The Girl Scout program is based upon the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE), which is a collection of activities and experiences, designed to build leadership skills, that girls have as they earn badges, complete Journeys, sell cookies, go on exciting trips, explore the outdoors, do Take Action projects, and more.
The GSLE incorporates the Three Keys to Leadership, which are:
- Discover: Girls understand themselves and their values and use their knowledge and skills to explore the world.
- Connect: Girls care about, inspire, and team with others locally and globally.
- Take Action: Girls act to make the world a better place.
Girls use the Three Processes while participating in the GLSE:
- Girl Led: Girls of every grade level shape their experience by asking questions, sharing ideas, and using their imaginations. Girls take an active role in making decisions and choosing activities, with leader guidance appropriate to the age of the girls. Older girls make most of the decisions about their activities.
- Learning by Doing: Girls learn by hands-on activities that engage girls in an ongoing cycle of action and reflection.
- Cooperative Learning: Girls learn to share knowledge and skills in an atmosphere of respect and cooperation as they work together on a common goal.
The Four Pillars form the foundation of the GSLE:
- Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM): With a focus on high-quality multiyear programs in engineering, computer science, and outdoor STEM, girls become increasingly interested, confident, and competent in STEM subjects.
- Outdoor: Through progressive outdoor programs for girls of all ages, girls experience nature, build skills, and take action in their communities as environmental stewards.
- Life skills: By partaking in life skills programming, girls enhance the academic skills they learn in school through topics such as civic engagement, healthy living, communication skills, financial literacy, and global citizenship.
- Entrepreneurship: Starting with the iconic Girl Scout Cookie Program, this pillar explores ways in which girls can change the world by learning business skills and provides them with a variety of entrepreneurship opportunities, including social entrepreneurship.
The purpose of the GSLE is to bring about Five Positive Outcomes:
- Sense of self: Girls have confidence in themselves and their abilities and form positive identities.
- Positive values: Girls act ethically, honestly, and responsibly and show concern for others.
- Challenge seeking: Girls take appropriate risks, try new things even if they might fail, and learn from mistakes.
- Healthy relationships: Girls develop and maintain healthy relationships by communicating their feelings directly and resolving conflicts constructively.
- Community problem solving: Girls desire to contribute to the world in purposeful and meaningful ways, learn how to identify problems in the community, and create “action plans” to solve them.
Sources: Transforming Leadership (2008), 2017 Stewardship Report, GSUSA website, GSUSA: Prepare Every Girl for a Lifetime of Leadership