Philosophy of hope: concepts and applications for working with marginalized youth

Abstract

This article explores the contribution that can be made by philosophy of hope as a theoretical tool for youth studies. The language of hope is powerful – not only in people's everyday discourses but also in education, counselling and youth work. When working with youth who are marginalized or disadvantaged, hope can be a crucial resource. For example, teaching is sometimes seen as a ‘discipline of hope’. At first this sounds uplifting, even inspirational. But the use of hope in such discourses all too often remains without much analysis of what hope means and how it may be applied. This article aims to offer a beginning for both. First, I will provide an overview of theories of hope from various paradigms. Drawing on several of these, I argue for a conceptualization of hope as robust, sound and attainable. Second, I explore what this might mean in practice for teachers and others working with marginalized youth, and I propose four resources for applying philosophy of hope: a positive culture, a focus on possibility, a community of hope, and critical reflection.

Keywords:

• schooling
• theory
• marginalized youth
• hope

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions, which have improved this paper as well as given me food for thought for further exploration of the concept of hope. I am also grateful to my colleagues in the UTS Kuring-gai writing group who provided feedback on a very early version of this paper.