La esperanza pedagógica en la experiencia vivida de los educadores. Un estudio fenomenológico-hermenéutico

Abstract

This investigation studies the daily experience of pedagogical hope, that educators maintain with respect to the children and young people entrusted to their pedagogical care. This is a phenomenon of the world of pedagogical life, which is commonly taken for granted and is lacking in systematic study. The aim of this research is to describe and interpret the essential meaning of this experience, that is to say, what makes pedagogical hope what it is. At the same time, it aspires to disclose the pedagogical meaning and significance of hope in the context of everyday educative practice. Seeking this purpose, this study adopts the hermeneutic phenomenological methodology proposed by Max van Manen. Within this approach, methods to gather lived experience (which are of a more descriptive nature) and methods of analysis/reflection on this experience (which are of a more interpretative nature) have been used. Basically, experiences of pedagogical hope have been compiled as Lived-Experience Descriptions (LEDs) offered by a group of educators (primary and secondary teachers, professors, advisers and mothers). These descriptions have been enriched and reedited by means of conversational interviews. Other sources of experiential material are personal descriptions, some scenes from a film and literary material. Reflective methods inspired by Phenomenology and Hermeneutics (for instance, thematic analysis and eidetic reduction) have been applied to this body of experiential material. As a result of this reflective work, a set of essential structures of the phenomenon have been obtained. These meanings are presented as a phenomenological text that evocatively describes and interprets the nature and sense of pedagogical hope. It is necessary to emphasize that the complete process of investigation is based on a set of epistemological assumptions inspired by Phenomenology and Hermeneutics , a mentality which differs from traditional forms of conceiving educational research, both in a quantitative and qualitative framework. For instance, pedagogical competence is conceived as the development of thoughtfulness and tact when dealing with children and youngsters. This inquiry discloses the deep nature of hope as an essential condition for educating. In this context, hope takes the form of a lived-experience in a concrete moment and/or a way of being educator. In the latter case, hope is developed on the basis of the reflective effort to consider certain basic pedagogical convictions, such as the capability of children and young people to change and to improve, and the powerful influence that educators have on students. Moreover, pedagogical hope requires an authentic commitment and affection towards students in a pedagogical sense. This experience or way of being takes root in the educative reality, characterized by its complexity and difficulty, developing an alternative perception of people and situations. This hope is inspired by what is pedagogically good for children and youngsters. Hope engenders an attitude of opening towards students and predisposes the teacher to offer genuine educative opportunities; to maintain patience while demanding certain academic standards; to generate positive expectations and to mobilize educators towards a search for pedagogical forms adapted especially to respond to the needs of pupils. Hope, besides being an indescribable experience for teachers, is an experience limited to the period of direct relationship with students. Nevertheless, it makes a deep impression on the mind and the experience of the educator. The significance of this experience is revealed through its effects on the academic and personal lives of many people. A hopeful educator discovers the value of learning and the worth of his/her students thanks to the fact that he/she gives them the possibilities to express their potentialities. Pedagogical hope opens doors for educational work, generating confidence and promoting real transformations in the lives of many children and young people.