Abstract:

Throughout our lives, we are required to make choices. Even as young children, we are expected to make small choices about simple things for example, what we might like to eat or wear during the day. However, young children are screened away from the responsibility of choice through parenting and our systems of schooling because we have not developed the brain capacity to fully understand the consequences of these choices, and our metacognitive abilities are underdeveloped. As we move into adolescence, we are expected make more choices as ‘age comes with responsibility’. Along with responsibility, the complexity of decision-making increases with age and the impact of these decisions – both minor and major decisions – can have a significant effect on our lives. Therefore, the ability to make ‘good’ choices becomes a critical life skill.

But how are adolescents and young people expected to make ‘good’ choices when we do not explicitly teach this skill? We know the importance of effective decision-making and the impact this can have on our lives, so why not provide adolescents with a learning environment or experiences where they develop a deep understanding of the skills needed to be effective decision-makers and the factors that affect decision-making. It is through learning to be an effective chooser that adolescents and young people will develop the ability to positively impact their health, their wellbeing and their future, as well as the health, wellbeing and future of those around them.

This paper explores the current literature in order to gain an understanding of:
(1) What skills we should be teaching adolescents and young people to become effective choosers?
(2) What kind of understanding is practical and useful?
(3) What content and type of learning will resonate with adolescents and lead to real and meaningful change in their lives?

By focusing on these questions, we will explore what a curriculum for choice might look like, however in order to create a curriculum for choice we must investigate some key topics. First of all, we frame some of the ways in which developing the skills to become an effective chooser would impact the wellbeing of adolescent learners – which explain the criticality of these skills. The paper will then explore factors, both internal and external, that influence decision-making. We will then propose how this might translate into a set of learning experiences that would engage and inspire young people. We also explore where these learning experiences might intersect with the wider curriculum, as well as exploring what some of the barriers are that might be faced in adopting the proposed curriculum for choice.

Keywords:

Life skills, 21st century skills, learning to choose.