The Use of Gamification in the System of Social and Psychological Adaptation of Forcibly Displaced Teenagers from Ukraine: Reflections of the German Experience

Abstract

The article presents its own view on a partial solution to the problem of social and psychological adaptation of teenagers who, as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, have become forced migrants. Based on the conducted social-pedagogical experiment, it was found that social and psychological deafness is typical for forcibly displaced teenagers from Ukraine even after the implementation of a complex set of adaptation measures at the German school. This confirms the necessity of making certain changes in the existing adaptation programs for this category of individuals. It is justified to use gamification in school conditions as a way of influencing the process of social and psychological adaptation of forcibly displaced teenagers from Ukraine. The text highlights the structure of gamification in the educational process and points out its advantages. It determines the main tasks of social and psychological adaptation of teenagers through gamification, including subcultural identification, self-actualization, and emotional congruence. It presents an algorithm for the introduction and use of gamification in this process. The author’s program, “Together” for the social and psychological adaptation of forcibly displaced teenagers from Ukraine, provides a detailed description of the active use of gamification elements.

Acknowledgments

We thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine for ensuring the safety to do this research. This work was made possible only thanks to the perseverance and courage of the Ukrainian army.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.