Girls' clubs and life skills programmes: positive potential, unanswered questions

Abstract

This policy brief summarises the findings from GAGE’s rigorous review on girls’ clubs and life skills programmes and sets out recommendations for future programming, policy and research. GAGE research shows that girls’ clubs and life skills programmes can play a very positive role in building girls’ self-confidence and self-efficacy and their knowledge on key issues. The review of evaluations also shows variations in programme impact and effectiveness, and in the more culturally conservative settings. Recommendations show how girls’ clubs programmes can be strengthened, highlights which approaches showing positive effects should be explored further, and suggests how knowledge gaps can be filled. This brief is an output of the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) programme