Dr. Shameeza Khan’s doctoral research offers a starting point for discussing hope in teaching. Her 2020 University of Portland Ed.D. dissertation is titled Teachers’ Experience in Applying Hope Theory in Upper Elementary Educational Practice. The ERIC research record lists the author as Bibi Shameeza Khan.
The study’s question and setting
The qualitative study examined educators’ experience applying Snyder’s hope theory—goals, pathways and agency—in an Islamic elementary school in Canada. Eighteen educators participated over a twelve-week period, with initial professional learning and ongoing support.
The research explored how educators applied the theory, what they observed in learning and teaching, and what they suggested for future practice. The abstract describes varied implementation and teachers’ observations about reframing, responding to barriers, reflection, confidence and parental support. It also highlights continuing professional learning and willingness to reconsider teaching practices.
These findings concern educators’ experience and observations in a particular setting. They do not establish that RISE courses or the Reading and Writing with Purpose books cause higher examination scores.
A useful distinction for readers
The dissertation’s use of Snyder’s goals, pathways and agency should be distinguished from RISE’s HOPE framework: Humility, Optimism, Perseverance and Experience. The About page explains how RISE describes that framework in its teaching approach.
They are related topics worth discussing, but they should not be treated as interchangeable constructs or presented as the same validated intervention. Dr. Khan can explain the relationship in her own words as this research section develops.
Bring a research question to classroom planning
A practical question for an educator is how to make a learning goal clear and help a pupil identify a next step when the first attempt is difficult. The answer needs a teaching task, feedback and a way to notice what changed.
In a writing lesson, for example, a teacher might choose one revision goal and ask the learner to explain the revision they made. This is an illustrative planning idea from the RISE team, rather than a reported result or quotation from the dissertation.
The Journal can hold these discussions alongside the original sources. A contributor profile gives readers a place to check the researcher’s background; an article gives room to explain the question, method, context and limits of a specific study.
Follow the original research
Start with the ERIC dissertation abstract, then visit Dr. Khan’s contributor profile for her background and publications. Further research articles should name the source they discuss and say whether they draw on a full paper, an abstract or an author’s explanation.
For curriculum decisions, review RISE Learn’s alignment and assessment guide and the selected course’s outcomes alongside this research context.