Conducting Hermeneutic Research in Education: Epistemological Foundations and Implementation

Abstract

Hermeneutics constitutes a philosophical movement with a profound influence on research in the social sciences—including educational research—the humanities, and health sciences. Although it is commonly referred to as a methodological perspective, hermeneutics is primarily an epistemological project, which requires special attention to its theoretical foundations. Furthermore, its historical proximity and theoretical relationship with phenomenology has led to considerable confusion in its identification and justification as a research approach. This article aims to clarify the epistemological foundations and methodological possibilities of hermeneutics in educational research. To this end, the fundamental differences between Edmund Husserl's transcendental phenomenology, Martin Heidegger's hermeneutic phenomenology, and Hans-George Gadamer's hermeneutic philosophy are analysed. Subsequently, a series of current methodological proposals inspired by these lines of thought are presented, exploring two of them in depth: the phenomenological-hermeneutic method proposed by Max Van Manen, Mark Vagle's post-intentional phenomenology, and Nancy Moules' hermeneutic proposal, whose analysis includes possible criticisms or theoretical debates that have recently arisen. In this way, the text offers a current and critical overview of the possibilities of hermeneutic research in education that can promote the development of projects from this perspective.