Finding hope in hopelessness : future goals and aspirations of Papua New Guinean students

Papua New Guinea" one of the world's many developing countries" faces many crucial challenges that arise due to its third world status. Inadequate access to basic health and educational resources, an ever-increasing homeless population, the rising HIV/AIDS pandemic, and dwindling employment rates are few of the many challenges Papua New Guineans must face in the 21st Century. The current study aimed to investigate the aspirations and future orientations of young Papua New Guineans in the midst of these challenges. Fifty-two qualitative interviews were conducted with 32 students, 11 teachers and 9 parents from a combination of primary and high schools in city, rural and village Papua New Guinea. In contrast to previous studies suggesting an atmosphere of ambivalent, hopeless attitudes amongst young persons in PNG, the results of the current study found that students possessed solid and directional goals for their future despite being aware of the limiting circumstances of their developing society. The findings outline the nature of the goals and aspirations students held and gave suggestions for maintaining and encouraging adaptive goals and the utility value of such goals.