Student-Faculty Pedagogical Partnerships Humanize Teaching and Learning: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

This hermeneutic phenomenological study, guided by Gadamer’s (2004) ideas, explored the lived experiences of student consultants and faculty members participating in a student-faculty pedagogical partnership program. Framed by humanizing pedagogy (Freire, 1970; Salazar, 2013) and students as partners (Healey et al., 2014) as the conceptual foundation, the study examined how collaborative teaching and learning relationships can promote more equitable, dialogic, and transformative educational practices. Participants included three student consultants and three faculty members at a private research university in the western United States. Data were collected through nine in-depth phenomenological interviews (Seidman, 2019) and supplemented with written reflections and entry/exit interviews gathered by the program since 2017. A multi-stage coding process (Saldaña, 2021) and thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) were used to interpret how participants made meaning of their experiences in relation to four key constructs: advancing humanization and equity; fostering reciprocal teaching and learning dynamics; engaging in dialogue across varying perspectives; and eradicating power imbalances through collaboration. This study aims to contribute to the growing body of research that positions student-faculty pedagogical partnerships as a pathway toward more humanizing and equity-focused approaches to teaching and learning in higher education.