Democracy and robust hope : Queensland's education and training reforms for the future

A key aim of democratic public policy should be the provision of hope. It is often argued that a key element of hope is not only a drive for equity in the face of neo-liberal marketization, but also the opportunity for the practice of agency by (especially disadvantaged) citizens. Here we examine the relationship between democracy and hope in an educational context by discussing recent education and training reforms 'for the future' (ETRF) in the Australian state of Queensland. We argue that these reforms have provided the opportunity for active democratic participation by young people and their communities in planning their futures and that they therefore provide an instance of what we have called 'robust hope'.