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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:1891 |
| Date | 12 December 2011 |
| Creators | Makome, Gugulethu Bianca |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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