University of AI berta Exploring Hope - Bibliothèque et Archives

111 Pages·1998·5.08 MB·English

University of AI berta
Exploring Hope:
A Journey with Tanlanian Adolescents in a School Settïng
Sophie Yohani Parkins 0
A thesis
submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education
in
Counselling Psychology
Department of Educational Psychology
Edmonton, Alberta
Fall, 1997
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Prvtecring a d investing in the physical. mentalalm. J
emotiond developmenr qf d l children is the foirndution
of a berter flrtitre. the end and the means of pmgress,
rhe vev foirndation for econom ic developntent and
-
social cohesion. UNICEF
Norhing ir irhin the circle fodes. Tinte. ic seem S. is pour erless here-loses its airthofitj-
and cms no shniow S. Eoch of rhese [ives is equal in irs moment IV irh each of
the lires rhut szïmrinds ir-dl of rheni reaching out togerher thmiph the
camem's lem to meer the comnion gme rhar pers them.
- Timothy Findley, The Piano Man's Dau~hter
To John Russell Pakins
For supporting my hoping self
.4 bstmc t
This thesis presents three papers explonng hope with Tanzanian secondary-school
adolescents. The first paper exarnined hope by assessing 44 (23 female and 2 1 male
adolescents using Snyder's Hope Scale. Findings appear to replicate those done with
same aged children and adults in the United States. The second paper explored the
experiences of hope as represented in photographs taken by Tanzanian (N= 20)
adolescents in a school-based hope project. Fifieen photo-assisted interviews were
subsequently conducted and anaiyzed, and portraits of four girls are presented to give
voice to their specific experiences of hope. Results suggest that hope is closely related
to education and comrnunity. Positive contact with members of their community
appears to instill hope which in tum fuels personal development. The third paper
examined photo-assisted intemiews as a potentially effective method of data gathering
in qualitative inquiry particularly with children and adolescents in school settings.
Drawing on studies with children and adolescents that utilized photography, theory that
suggests its usefulness. and recent experiences in Tanzania. recommendations are
suggested for best facilitation of photo-assisted interviews as pan of qualitative
research.
Achowledgments
1 would like to thank the Hope Foundation of Albena Canada for providing me with
support and funding for conducting the school-based hope project in Tanzania. I thank
Dr. Ronna Jevne, who has been a representation of hope to me throughout the research
process and in the two years of my Masters program. 1 aiso thank my cornmittee
members. Dr. Fem Snart and Dr. Marg Iveson for their willinpess to support and
guide me through the journey or exploring hope with adolescents in school settings. I
thank the principal and vice principal who welcomed me and provided me with
permission and support throughout my time at their school. Thanks to al1 the
participants in the two hope studies who were willing to befnend me and share their
experiences of hope. Last but not lest, to my parents in Tanzania and Canada, thank
you for your loving support in seeing me through yet another milestone in mu life.
And John, for always being there. Asanteni sana - Thank you very much.
Tabie of Contents
Chapter 1 . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Exploring Hope with Adolescents in a School Setting . . . . . . 3
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 2 . Assessing Hope: Snyder's Hope Scale in a Tanzanian School Settïng 9
Overview of Hope Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Research Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter 3 . Images of Hope: Experiences of Hope Amongst Teenage Girls in
Tanzania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Context of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Methodolog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 39
Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Reflections/Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Chapter 4 . Photo-Assisted Interviews: A Method for Qualitative Inquiry with
Chiidren and Adolescents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Different "View" Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
From the Eye of a Child: Photography in Research with
Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Theories Supporting the use of Photo-Assisted Intewiews 69
. .
Lessons from the Field: Experiences with Photo-Assisted
Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Closing Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Chapter 5 . Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Implications for Counselling and Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
List of TaMes
Table 2.1 . Respondents by subpopulation (race. religion. gender) . , . . 20
--
Table 2.7 . Snyder Hope Scale mean scores by subpopulation . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Table 2.3 . Crosstabulation of hope scores by gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Table 2.4 . Crosstabuiation of hope scores by race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Table 2.5 . Crosstabulation of hope by religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Table 3.1 . Demographic charactenstics of the participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Table 41. . Sample of thematic data analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
iist of Figums
Figure 2.1 . Schematic representation of Snyder's mode1 of hope . . . . . 15
Figure 3 4. You see. without it [education] you cannot live . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
.
Figure 3.2 . Without education you can't have anything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Figure 3.3 . I know 1 will always have a place to go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Figure 5.1 . Mapping the exploratory joumey : Researching hope with Tanzanian
adolescents in a school setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Chapter 1
Introduction
Hope is a concept we refer to on a daily bais yet little is known about this human
condition. ïheologians, medical doctors, and psychologists have written extensively
about the importance of hope as an antecedent for psychological and physical well-being.
and researchers find hope to be essential for coping in difficult and uncertain situations
(Dufault & Martocchio. 19 81; Farran. Henh. B: Popovich. 19 95: Jevne. 199 1 ; Snvder.
1995). In one of her poems. Emily Dickinson (1830-1 886) wote:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the sou1
And sings the tune without words
-
And never stops at dl
Dickinson reveals the elusive and intangible nature of hope. Does it ernerge from our
souls. as Dickinson implies? 1s it part of our cognitive make up? Do we leam to hope or
is it part of our basic human nature? The abstract and elusive nature of this concept
appears to be the main reason why academics stmggle to measure and develop a uniQing
definition of hope.
Hope, as an important emotion, has not been explored in school settings. lfindeed
hope is valuable for Our well-being as humans, then sureiy hope is an essential requirement
for school children. Children and adolescents who are disadvantaged due to poverty,
disabilities (learning, physical and mental), illnesses or trauma caused by social
catastrophes such as war are especially at risk of developing educational. emotional and