Adolescents' conscious value-based choices: the potential of game-based practices in literature lessons

Context and relevance. The relevance of the study is determined by the contradiction between the social demand for developing adolescents' capacity for conscious self-determination and the traditional subject-centered educational system. Objective. To present the results of a qualitative analysis of the influence of game-based practices on adolescents' reflection on their own choices. Hypothesis. Game-based practices create a safe space for "living through" value dilemmas, which contributes to the development of agency and the capacity for conscious self-determination. Methods and materials. The study involved 9th-grade students (N = 29) from Lyceum No. 40 at Ulyanovsk State University. Qualitative analysis of students' reflective essays after three game-based practices ("Ball at Famusov's: Mask and Me", "Trial of a Feeling", "Detective Dossier"). Theoretical framework: concept of choice as resolution of uncertainty (D.A. Leontiev), ideas about the reflexive "superstructure" of personality and specifics of adolescence (A.Kh. Fam, R. Burns). Results. Key themes reflecting the dynamics of choice awareness were identified: from conflict acknowledgment to reflection on motives and appropriation of a value position. Conclusions. Game-based practices create conditions for "living through" value dilemmas. Three mechanisms are identified: resistance to an "alien" role as a way of recognizing the boundaries of one's own self; personification of inner voices as a tool for reflecting on one's own motives; rejection of binary evaluations as a sign of accepting uncertainty.

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