Open AccessExploring the phenomenon of hope in adult illiterate Haitians
Author(s) -
Donita Grissom,
Joyce W. Nutta,
Edwidge Crevecoeur-Bryant,
Sherron Killingsworth Roberts
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
journal of global education and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2577-509X
pISSN - 2577-5081
DOI - 10.5038/2577-509x.7.1.1167
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , psychology , literacy , social psychology , construct (python library) , phenomenon , population , scale (ratio) , gender studies , developmental psychology , sociology , social science , pedagogy , epistemology , demography , geography , philosophy , cartography , computer science , programming language
Snyder's hope theory depicts hope, through the frame of positive psychology, as a cognitive construct with the perceived sense of goal-directed, pathways, and agency thinking (Snyder et al., 1991). Hope levels have been measured in various countries; however, no research to date focused on Haitians. This study, conducted in Petit-Goâve, Haiti, addressed this gap by investigating hope, pathway, and agency levels derived from 135 Haitian-Kreyol adult literacy course participants. This manuscript reports scores of illiterate Haitians' hope levels utilizing Snyder's Adult Hope Dispositional Scale; the scores are explained by Snyder's hope theory taking Haitian cultural and social landscapes into account. Despite the challenging environment and illiterate conditions, Haitian participants reported just below average hope levels, average pathway levels, and low agency levels. These findings suggested this population garnered hope in their everyday lives, despite difficult obstacles.