Gutsy School is a community-based model developed together by educators, media professionals, and young people to address one of Finland’s biggest challenges: how to strengthen youth participation and prevent exclusion and social polarization.
Combining pedagogy and media, the model engages entire age groups of young people in developing solutions that strengthen interaction, peace, and trust within their own communities as part of ordinary comprehensive education. Videos documenting these actions are shared at local premiere events and on social media to inspire and encourage others. Young people gain an immediate, visible, and concrete experience of their own strengths, participation, and ability to influence society, as well as the skills that are essential for solving the major challenges of our time: solution-oriented thinking, communication, teamwork, and empathy.
Gutsy School begins with a three-day coach training programme that equips local teachers and youth work professionals with the skills to support and guide young people’s teams during the Gutsy School process.
The Action Week is carried out as a whole-age-group intervention for 5th- or 7th-grade students. During the week, young people work in teams of approximately 10 members to develop and carry out solutions to problems they have identified in their communities.
The solutions created by the young people are filmed. The videos are shared at premiere events and on social media. The result is a growing bank of community solutions that enables young people’s actions to continue throughout the school year and be used as educational material around the world.
Gutsy School is designed to strengthen community and participation in all comprehensive schools. The programme can involve an entire age group of 5th- or 7th-grade students from one or several schools at a time.
Young people’s teams are guided by a trained coach who may be a pedagogue, teacher, or youth worker. The coach’s key role is to inspire and encourage young people in teamwork and help each participant discover their own potential. The dedicated project week creates a unique opportunity to connect with young people and build meaningful relationships with them.
Each year, Gutsy Go organises Action Weeks across Finland in cooperation with municipalities and local education and youth services. Supported by Gutsy Go’s educators and media professionals, these weeks provide an effective way to launch the Gutsy School model in a community. After the Action Week, the model can be applied through:
– independently organised Action Weeks
– elective courses
– club activities
– subject teaching
Schools and youth work professionals participating in the programme receive access to a comprehensive online resource bank containing guidance for continuing and adapting the model, as well as ready-made lesson materials.
Jesse, 14 years old
Sara 15 years old
Teemu,teacher
Tapsa 15 years old
In just half a week the youth created an amazing project. A coach needs to be able to think positively of the youths and to believe in them. Young people don’t know what is impossible, so everything is possible.
Jyri Kunttu, Gutsy Go coach, youth worker
Gutsy School also encourages underperforming young people to participate, while improving peer relationships. 80% of lower secondary school students who have experienced Gutsy School report having gained a meaningful experience of influencing their community, which has also strengthened their own wellbeing.
Through Gutsy School, you can strengthen young people’s future skills such as communication and problem-solving abilities, creativity, and empathy.
Among teachers trained as Gutsy School coaches:
The coach training provides new skills for engaging with young people and bringing out their strengths. The training explores the Gutsy School model through hands-on exercises, while also strengthening participants’ ability to organise project-based learning.
The research partner of Gutsy School is The Finnish Medical Society Duodecim, which is particularly interested in the programme’s impact on young people’s sense of participation, self-esteem, and positive mental health.
A sense of participation and cooperation within one’s peer group is important for key developmental tasks in adolescence, such as gaining independence and building relationships with peers. Strengthening prosocial skills is also essential in preventing bullying and in building a school culture that supports safe and positive development.
According to research, participation in the Gutsy School programme strengthens young people’s sense of participation, social skills, and courage to act in new situations. Students also report increased positive emotions such as joy and pride, as well as a deeper understanding of themselves, others, and their community. At the same time, the programme strengthens group spirit and cooperation and encourages young people to actively contribute to their own communities.
The Duodecim impact study was published internationally in International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, issue 4/26.
