Preparing for the future: What it takes to build personal skills in young people

At a time of significant technological and societal change, independent schools are encouraging students to build their personal skills to prepare them for the future.

Many institutions are focusing on attributes that will boost students’ sense of self and their place in the broader community, preparing them to be good citizens in an uncertain world. The overall idea is to prepare students for life beyond school, giving them the best possible chance to succeed at university, work and beyond.

Lauriston Girls’ School in Armadale encourages its students to develop a sense of community service from prep all the way through to senior years.

“Beyond their academic studies, community service fosters a sense of empathy, social responsibility and a deeper understanding of the diverse needs and challenges faced by local, national and international communities,” Principal Susan Just says.

“Students develop essential life skills such as leadership, teamwork and problem-solving. As a result, community service enriches the educational journey, empowering the students to become compassionate and active citizens committed to making a positive impact on society.

“Our students have given their service to the broader community since the early 1900s. Our archival documents reveal articles written by students about their wartime efforts, involvement in local community events and partnerships with various charitable organisations.”

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To aid its students, Carey Baptist Grammar School has collaborated with the University of Melbourne on its New Metrics program. This program supports several schools in identifying new ways to “assess, credential and measure student, school and system success.”

As a result, seven “complex competencies” have been developed and will be implemented for all Carey students in its curriculum from this year.

“Agency in learning, active citizenship, acting ethically, collaboration, communication, personal development and quality thinking are all teachable, transferrable skills,” Carey Principal Jonathan Walter says.

“These complex competencies will support all students to learn in the way that best suits them, be equipped with a set of core capabilities and be confident to continue developing these fundamental skills in all their pursuits at school and beyond.

“We aim for students to come out asking not ‘How good am I?’ but ‘How am I good?’.”

Lauriston has a range of programs and partnerships in place to help develop this type of mindset, including working with the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre and Friday Night School at Richmond.

“When considering the impact of participating in community service, one of our Prep students put it very well when she said: ‘We are filling two buckets: ours as it makes us feel good and theirs as they receive things they need’,” Susan Just says.

“Our students not only develop their social skills through their community service interactions, but they also better understand the social issues which people face today and the shared responsibility all humans have to make a purposeful contribution.”

The development of artificial intelligence technologies is at the forefront of Jonathan Walter’s mind, who says he expects it will be a select range of skills and attributes that will be sought after in an AI-enabled world.

“In the Senior School our Year 10 students participate in Carey Zero, a unique year-long, hands-on experiential learning program that connects them with real-world contexts,” he says.

“They are empowered to develop resilience, build character and enhance connection to themselves, their peers and the world around them.

“Our curriculum and co-curricular programs are designed to provide students with real-world experiences by continuing their formal academic and co-curricular learning not just inside classrooms, but in hands-on learning experiences that take them to unique locations in Victoria, around Australia and internationally too.”