Hope, Resilience and Education - Is there a link

Hope, Resilience and Education - Is there a link.

By Antonietta Marinelli | Nov 20, 2020

Hope Barometer - The Impact of Education on Australians level of Hope.

This month at Mentor Education we are focusing on hope as we are involved in the 2020 Hope Barometer. The 2020 Hope Barometer is an international research initiative involving over 15 countries worldwide. The Barometer itself is formed by a scientifically broad-based study of the hopes, desires, and future expectations of our population, designed to investigate the fundamental aspects, conditions, and interrelations of a positive attitude towards the future. For more information surrounding the Hope Barometer
Visit https://www.mentor.edu.au/hopebarometer/

The Hope Barometer Study

In considering the impact of education and the subsequent levels of hope on individuals, the 2019 analysis of the Hope Barometer allowed for us to identify the key factors that influence hope-filled learning strategies aiming to statistically improve retention, completion and graduate outcomes.

With the inclusion of 474 Australian respondents amongst 9838 in total across the globe, the data from the survey provided insight into how hopeful individuals are in addition to how satisfied they are with their personal lives, national politics, the economy, social issues and developments regarding the climate and environment.

But the question we ask is, what is hope? The concept of hope is further scoped as a belief that ‘specific things, objectives and circumstances, which we desire because they are important to us and which we wish to attain, will develop the way which is right and good for us and for our social environment, regardless of the adversities and obstacles as well as possible negative expectancies and seemingly opposing objective facts, so that it remains worthwhile to persevere and keep involved’ (Krafft, Perrig-Chiello, & Walker, 2018).

Impact of Education on Level of Hope

The impact that education has on the level of Dispositional Hope is considerable. Dispositional Hope measure is the most common and established method of measuring an individual's level of hope. This measure is built around Snyder’s cognitive model of hope which focuses on ideas of self-efficiency and one’s ability to achieve goals and alter the future and consider hope as more an inherent and permanent personality trait, rather than state impacted by intervention. (Snyder, et al., 1991) (Pacico, Bastianello, Cristian, & Hutz, 2013).

The significance of hope as an outcome from formal education is founded in the impact it has on students and graduates with respect to world views, personal value and future expectations. Each level of formal education has a role to play in equipping graduates with skills, knowledge, and the psychological capability to address challenges. It can be argued that hope plays a significant part of this capability as hopeful thinking and disposition allow individuals to establish well defined goals, a belief in their ability to develop strategies for reaching those goals and the requisite motivation to use those strategies. (Snyder, Shorey, & Rand, Handbook of the teaching of psychology., 2006).

What does formal education really offer?

Outside of skills, knowledge, and qualifications what else does formal education offer?
One thing it offers is hope. In arguably what is a more challenging environment than ever before, hope stands as an important driving force that allows us to influence change, direct our future and persist in the face of adversity.

This month at Mentor Education we are focusing on hope as we are involved in the 2020 Hope Barometer. The 2020 Hope Barometer is an international research initiative involving over 15 countries worldwide. The Barometer itself is formed by a scientifically broad-based study of the hopes, desires, and future expectations of our population, designed to investigate the fundamental aspects, conditions, and interrelations of a positive attitude towards the future. For more information surrounding the Hope Barometer
Visit https://www.mentor.edu.au/hopebarometer/

In analysing the results of last years study we identified a range of findings linked to the impact of education and an individuals level of hope. One such finding was a link between an individuals sense of societal contributions and pursuit of goals with their respective level of education.
The statistical analysis shows us that formal education at all levels assumes a role in equipping graduates with more than just academic and workforce skills and in fact extends to the development of hope and a subsequent positive psychological state that supports achievement, fulfilment and satisfaction that can be directed towards oneself and employed to address life’s challenges.

For the full report head on over to the link: Hope Barometer - The Impact of Education on Australians level of Hope.

References:

● Snyder, C. (1995). Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Nurturing Hope. Journal of Counselling and Development, 73, 355-360. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.1995.tb01764.x

● Krafft, A., Perrig-Chiello, P., & Walker, A. M. (2018). Hope for a Good Life - Results of the Hope-Barometer International Research Program (Vol. 72). Heidelberg: Springer.