Fenomenología Hermenéutica y Esperanza Pedagógica en Van Manen: Una Mirada desde el Contexto Educativo Colombiano

Abstract

This article aims to analyze Max Van Manen’s main contributions to hermeneutic phenomenology and their relevance for understanding teaching practice within the Colombian educational context. The study was conducted using a qualitative documentary approach, based on the analysis of the author's seminal works (1990, 1991, 1998, 2003, and 2014), as well as Latin American studies that have applied this approach in vulnerable rural and urban settings. As a methodological framework, the study adopted the five phases proposed by Van Manen—clarification of assumptions, collection of lived experience, structural reflection, writing and rewriting, and integration of particular structures—adapted by Fuster (2019) for application in educational research. The findings indicate that hermeneutic phenomenology makes it possible to move beyond technical and normative approaches to education by placing the lived experiences of teachers and students at the center of pedagogical understanding. Furthermore, pedagogical tact and pedagogical hope emerge as fundamental categories for interpreting teaching practice in contexts characterized by inequality, rurality, and post-conflict conditions in Colombia. It is concluded that hermeneutic phenomenology constitutes a reflective approach that strengthens educational research by fostering a contextualized, ethical, and critical understanding of teaching practice.