Alone but not lonely: a hermeneutic phenomenology of peer relationships and academic resilience
Robert John D. Gipal, Czianel Jedd R. Bacquial, Charlize Joanne G. Tabile, Christine Mae L. Gimena, Leonard John V. Carrillo
Abstract
Academic resilience is frequently conceptualized as an individual trait, with limited attention to its relational dimensions, particularly in the Philippine secondary school context. This study examines how academic resilience is experienced and interpreted within peer contexts among secondary school students in a public university-affiliated laboratory school in the Philippines. Using a hermeneutic phenomenology (Heideggerian–Gadamerian) design, the research moves beyond trait-based models to explore lived relational experience. Six students (n=6) participated in in-depth, face-to-face interviews. Data were analyzed through iterative interpretation consistent with the hermeneutic circle. Findings indicate that resilience emerged through relational processes rather than as a purely individual attribute. Belonging functioned as emotional support during academic transitions, while academic pressure was often normalized within structured school expectations. Peers provided encouragement, academic guidance, and role modeling, but also introduced tensions that required negotiation. Participants described resilience not as the absence of difficulty, but as continued engagement in academic life supported by shared experiences and mutual recognition. The study contributes to resilience scholarship by situating resilience within peer dynamics in a Philippine secondary school setting and by highlighting it is relational dimensions. Implications emphasize the importance of cultivating inclusive peer climates that sustain students’ academic participation.
