A REVIEW OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND ITS IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ INTERPERSONAL SKILLS AT THE HIGHER SECONDARY LEVEL

Abstract

The advancement of interpersonal skills has become a goal of modern education critical as students are more and more demanded to exhibit their competencies in the field of effective communication, collaboration, empathy, and conflict-management. However, conventional methods of instruction using lectures usually give students little chances to rehearse and train these competencies. This paper is a review of the theme of experiential learning as a powerful pedagogical style when it comes to the development of interpersonal skills in the students of higher secondary level. Based on the experiential learning theory and the learning cycle developed by Kolb, the paper summarizes theoretical insights and empirical findings in the learning settings in the world and Pakistan. The review identifies the use of experiential techniques like role-plays, simulations, project-based learning, and service-learning in building real-world social contexts that promote students in terms of communication, assertiveness, teamwork, and emotional regulation. Meta-analyses across the globe and regional studies have consistently shown that experiential learning has more impactful interpersonal results than the conventional teaching programs, particularly when followed by guided reflection as well as facilitators. The challenges to implementation that are contextually dictated in Pakistan are also discussed in the paper, such as the inflexible curricula, lack of resources, huge classes, and the lack of training of teachers, whereas the administrative support and professional growth are identified as important facilitators. The assessment finds that experiential learning has a lot of potential to reinforce interpersonal skills learning at higher secondary level and suggests that it should be systematically integrated in the curricula with policy changes and capacity building programs on teachers.