Hope & Future Orientation

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Why it works

Hope, as studied in psychology (Snyder's hope theory), is a way of thinking with three parts: goals (something to strive for), pathways (seeing routes to reach them), and agency (believing you can act on those routes), and future orientation is the capacity to envision and work toward a positive future. Research links hope and future orientation to greater motivation, persistence, resilience, achievement, and wellbeing. Students who lack hope, who cannot envision a positive future or a path to it, often disengage or give up. Teachers can foster hope by helping students set meaningful goals, identify concrete pathways and steps toward them, build their sense of agency (through success and support), and connect present effort to a positive future they can picture. This is especially important for students facing adversity, for whom hope can be transformative.

The research: Hope theory (Snyder); research on future orientation.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: build hope: goals, pathways, agency

Teachers leave fostering hope through goals, pathways, and agency.

Help students set meaningful goals (something to strive for).
Help them identify concrete pathways and steps toward those goals.
Build their sense of agency (belief they can act) through success and support.
Connect present effort to a positive future they can envision.

Goals, pathways, and agencyHope is a way of thinking, goals, routes to reach them, and belief you can act. Foster all three, and connect effort to a positive future, to build motivation, resilience, and investment.

Facilitator notes

Help set meaningful goals, and identify pathways and steps.
Build agency through success and support.
Connect effort to an envisioned future.

Students without hope disengage or give upStudents who cannot envision a positive future or a path to it often give up. Foster hope, goals, pathways, and agency, especially for those facing adversity.

Adapt it

Elementary: goals, steps, I-can belief, picture a future.
Secondary: meaningful goals, pathways, agency, future.
All settings: goals, pathways, agency, envisioned future.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Hope & Future Orientation: goals, pathways, agency

A way of thinking: meaningful goals, concrete pathways, a sense of agency, and a positive future to work toward.

How I help students set meaningful goals:
How I help them identify concrete pathways and steps:
How I build their sense of agency through success and support:
How I connect present effort to a positive future:
A student who needs hope fostered:

Make it stick

Goals, pathways, agency:

Build hope through goals, pathways, agency.
Connect effort to a future.
Bring a hope-building practice to the next PLC.

Common questions

Isn't hope just wishful thinking?

No. Hope is a way of thinking, goals, pathways to reach them, and agency to act, not just a feeling. It is linked to motivation, persistence, resilience, and achievement, and it can be fostered.

How do I foster hope in students?

Help them set meaningful goals, identify concrete pathways and steps toward them, build their sense of agency through success and support, and connect present effort to a positive future they can picture.

Who benefits most?

All students, but especially those facing adversity who struggle to envision a positive future. For them, fostering hope, goals, pathways, and agency, can be transformative.