With individual, social, and emotional skills increasingly emerging as integral components of a comprehensive education, this scientific study aims to organize and summarize the range of different approaches found in the literature regarding the role and contribution of to the holistic development of students and adolescents. This study serves as the theoretical background upon which extensive research will be based concerning educational policies and life skills life skills in compulsory education in Europe, through a comparative analysis of three different European educational systems: Greece, Germany, and Finland. [For the complete Volume 22 proceedings, see ED656158.]