Hope and anticipation in education for a sustainable future
There is a lot of scientific research about the importance of hope in sustainable education, much of it written by Maria Ojala, and this is something I strongly believe in. One paper in particular, published in 2017, reviews existing literature about whether hope and anticipation have a place in sustainable development education and whether they promote engagement. Ojala has identified a link between hope and trust, explaining trust gives young people strength to act sustainably if they feel other people do too. The paper concludes how group working with young people must be incorporated into environmental education to foster trust between students, emphasise how solutions are much more likely when people work together and promote engagement. The positive and negative emotions evoked by environmental problems must also be considered, utilising the important concept of hope into discussions about creating a sustainable future.
Image credit: Year 4 student, Cornish Primary School
I agree with these findings, and ensure I promote positive emotions like hope alongside the scientific facts of climate change in all my workshops, because our future relies on young people having hope that they can make a change.
By introducing these concepts to school children, I believe it increases the chances of actual, measurable change. It is so important to address all feelings around environmental problems and encourage working together, as well as making a difference in your personal lives, to find suitable solutions. Formal education settings and informal groups need to be seen as the ideal spaces to begin conversations about how we can reduce our impact and make big changes for the future of our planet and all who live here