In this presentation, I aim to explore the role played by hope in educational historiography. To achieve this, I will introduce two influential historians of education whose writings continue to shape ongoing histories of education in the French and Dutch-speaking worlds. Despite their significant impact, these scholars are not widely known among historians of education, as only a few or none of their books and articles have been translated.

The first historian of education I would like to highlight is the late Dutch professor Lea Dasberg. While Dasberg is perhaps best known for her Dutch education bestseller, "Grootbrengen door kleinhouden" (Raising Children by Keeping Them Small), published in the 1970s, her work on 'hope' and 'pedagogies of hope' has recently regained attention from historians of education such as Micha De Winter and others. They specifically refer to Dasberg's 1980 inaugural lecture, "Pedagogie in de schaduw van het jaar 2000, of: Hulde aan de Hoop" (Pedagogy in the Shadow of the Year 2000, or: Homage to Hope). In this lecture, as well as in other writings throughout her academic career, Dasberg introduced hope as a crucial category for educators to reconnect educational pasts, presents, and futures. Inspired by her religious background, particularly her Jewish roots and her decision to move from the Netherlands to Israel, Dasberg presents a distinctive interpretation of what a pedagogy of hope can and should consist of.

The second historian of education I will discuss is the French scholar Philippe Meirieu. Meirieu is a well-known educational scientist in Francophone intellectual circles who consistently uses his research to engage in public debates. In his historical work, unfortunately available only in French, Meirieu has consistently demonstrated the value of historical reflection for contemporary educational discussions. Among the many historically inspired books he has published throughout his career are "Frankenstein pédagogue," "Korczak, pour que vivent les enfants," and "Pédagogie, le devoir de résister." Interestingly, Meirieu, like Dasberg, has occasionally touched upon the value of hope in thinking about the history of education. One of the articles in which Meirieu expresses his thoughts about hope is titled "Espoir, es-tu là."

I will read closely the books, aricles and other documents produced by Lea Dasberg and Philippe Meirieu. This historical source corpus will be used in order to present their views on hope and pedagogies of hope.

This presentation will compare the pedagogy of hope constructed by Lea Dasberg based on her religious convictions with the secular interpretation of a pedagogy of hope offered by the French scholar Philippe Meirieu. The analysis will be grounded in a detailed examination of the publications written by these two internationally less well-known historians of education. The primary aims of the paper are twofold: first, to encourage historians of education to explore histories written not only in their mother tongue or English, and second, to contribute to ongoing historiographical debates about the value of history in shaping educational thinking and the role emotions can play in these discussions.

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