Young Leaders Young Women Research and Design of a Game to Help Adolescent Girls Unlock Their Leadership Potential

Abstract

<p>Adolescence is one of the most rapid changes that happen across the human life span, where physical, psychological, emotional, and personality changes happen. Especially for young girls, it's a critical time to describe themselves, make decisions, and be confident around their peers. Many young girls struggle with their transition from childhood to adulthood. Girls navigate puberty differently than boys, not due to biological or psychological changes only, but to the gendered cultural meanings that they absorb and learn from their world. Contemporary adolescent development requires a new approach to involve adolescents in more active, engaging, and leadership roles. This project aims to create a game for young girls to explore challenging situations, and how they might respond can lend them an important degree of confidence and resilience. The educational game contains a series of prompts, questions, and challenging scenarios, where girls are not always meant to know the answer. The game will provide a guide to young girls to understand more about leadership identities and their thoughts, by making sense of their emotions and assembling them to allow them to thrive.</p>