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The challenge of explicit learning in life skill education
Dominik M Piehlmaier1,2, Dee Warmath3
1University of Sussex Business School, Brighton, UK. D.M.Piehlmaier@sussex.ac.uk.
NPJ Science of Learning
|December 1, 2025
Summary
Life skills education, like financial education, needs more than explicit learning. Flexible knowledge is key to changing behavior, especially for novices, improving program effectiveness.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Science
- Educational Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Current life skills programs often use explicit learning to boost declarative knowledge.
- This approach has limited effectiveness in changing actual behavior, particularly for novices.
- A gap exists in understanding how different knowledge types influence behavior change.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of semi-flexible and flexible knowledge on promoting optimal behaviors.
- To compare the effectiveness of flexible knowledge versus explicit learning in life skills education.
- To provide evidence for refining curriculum design in life skills programs.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial was conducted over multiple sessions.
- Participants were exposed to varying levels of knowledge flexibility (explicit, semi-flexible, flexible).
- Behavioral changes in personal finance were measured to assess knowledge impact.
Main Results:
- Increased knowledge flexibility correlated positively with desired behavioral changes.
- Flexible knowledge was more effective than explicit learning in promoting optimal behaviors.
- Novices showed greater improvement in behavior with more flexible knowledge acquisition.
Conclusions:
- Life skills education, including financial literacy programs, may benefit from shifting focus from explicit learning to flexible knowledge.
- Incorporating flexible knowledge strategies can enhance the impact of educational programs on behavior.
- Future curriculum design should prioritize fostering adaptable knowledge for sustained behavioral change.
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