Democratic education and hope

Eighth-graders conceptions of hope in light of Paulo Freire and C. R. Snyder

Authors

• Antti Alanko Jyväskylän yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33350/ka.107604

Keywords:

hope, democratic education, phenomenography, hope theory, pedagogy of hope, utopian pedagogy

Abstract

This study investigates eighth-graders' conceptions of hope. Finnish teenagers’ participation in societal activities is relatively low despite high levels of civic knowledge. This study addresses this problem through the lens of hope, especially in the light of two differing theories of hope, C. R. Snyder’s psychological hope theory and Paulo Freire’s pedagogy of hope. This study holds that hope is important for democratic education and working of democracy in general. The eighth-graders’ conceptions of hope were studied using a phenomenographic approach and the data was gathered through interviews (N = 15). Two distinct categories of description were found, agency-centered and passive conceptions of hope. The agency-centered conception of hope described hope as a belief that one can reach one’s goals through one’s own agency. The passive conception of hope can be further divided into two subcategories, hope as faith that something good will happen and hope as an emotion or a resource which gives strength and helps to endure even in difficult situations. Hope was seen to have a big role in both well-being and agency. The results of this study were in line with previous research conducted on this subject. No collective or social hopes or dreams were expressed in the interviews, which was considered as a problem for democratic education. As a solution, there should be more focus on teaching how to dream in schools utilizing the Freirean pedagogy of hope.