Developing Agency in Young Female Leaders
As educators, we want our girls to leave school not only with knowledge but with the confidence to lead and drive positive change in the world. But what happens when girls are placed in leadership roles without formal preparation? Research suggests they may struggle with self-doubt, feel ill-equipped for decision-making, and miss opportunities to develop their full potential (Briggs & Coleman, 2007). An action research study at Saint Kentigern Girls’ School sought to bridge this gap by implementing a leadership curriculum for Year 7 students and evaluating its impact on their sense of agency.
Throughout the ten-week leadership programme, LEAN IN Girls, Year 7 students were encouraged to identify their personal leadership strengths, challenge stereotypes, and engage actively in decision-making within their school community. The results were clear: when given the tools and opportunities to lead, these girls not only grew in confidence but also saw themselves as changemakers, ready to shape their futures and advocate for others.
What Research Tells Us About Girls and Leadership
In today’s world, developing agency is more critical than ever. Agency is defined as ‘the capacity to act in a way that produces meaningful change in oneself or the environment’ (Toshalis & Nakkula, 2012, p. 27). It is a crucial component of leadership. Vaughn (2020) suggests that students who act with agency are often entrepreneurial, take initiative, and create opportunities for themselves and others. Yet fostering agency requires more than simply encouraging student voice; it requires giving students the power to influence decision-making (Cook-Sather, 2006).
For girls, this is particularly important. Studies show that early leadership experiences shape long-term career aspirations (Shapiro et al., 2020). However, many girls hesitate to see themselves as leaders. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute (2008), while 92% of girls believe leadership skills can be developed, only 21% believe they possess these skills themselves. Providing structured leadership opportunities helps girls overcome these barriers and builds the confidence necessary for future leadership roles.
Implementing the LEAN IN Girls Curriculum
While our Year 7 students have traditionally stepped into leadership roles in Year 8 without formal preparation, we identified an opportunity to empower them even earlier. In response, we introduced the LEAN IN Girls programme, a curriculum designed to help girls embrace leadership, take positive risks, and navigate challenges.
The interactive lessons within the programme covered:
Defining Leadership: Exploring different leadership styles and personal strengths.
Confidence Building: Encouraging risk-taking and self-assurance.
Communication and Collaboration: Developing skills for teamwork and problem-solving.
Understanding Bias and Allyship: Addressing stereotypes and fostering inclusive leadership.
To complement this, students completed the Values in Action (VIA) Character Strengths Survey, developed as part of the VIA Classification of Character Strengths and Virtues, a framework created by psychologists Professor Martin Seligman and Dr Christopher Peterson. This helped them identify qualities such as resilience, teamwork, and creativity. This self-awareness allowed them to leverage their strengths effectively in leadership scenarios.
The Impact: Growing Confidence and Agency
Throughout the programme, the girls demonstrated increased agency in leadership. They actively participated in decision-making, applied for leadership roles with conviction, and began to see themselves as capable leaders. By the end of the ten weeks:
91% of students identified as leaders compared 27% at the beginning of the programme.
73% of girls demonstrated greater confidence in their ability to influence change.
The girls developed a strong sense of social responsibility, with many expressing a desire to lead with empathy and collaboration.
These findings align with research by Mitra (2006), who emphasised that true student agency is achieved when students do more than express opinions; they actively participate in shaping school policies and practices. The concept of pure student agency suggests that students should have full autonomy over their learning, making decisions without unnecessary teacher interference. This perspective aligns with the idea that true agency requires not just choice but meaningful ownership over learning processes (Mitra, 2018). Providing pure student agency can be challenging for teachers, as they must balance student choice with curriculum requirements, time constraints, and diverse learning needs. This tension raises an important question: How can educators honour student voices while still meeting their professional obligations? The answer lies in thoughtful scaffolding and shared ownership. Rather than offering unlimited freedom, effective agency can be fostered through structured choice, co-constructed learning goals, and authentic opportunities for input within the boundaries of the curriculum. When teachers act as facilitators – guiding decision-making, offering frameworks, and ensuring alignment with learning outcomes – they can create a culture where students feel heard and empowered without sacrificing academic rigour or equity.
The Bigger Picture: Why Leadership Education Matters
This study highlighted the importance of explicitly teaching leadership skills to girls. Globally, there is increasing recognition that girls’ leadership is key to achieving gender equity in educational and professional settings. Yet, as Mitra & Gross (2009) suggest, schools must move beyond tokenistic leadership opportunities and instead create structured pathways for students to develop leadership capacity.
By fostering leadership at an early age, schools can help address what Shapiro et al. (2020) term ‘the leaky pipeline’, the systemic loss of female representation as women advance through educational and professional stages. When girls are supported to lead and see leadership as part of their identity, they are more likely to sustain that trajectory into adulthood.
Moving Forward: Expanding Leadership Opportunities
While participant feedback suggested the LEAN IN Girls initiative had a meaningful impact and showed promising early outcomes, further research is needed to examine the long-term impact of such programmes. Do these early leadership experiences lead to sustained leadership engagement in secondary school and beyond? How can leadership education be integrated meaningfully into school culture and practice?
What is evident from initial feedback and observation is that when girls are given the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to lead, they are more likely to step into those roles with confidence. These early opportunities help challenge stereotypes and encourage positive contributions within their school and wider communities. We are committed to making leadership development an integral part of every girl’s educational journey – enabling confident, capable, and courageous young women to lead now and into the future.
Anna McLaren
Head of Unique Pathways, Saint Kentigern Girls’ School
Anna will be travelling to Philadelphia at the end of June to present her research at the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools Conference as a Global Action Research fellow. Her research paper will be available on the ICGS website at the conclusion of the conference.
References
Briggs, A. R. J., & Coleman, M. (2007). Key issues in educational leadership. Sage Publishing.
Cook-Sather, A. (2006). Sound, presence, and power: Exploring ‘student voice’ in educational research and reform. Curriculum Inquiry, 36(4), 359–390.
Girl Scout Research Institute. (2008). Change It Up! What girls say about redefining leadership (Executive Summary). Girl Scouts of the USA. https://www.girlscouts.org/en/about-girl-scouts/research.html
Mitra, D. L. (2006). Increasing student voice and moving toward youth leadership. The Prevention Researcher, 13(1), 7–10.
Mitra, D.L. & Gross, S.J (2009). Increasing student voice in high school reform: Building partnerships, improving outcomes. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 37(4), 522–543.
Mitra, D. (2018). Student voice in secondary schools: The possibility for deeper change. Journal of Educational Change, 19(2), 125–145.
Shapiro, M., Grossman, D., Carter, S., Martin, K., Deyton, P., & Hammer, D. (2015). Middle school girls and the ‘leaky pipeline’ to leadership. Middle School Journal, 46(5), 3–13.
Toshalis, E., & Nakkula, M. (2012). Motivation, engagement, and student voice: The Students at the Center series. Jobs for the Future. http://www.studentsatthecenter.org/topics/motivation-engagement-and-student-voice
Vaughn, M. (2020). What is student agency and why is it needed now more than ever? Theory Into Practice, 59 (2), 109–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2019.1702393
