Goal
This graduation project explores how design can support the development of purpose in adolescents by enabling teachers in secondary education to take on a more active, reflective role. The aim of this project was to develop a design intervention that promotes purpose development among adolescents in secondary education.

Approach
Through a combination of theory, field research, and co-creation, the project uncovered how purpose develops and how schools currently (fail to) support it. Literature showed that purpose is not a fixed endpoint but a process of identity formation, future thinking, and contribution. Interviews with students revealed a desire for more personal connection, to have room to explore, and to connect learning to real life. Teachers, in turn, expressed motivation but also a lack of time and knowlegde to address purpose in their teaching practice.

To respond to this gap, a series of co-design sessions were held with teachers at Wolfert Tweetalig. These sessions created a safe and creative space for teachers to explore their own perspectives on teaching for purpose, and to reflect on how they might support that process in students. What began as a method to design interventions became an intervention in itself. The sessions revealed that when teachers are given time, trust, and a creative space, a powerful mindset shift can occur — one that redefines their role, their language, and their perspective on education.

Results
This insight became the new design challenge: how to make this mindset shift last and grow over time, especially when the original facilitator/designer steps away. Through literature on change, learning and innovation, five principles for long-term impact were formulated: embed in culture, grow from the core, anchor in rituals, make it concrete, and design for adaptation.

To bring these principles to life, two key artefacts were developed. The first is a roadmap that outlines a phased journey toward 2028 — when purpose development becomes a natural, shared part of school culture. The second is a supporting magazine for this roadmap, designed as a narrative and visual tool to inspire, remind, and invite others into this process. Both artefacts are grounded in co-created and theory insights and are designed not to control, but to continue the mindset that emerged during the sessions.

Conclusion
This project shows that supporting purpose in adolescents can begin with enabling purpose focused thinking in teachers. It offers a hopeful, practical, and relational approach to educational change — one that prioritises reflection over instruction, dialogue over delivery, and culture over curriculum.