Abstract
M.A.
This research was undertaken to explore how Black South African children
experience hope in general, and secondly, whether the constructs of
pathways and agency are evident in their experiences of hope. The research
was conducted in the hope that it will contribute to the existing theory of Hope
in children and as no research could be found on hope in Black South African
children.
Specifically, the researcher wanted to gain insight into whether hope, as
conceptualised by Snyder (2000), is experienced by Black South African
children.
Hope reflects individuals’ perceptions regarding their capacity to clearly
conceptualise goals, develop strategies to reach those goals (pathwaysthinking),
and initiate and sustain the motivation for using those strategies
(agency-thinking) (Snyder et al., 2003). Hope is a motivational construct that
falls within Positive Psychology, a movement that has called for an
examination of psychological strengths, rather than of pathology. Existing
literature is largely focused on earlier positive psychology constructs such as
coping, and there had been limited focus on children and the manifestation of
psychological strengths in South Africa. Therefore, the aim of the present
research was to explore strengths, like hope, in Black South African children.
The dissertation first focuses on the review of the literature on positive
psychology, hope, and the use of stories and narratives to facilitate the
understanding of hope in children. The literature review provides a history of
psychology and the development of positive psychology. Hope as
conceptualised by Snyder is reviewed, as well as a focus on how hope affects
children.
In this study a qualitative approach was used to explore the stories of hope by
Black primary school children. The participants consisted of six children who
were interviewed. The narratives and data were analysed using thematic
iv
analysis. The themes that emerged from the analysis are presented in the
results chapter. It is evident from the narratives that some of the children
experienced difficulties expressing what hope meant to them, as they did not
have an understanding of the construct. Although some of the children
experienced problems engaging with the construct, some of the children were
able to talk about hope and what it meant to them, and also relate to past
experiences where they displayed hopeful behaviour. The differences in how
the children experienced hope could be attributed to whether their family and
school experiences and environment enhance hope in the children. The
results are discussed in terms of the literature, as well as in the South African
context.
Finally, a summary of the research together with the limitations and
recommendations for further research is offered.