The Giving Hope Project: An Invitation for Schools
Giving Hope is a project that explores students' understanding of hope, and equips teachers to communicate about hope to their students.
We are seeking a total of 9 schools in three national locations to partner with us in research
and resource development focused on helping students and teachers experience hope
amid the challenges of our present world.
Schools that particpate in this project will:
- Receive free professional development and support for teaching innovation.
- Contribute to our understanding of how students and teachers can be helped to
thrive in challenging times. - Contribute to the wellbeing of students and teachers in and beyond your
school.
Contemporary education faces significant challenges relating to student anxiety and teacher burnout. Many sources identify a mental health crisis among the 鈥渁nxious generation鈥 of today鈥檚 youth. Teacher attrition and demoralization are a widely discussed challenge for schools and society. We are building a school-based project to help address these needs and seek school partners.
Our project focuses on the idea of virtuous hope, which differs from optimism or
confidence. Virtuous hope is not just the thought that things will work out for me or that I
can achieve my goals. It is intrinsically connected to seeking the good of our community
and using our agency for the wellbeing of those around us.
- Our project, which will run from September 2026 to July 2029 subject to receipt of
anticipated funding, will involve: - Survey research among students to establish a local understanding of their
perceptions and experiences of hope and to identify changes across the project.
Professional development with small groups of teachers to deepen their own
thinking about hope, refresh their vision, and equip them to foster virtuous hope in
themselves, their students, and their colleagues. - Design, implementation, and research evaluation with teachers of a range of
teaching activities designed to address virtuous hope while dovetailing with the
regular curriculum. - Communication of general findings and successful teaching resources and ideas
through various channels to a wider audience of teachers and schools.
We have already run a pilot project and received funding for the preparatory phase of the
main project. Part of the process of securing funding for the main phase of the project is
securing agreements with participating schools.
If your school is interested in being part of this project, we would be glad to have a more detailed conversation. See below for answers to some first questions that you might have and a way to contact us.
How to Apply
If you've reviewed the material below and want to apply to participate, click this button to start the online application process.
The research team (David I. Smith, Kendra Thomas, Roman Williams, and Rachael Baker) brings expertise in education, psychology, sociology, and the natural sciences and an established track record in educational and psychological research. The project is based at 51爆料 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
The project will provide training retreats for participating teachers designed to nourish their own sense of hope and assist them in developing ideas and resources to enhance their own teaching. Schools will receive small grants (around $15k) to cover any costs associated with implementing any new ideas and to support innovation. Schools will also receive overall survey data on how their students are thinking about and experiencing hope and which kinds of interventions seem to be helping. Schools will receive free access to all resources developed through the project. You will also be contributing to our understanding of teacher and learner needs and the well-being of students and teachers beyond your school.
There will be no financial cost to schools. All professional development and resource development will be funded by the project. We need schools that are willing to commit to encouraging and allowing a group of their teachers to participate, allowing them to try out new ideas in their classrooms in connection with existing curriculum topics, encouraging and enabling students to complete the research surveys, and granting researchers permission to conduct research in the school during the duration of the project.
Our research will undergo full ethics review and follow all standard ethical norms regarding voluntary participation, protection of data, and protection of individuals and institutions. All research data will be kept secure and rigorously 鈥渄eidentified.鈥 This means that no data will be reported to schools or the wider public in any manner that allows identification of individual students, teachers, or schools. Our research will not compare individual schools or teachers but rather will focus on what kinds of interventions help broad populations of teachers and students. No communication of findings to a wider audience will be done in a manner that allows individual schools to be identified, even by those with local knowledge. The project will require some time investment from some teachers and implementation of some new ideas in classrooms but aims to work alongside the existing school year and curriculum rather than creating a large, packaged intervention that requires significant diversion from existing teaching goals. Our research aims to include a range of school types, including public schools and private, faith-based schools but will not impose a specific ideology or religious stance on teachers or students.
We understand that you will have further questions before signing up to participate in a multi-year project and we would be glad to discuss them with you. To initiate further conversation without obligation please contact us at givinghope@calvin.edu.
Project Timeline
November 2026鈥擣ebruary 2027: Recruit 3 teachers from each school for first round of
training.
February鈥擩une 2027: the 3 teachers engage in light preparation activities for initial training. Recruit 9 further teachers for second round of training.
June 2027: the three teachers participate in a 5-day residential training retreat in the local area, receiving an honorarium for participation.
August 2027: The 9 further teachers and the 3 initial teachers take part in a 2-day, nonresidential (school-based) training retreat, led by the 3 initial teachers based on their initial training. All receive an honorarium for participation and for implementation of a classroom intervention during the ensuing school year.
September鈥擮ctober 2027: Whole school survey administered to collect baseline data.
October 2027鈥擬arch 2028: Each of the 12 participating teachers conducts a short, selfdesigned intervention in one of their classes, with freedom to choose topic and timing to match existing curricular processes. Students in participating classes complete short (one
minute) daily surveys during the days of the interventions they experience.
April鈥擬ay 2028: Second school-wide survey to collect outcome data.
During 2028: one visit to each school by a research team member to conduct focus group interviews with teachers and students.
June 2028鈥擠ecember 2029: data analysis, writing; no responsibilities for participating schools. Final reports to schools.
Summary of Incentives
- 3 teachers each receive $2,000 for participation in first and second training retreat and conducting a classroom intervention.
- 9 teachers each receive $750 for participation in second training retreat and conducting a classroom intervention.
- Each class in which an intervention takes place has available a $200 whole-class incentive for survey completion rate.
- Each school has available $3,000 to support a Photovoice event (for display and
celebration of student work) following the classroom interventions. - Each school receives $12,000 to support any further school activities, costs, or
investments related to the project. - Each participant in qualitative research interviews receives $25 (student) or $50 (teacher) per interview.