A research submitted to International Conference: Science of Human Learning. New Delhi volume 2
15. Haji, T. M., Mohannadkhani, S. & Hahtami, M. (2011). The Effectiveness of Life Skills Training on Happiness, Quality of Life and Emotion Regulation. Procedia- Social and Behaviral Sciences, 30, 407-411.
16. Hamodona, Y.O. (2007). Life Skills in the Content of English for Palestine- Grade Six Textbook. (Unpublished Master's Thesis). The Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine. Retrieved from https://library.iugaza.edu.ps/Thesis/74439.pdf
17. Hsieh, H., Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis. Qual Health Res, 15(9), 1277-1288.
18. Incebacak, B. B. & Erosy, E. (2018). Problem Solving of Secondary School Students. China-USA Business Review, 15(6), 275-285.
19. Instructional Services–Textbook Adoptions Office. (2004). Invitation to Submit Textbooks for Evaluation and Adoption in North Carolina. North Carolina.
20. Khosravani, M., Motallebzadeh, K., & Ashraf, H. (2014). Designing a ' Life Skills Questionnaire" for analyzing the Socio-cultural Constructs of EFL Textbooks. The International Jouranl of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World (IJLLALW), 5(2), 200-207.
21. Khosravani, M., Khosravani, M., & Khorashadyzadeh, A. (2014). Analyzing the Effects of Iranian EFL Textbooks on Developing Learners’ Life Skills. English Language Teaching, 7(6), 54-67.
22. Kumar, J., & Chhabra, A. (2014). Life Skill Education for Adolescents: Coping with Challenges. Scholarly Research Journal for Humanity Science & English Language, 1(2), 181-190.
23. Lagat, G. (2017). Life Skills Education Curriculum Implementation: Appropriateness of Teaching Methodologies Used by Secondary School Teachers In Usain Gishu Country, Kenya. International Journal of Education, Learning and Development, 5(4), 86-95.
24. Lavallee, D., & Jones, M. I. (2009). Explorign the Life Skills needs of British adolescent athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10 ,159–167.
25. Allehyani, B., Burnapp, D., & Wilson, J. (2017). The Place of Inner-Circle Culture in Saudi Secondary School Textbooks. International Journal of English and Education, 6(2), 11-21.
26. Al-Masri, A., Smadi, M., Aqel, A., &Hamed, W. (2016). The Inclusion of Life Skills in English Textbooks in Jordan. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(16), 81- 96.
27. Ministry of Education (MOE). (2018). Secondary education guide, curriculum system, first edition. Ministry of Education Agency, Curriculum System Unit.
28. Mostafa, R. A., Dadour, E. M., & Al-Shafei, A. I. (2016). Developing Life Skills in the Egyptian Curriculum at Primary Stage. Journal of Research in Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Technology, 2(1), 43-62,
29. Mugami, M., & Muthui, R. (2013). Influence of Structural Context on Implementation of Secondary School Life Skills Curriculum in Kajiado Country, Kenya. International Journal of Education and Research, 1(30), 1-22.
30. Munsi, K.& Guha, D. (2014). Status of life skills education in teacher education curriculum of SAARC countries: A comparative evaluation. Journal of Education & Social Policy, 1(1),93-99.
31. Okeefee, L. (2013). A Framework for Textbook Analysis. International Review of Contemporary Learning Research, 2(1), 1-13.
32. Panduranga, S. N., Madkhali, A., Wasli, S., Daghriry, A. , & Abdullah, F. (2018). Empowering Saudi EFL Learners with Life Skills- The Need of the Hour. International Journal of Science and Research,8(5), 383- 850.
33. Pingel, F. 1999. UNESCO guidebook on textbook research and textbook revision. Paris: UNESCO, Braunschweig: Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research.
34. Rakhmawati, D. M., & Priyana, J. (2019). A Study on 21st Century Skills Integration in the English Textbook for Senior High School. Journal of English Educators Society, 4 (1), 9-16.
35. Ratka, A. (2018). Empathy and the Development of Affective Skills. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 82(10), 1140-1143.
36. Richards, J. (2001) Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. New York, USA.
37. Rinekso, A. B. (2021). The Representation of 21st Century Skills in an Indonesian EFL Textbook. LLT Journal, 24 (1), 191-211.
38. Sajid, N. J. , Saleh, M., & Retmono. (2013). Integrating Life Skills in English Language Teaching (ELT): Strategies, Problems and their Possible Solutions. LANGUAGE CIRCLE Journal of Language and Literature, 7(2), 75-91.
39. Shahmohammadi, N. (2013). Content Analysis of Elementary Science Text Book Based on the Achievement Motivation Constructs. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 84, 426-430.
40. Alshumaimeri, Y. A. (2015). Using Material Authenticity in the Saudi English Textbook Design: A Content Analysis from the Viewpoints of EFL Teachers. Australian International Academic Centre, 6(2), 229-240.
41. Sing, M., & Sing, N. (2014). An Analytical Study of English and Hindi Language Textbooks of Clsdd-IX U. P. Board in Perspective of Life Skills. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 4(1), 23-26.
42. Sing, H., & Gera, M. (2015). Stratiges for Development of Life Skills anf Global Competencies. International Journal of Scientific Research, 4(6),760-763.
43. Strikala, B., & Kishore, K. ( 2010). Empowering Adolescent with Life Skills Education in Shool-School Mental Health Program: Does it work? Indian J Psychiatry, 52(4), 344-349.
44. Al-Tamimi, R. (2019). Policies and Issues in Teaching English to Arab EFL Learners: A Saudi Arabian Perspective. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 10(2), 68-76.
45. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (2019). Comprehensive Life Skills Framework: Rights based and life cycle approach to building skills for empowerment. Retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org/india/sites/unicef.org.india/files/2020-02/Comprehensive-lifeskills-framework.pdf
46. Valverde, G. and L. Bianchi and R. Wolfe and W. Schmidt and R. Houang, (2002), According to the Book: Using TIMSS to Investigate the Translation of Policy into Practice through the World of Textbooks, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Retrieved from: https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9781402010330
47. Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic Content Analysis (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.
48. World Health Organization (WHO) (1997). Life Skills Education for Children in schools: Introduction and Guidelines to facilitate the development and implementation of life skills programme. Geneva, World Health Organization.
49. World Health Organization (WHO) (2020). Life Skills Education Schools: Handbook: Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases. Geneva, World Health Organization. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240005020
50. Wilson, V. (2011). Research Method: Content Analysis. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice,6 (4), 177- 179.
منشور
2021-11-11
كيفية الاقتباس
Dr. Thuraya Al Jar. (2021). The Inclusion of Life Skills in Secondary School English Textbooks in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Educational and Human Sciences, (8), 182-203. https://doi.org/10.33193/JEAHS.8.2021.205
إصدار
القسم
المقالات
