Advertisement

The Urban Review

, Volume 46, Issue 2, pp 268–291 | Cite as

“Does Hope Change? Testing a Project-Based Health Intervention Among Urban Students of Color”

  • Kaija L. Zusevics
  • Sheri Johnson
Article
First Online:
  • 317 Downloads

Abstract

Hope is positively correlated with educational attainment and health. Interventions based on project-based learning (PBL) may increase youth hope. This study examined how a PBL intervention affected hope among urban students of color. Students in health classes were invited to participate. A PBL health class was implemented in four classrooms. The standard curriculum was implemented in four control classrooms. Questionnaires with measures of hope were administered at three time points. Generalized linear modeling examined the intervention effect on hope. There were no intervention effects on hope. There were significant differences in hope between certain racial and ethnic groups. One PBL class may not increase hope among urban students of color. Research should identify approaches that enhance hope in order to increase educational attainment and health.

Keywords

Hope Project-based learning Race Urban students of color 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

The writing of this manuscript was funded in part by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Research and Education Program Fund, a component of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

References

  1. Adler, N. E. (2007). Health disparities: What’s optimisim got to do with it? Journal of Adolescent Health, 40, 106–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Appleton, J. J., Christenson, S. L., & Furlong, M. J. (2008). Student engagement with school: Critical conceptual and methodological issues of the construct. Psychology in the Schools, 45(5), 369–386. doi: 10.1002/pits.20303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Barnum, D. D., Snyder, C. R., Rapoff, M. A., Mani, M. M., & Thompson, R. (1998). Hope and social support in the psychological adjustment of children who have survived burn injuries and their matched controls. Children’s Health Care, 27(1), 15–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Bronk, K. C., Hill, P. L., Lapsley, D. K., Talib, T. L., & Finch, H. (2009). Purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6), 500–510. doi: 10.1080/17439760903271439 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Brown, D. R., & Keith, V. (Eds.). (2003). In and out of our right minds: The mental health of African American women. Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
  6. Burrow, A. L., O’Dell, A. C., & Hill, P. L. (2009). Profiles of a developmental asset: Youth purpose as a context for hope and well-being. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. pp 1–9. doi: 10.1007/s10964-009-9481-1.
  7. Caldwell, C. B., & Gottesman, I. I. (1990). Schizophrenics kill themselves too: A review of risk factors for suicide. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 16, 571–589.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Canty-Mitchell, J. (2001). Life change events, hope, and self-care agency in inner-city adolescents. Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 14(1), 18–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Cedeno, L. A., Elias, M. J., Kelly, S., & Chu, B. C. (2010). School violence, adjustment, and the influence of hope on low-income, African American youth. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(2), 213–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Chang, E. C., & Banks, K. H. (2007a). The color and texture of hope: Some preliminary findings and implications for hope theory and counseling among diverse racial/ethnic groups. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13, 94–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Chang, E. C., & Banks, K. H. (2007b). The color and texture of hope: Some preliminary findings and implications for hope theory and counseling among diverse Racial/Ethnic groups. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(2), 94–103. doi: 10.1037/1099-9809.13.2.94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Committee on Increasing High School Students’ Engagement, Motivation to Learn, Board on Children, Youth, Families Division of Behavioral, Social Sciences, Education. (2004). Engaging schools: Fostering high school students’ motivation to learn. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.Google Scholar
  13. Davidson, O., Feldman, D., & Margalit, M. (2012). A focused intervention for 1st-year college students: Promoting hope, sense of coherence, and self-efficacy. The Journal of Psychology, 146(3), 333–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Delpit, L. D. (1988). The silenced dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people’s children. Harvard Educational Review, 58(3), 280–299.Google Scholar
  15. Duncan-Andrade, J. M. R. (2009). Note to educators: Hope required when growing roses in concrete. Harvard Educational Review, 79(2), 181–194.Google Scholar
  16. Edwards, L. M., Ong, A. D., & Lopez, S. J. (2007). Hope measurement in Mexican American youth. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 29(2), 225–241. doi: 10.1177/0739986307299692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Esteves, M., Scoloveno, R. L., Mahat, G., Yarcheski, A., & Scoloveno, M. A. An integrative review of adolescent hope. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, (0) doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2012.03.033.
  18. Feldman, D. B., Rand, K. L., & Kahle-Wrobleski, K. (2009). Hope and goal attainment: Testing a basic prediction of hope theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28(4), 479–497.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Feldman, D. B., & Snyder, C. R. (2005). Hope and the meaningful life: Theoretical and empirical associations between goal–directed thinking and life meaning. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(3), 401–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Finkelstein, D. M., Kubzansky, L. D., Capitman, J., & Goodman, E. (2007). Socioeconomic differences in adolescent stress: The role of psychological resources. Journal of Adolescent Health, 402(2), 127–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Fortman, T. L. (2011). A longitudinal study of the stability of hope in late adolescence. Ohio State University.Google Scholar
  22. Gilman, R., Dooley, J., & Florell, D. (2006). Relative levels of hope and their relationship with academic and psychological indicators among adolescents. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25(2), 166–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Grewal, P. K., & Porter, J. E. (2007). Hope theory: A framework for understanding suicidal action. Death Studies, 31(2), 131–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Guthrie, D. D. (2011). “Hope is the ticket to life”: Insights from disadvantaged African American youth (Unpublished PhD). Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL (AAT 3454932).Google Scholar
  25. Helle, L., Tynjälä, P., & Olkinuora, E. (2006). Project-based learning in post-secondary education—theory, practice and rubber sling shots. Higher Education, 51(2), 287–314. doi: 10.1007/s10734-004-6386-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Helms, J. E. (1990a). An overview of black racial identity theory. In J. E. Helms (Ed.), Black and white racial identity: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 9–32). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.Google Scholar
  27. Helms, J. E. (1990b). Black and white racial identity: Theory, research, and practice. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
  28. Helms, J. E. (1992). A race is a nice thing to have: A guide to being a white person or understanding the white persons in your life. Topeka, Kansas: Content Communications.Google Scholar
  29. Helms, J. E. (1994). The conceptualization of racial identity and other” racial” constructs. In E. J. Trickett, R. J. Watts & D. Birman (Eds.), Human diversity: Perspectives on people in context. The Jossey-Bass social and behavioral science series (pp. 285–311). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
  30. Helms, J. E. (1995). An update of Helm’s white and people of color racial identity models. Versions were Presented at the Psychology and Societal Transformation Conference, U Western Cape, South Africa, Jan 1994, and at a Workshop Entitled” Helm’s Racial Identity Theory,” Annual Multicultural Winter Roundtable, Teachers Coll–Columbia U, New York, February 1994.Google Scholar
  31. Hendricks, D. L., & Hendricks, C. S. (2005). The relationship of hope and self-efficacy to health promoting behaviors among student-athletes attending historically black colleges and universities. Journal of Multicultural Nursing & Health (JMCNH), 11(3), 23–34.Google Scholar
  32. Herth, K. (1998). Hope as seen through the eyes of homeless children. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(5), 1053–1062.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Hinds, P. S. (1984). Inducing a definition of ‘hope’ through the use of grounded theory methodology. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 9(4), 357–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Hinton-Nelson, M., Roberts, M. C., & Snyder, C. R. (1996). Early adolescents exposed to violence: Hope and vulnerability to victimization. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 66(3), 346–353. doi: 10.1037/h0080185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Hoffmann, H., Kupper, Z., & Kunz, B. (2000). Hopelessness and its impact on rehabilitation outcome in schizophrenia: An exploratory study. Schizophrenia Research, 43, 147–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Humes, K. R., Jones, N. A., & Ramirez, R. R. (2011). Overview of race and hispanic origin: 2010. (No. C2010BR-02).US Department of Commerce: Economics and Statistics Administration: US Census Bureau.Google Scholar
  37. Cross, Jr. W. E., Parham, T. A., & Helms, J. E. (1991). The stages of black identity development: Nigrescence models. In R. L. Jones (Ed.), Black psychology (3rd ed., pp. 319–338). Berkeley, CA: Cobb & Henry Publishers.Google Scholar
  38. Johnson-Powell, G., Yamamoto, J., Wyatt, G. E., & Arroyo, W. (Eds.). (1997). Transcultural child development: Psychological assessment and treatment. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.Google Scholar
  39. Jones, C. P. (2002). Levels of racism: A theoretic framework and a gardener’s tale. In T. A. La Veist (Ed.), Race, ethnicity and health (pp. 311–318). San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.Google Scholar
  40. Jonker, L., & Greeff, A. P. (2009). Resilience factors in families living with people with mental illnesses. Journal of Community Psychology, 37(7), 859–873.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Kelsey, K., Devellis, B., Gizlice, Z., Ries, A., Barnes, K., & Campbell, M. (2011). Obesity, hope, and health: Findings from the HOPE works community survey. Journal of Community Health, 36(6), 919–924.Google Scholar
  42. Kobau, R., Seligman, M. E. P., Peterson, C., Diener, E., Zack, M. M., Chapman, D., et al. (2011). Mental health promotion in public health: Perspectives and strategies from positive psychology. American Journal of Public Health, 101(8), e1–e9. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.300083.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Lambert, M. J., Burlingame, G. M. & Wells, M. G. (1999). Youth life status questionnaire. Retrieved 2/15, 2010, from http://www.assiciatedtherapists.com/forms/YLSQ.pdf.
  44. Landeen, J., Pawlick, J., Woodside, H., Kirkpatrick, H., & Byrne, C. (2000). Hope, quality of life, and symptom severity in individuals with schizophrenia. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 23, 364–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Lareau, A., & Horvat, E. M. (1999). Moments of social inclusion and exclusion race, class, and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of Education, pp. 37–53. Google Scholar
  46. Lewis, A., Huebner, E., Malone, P., & Valois, R. (2011). Life satisfaction and student engagement in adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(3), 249–262. doi: 10.1007/s10964-010-9517-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Liou, D. D., Antrop-González, R., & Cooper, R. (2009). Unveiling the promise of community cultural wealth to sustaining Latina/o students’ college-going information networks. Educational Studies, 45(6), 534–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. McNeal, R., Handwerk, M. L., Field, C. E., Roberts, M. C., Soper, S., Huefner, J. C., et al. (2006). Hope as an outcome variable among youths in a residential care setting. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(3), 304–311. doi: 10.1037/0002-9432.76.3.304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. Molock, S. D., Matlin, S., Barksdale, C., Puri, R., & Lyles, J. (2008). Developing suicide prevention programs for African American youth in African American churches. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 38(3), 323–333. doi: 10.1521/suli.2008.38.3.323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Nalkur, P. G. (2009). Adolescent hopefulness in Tanzania: Street youth, former street youth, and school youth. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24(6), 668–690. doi: 10.1177/0743558409350501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Newell, R. J., & Van Ryzin, M. J. (2007). Growing hope as a determinate of school effectiveness. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(6), 465.Google Scholar
  52. Padilla-Walker, L. M., Hardy, S. A., & Christensen, K. J. (2011). Adolescent hope as a mediator between parent-child connectedness and adolescent outcomes. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 31(6), 853–879. doi: 10.1177/0272431610376249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Ravitz, J. (2009). Summarizing the findings and looking ahead to a new generation of PBL research. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 3(1), 4–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  54. Reis, S. M., Colbert, R. D., & Hebert, T. P. (2005). Understanding resilience in diverse, talented students in an urban high school. Roeper Review, 27(2), 110–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  55. Renn, K. A. (2008). Research on biracial and multiracial identity development: Overview and synthesis. New Directions for Student Services, 2008(123), 13–21. doi: 10.1002/ss.282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  56. Rew, L., Taylor-Seehafer, M., Thomas, N. Y., & Yockey, R. D. (2001). Correlates of resilience in homeless adolescents. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 33(1), 33–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  57. Roswarski, T. E., & Dunn, J. P. (2009). The role of help and hope in prevention and early intervention with suicidal adolescents: Implications for mental health counselors. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 31(1), 34–46.Google Scholar
  58. Rumbaut, R. G. (2005). Sites of belonging: Acculturation, discrimination, and ethnic identity among children of immigrants. In T. S. Weiner (Ed.), Discovering successful pathways in children’s development: Mixed methods in the study of childhood and family life (pp. 111–164). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  59. Rumbaut, R. G. (2008). Reaping what you sew: Immigration, youth, and reactive ethnicity. Applied Developmental Science, 22(2), 1–4.Google Scholar
  60. Schmid, K. L., & J. Lopez, S. (2011). Positive pathways to adulthood: The role of hope in adolescents’ constructions of their futures. In R. M. Lerner, J. V. Lerner & J. B. Benson (Eds.), Advances in child development and behavior (pp. 69–88) Elsevier Inc. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-386492-5.00004-X.
  61. Schmid, K. L., Phelps, E., Kiely, M. K., Napolitano, C. M., Boyd, M. J., & Lerner, R. M. (2011a). The role of adolescents’ hopeful futures in predicting positive and negative developmental trajectories: Findings from the 4-H study of positive youth development. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(1), 45–56. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2010.536777.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  62. Schmid, K. L., Phelps, E., & Lerner, R. M. (2011b). Constructing positive futures: Modeling the relationship between adolescents’ hopeful future expectations and intentional self regulation in predicting positive youth development. Journal of Adolescence, 34(6), 1127–1135. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.07.009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  63. Shorey, H. S. (2005). Building hope for adolescents: The importance of a secure social base. FOCAL POiNT Research, Policy, and Practice in Children’s Mental Health, 19(1), 15–18.Google Scholar
  64. Shorey, H. S., Snyder, C. R., Yang, X., & Lewin, M. R. (2003). The role of hope as a mediator in recollected parenting, adult attachment, and mental health. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 22(6), 685–715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  65. Skinner, E. A., Kindermann, T. A., & Furrer, C. J. (2009). A motivational perspective on engagement and disaffection: Conceptualization and assessment of children’s behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 69(3), 493–525. doi: 10.1177/0013164408323233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Snyder, C. R. (2000). Handbook of hope: Theory, measures, and applications. San Diego: Academic Press.Google Scholar
  67. Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  68. Snyder, C. R. (2003). Measuring hope in children. Indicators of Positive Development Conference, pp. 1–26.Google Scholar
  69. Snyder, C. R., Feldman, D. B., Shorey, H. S., & Rand, K. L. (2002). Hopeful choices: A school counselor’s guide to hope theory. Professional School Counseling, 5(5), 298–308.Google Scholar
  70. Snyder, C. R., Harrisc, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigmon, S. T., et al. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 570–585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  71. Snyder, C. R., Hoza, B., Pelham, W. E., Rapoff, M., Ware, L., Danovsky, M., et al. (1997). The development and validation of the children’s hope scale. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 22(3), 399–421. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/22.3.399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  72. Spann, M., Molock, S. D., Barksdale, C., Matlin, S., & Puri, R. (2006). Suicide and African American teenagers: Risk factors and coping mechanisms. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 36(5), 553–568. doi: 10.1521/suli.2006.36.5.553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  73. Stajduhar, K. I., Funk, L., Shaw, A. L., Bottorff, J. L., & Johnson, J. (2009). Resilience from the perspective of the illicit injection drug user: An exploratory descriptive study. International Journal of Drug Policy, 20(4), 309–316. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2008.07.003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  74. Szreter, S., & Woolcock, M. (2004). Health by association? Social capital, social theory, and the political economy of public health. International Journal of Epidemiology, 33, 650–667.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  75. Tatum, B. D. (1992). Talking about race, learning about racism: The application of racial identity development theory in the classroom. Harvard Educational Review, 62(1), 1–25.Google Scholar
  76. te Riele, K. (2010). Philosophy of hope: Concepts and applications for working with marginalized youth. Journal of Youth Studies, 13(1), 35–46. doi: 10.1080/13676260903173496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  77. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (2011). NAPCS dashboard—students—race/ethnicity—Milwaukee public schools—2010–2011. Retrieved 12/26, 2011, from http://dashboard.publiccharters.org/dashboard/students/page/race/district/WI-73/year/2011.
  78. Thomas, J. W. (2000). A review of research on project-based learning. San Rafael, California: Buck Institute for Education.Google Scholar
  79. Thomas, J. W., & Mergendoller, J. R. (1999). Project-based learning: A handbook for middle and high school teachers. Novato, CA: The Buck Institute for Education.Google Scholar
  80. US Census Bureau. (2011). 2010 Census shows America’s diversity. Retrieved 1/4, 2012, from http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn125.html.
  81. Visser, P., Loess, P., Jeglic, E., & Hirsch, J. (2012). Hope as a moderator of negative life events and depressive symptoms in a diverse sample. Stress Health, 29, 82–88.Google Scholar
  82. Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. doi: 10.1080/1361332052000341006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  83. Zimmerman, M. A., Ramírez-Valles, J., & Maton, K. I. (1999). Resilience among urban African American male adolescents: A study of the protective effects of sociopolitical control on their mental health. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27(6), 733–751. doi: 10.1023/A:1022205008237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  84. Zusevics, K. (2012). Testing an intervention to impact student engagement and hope among urban students: A social determinants of health framework. Doctoral dissertation, Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, WI.Google Scholar
  85. Zusevics, K., Lemke, M., Harley, A., & Florsheim, P. (2013). Project health: Evaluation of a project-based health education program. Health Education, 113(3), 232–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Program in Genomics and Ethics, Center for Bioethics and Medical HumanitiesMedical College of WisconsinMilwaukeeUSA
  2. 2.Department of Pediatrics, Center for the Advancement of Underserved ChildrenMedical College of WisconsinMilwaukeeUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options