Title: How to Help Students Develop Hope
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Education Articles & More
How to Help Students Develop Hope
According to research, hope is key to academic achievement--and it's a skill students can develop over time. Here's how.
About the Author
Vicki Zakrzewski
We believe happiness should be free.

Content: Start by having students create a “big picture” list of what’s important to them—such as their academics, friends, family, sports, or career—and then have them reflect on which areas are most important to them and how satisfied they are with each. Keep in mind that the goals must be what the students want, not what their parents or schools want. Otherwise, as studies suggest, they will quickly lose their interest and/or motivation, especially as they come up against obstacles. Next, using this list, teach students how to create goals that are both specific and take a positive, solutions-oriented approach. Their goals need to focus on accomplishing something in the future rather than avoiding something now—for instance, “I want to play on the basketball team” is a more effective, motivating goal than “I will stop drinking soda.” Finally, students should rank their goals in order of importance. Researchers have found that this is particularly vital for students with little hope, as they often attempt any goal that comes to mind, which distracts their focus and energy from the goals that can have the greatest impact on their overall well-being. 2) Breakdown the goals—especially long-term ones—into steps. Research has suggested that students with low hope frequently think goals have to be accomplished all-at-once, possibly because they haven’t had the parental guidance on how to achieve goals in steps. Teaching them how to see their goals as a series of steps will also give students reasons to celebrate their successes along the way—a great way to keep motivation high!