Impact of a Life Skills Program on Self-Awareness among Secondary and Pre-Vocational Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Life skills programs are essential for fostering independence and social adaptation among students with intellectual disabilities. However, the differential impact of such programs across varying educational levels (secondary vs. pre-vocational) remains underexplored.This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a life skills intervention on self-awareness among special needs students with intellectual disabilities at the secondary and pre-vocational levels and to compare the differential outcomes between the two groups. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was employed. A total of 100 special needs students with intellectual disabilities (54 pre-vocational, 46 secondary) were selected. A life skills program was implemented, and self-awareness scores were assessed using a standardized tool before and after the intervention. Posttest mean scores, standard deviations, and an independent samples t-test were computed to compare the effectiveness between the two levels.The posttest mean score for secondary-level students (M = 89.39, SD = 5.20) was significantly higher than that of pre-vocational students (M = 82.00, SD = 7.83). The t-test revealed a t-value of 3.45 (df = 99), which was significant at the 0.01 level (p < 0.01), indicating a statistically significant difference in favor of secondary-level student.The life skills program was effective for both groups; however, secondary-level students demonstrated significantly greater gains in self-awareness compared to pre-vocational students. The null hypothesis of no significant difference between the two groups was rejected. These findings suggest that while life skills interventions benefit all special needs students, developmental and cognitive readiness may influence the magnitude of improvement.