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'The Virtues of Not Knowing': How 'Unknowingness' in Pedagogical Partnership Prepares Student Partners to Navigate Complexity, Uncertainty, and Change in Pursuit of Equity

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Title: 'The Virtues of Not Knowing': How 'Unknowingness' in Pedagogical Partnership Prepares Student Partners to Navigate Complexity, Uncertainty, and Change in Pursuit of Equity
Language: English
Authors: Alison Cook-Sather (ORCID 0000-0002-0116-7158)
Source: Higher Education Research and Development. 2025 44(7):1640-1654.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 15
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Partnerships in Education, Equal Education, Ambiguity (Context), Higher Education, Navigation, Capacity Building, Student Participation, Undergraduate Students, Foreign Countries, Teacher Student Relationship, College Faculty, Student Attitudes, Student Role, Role Perception
Geographic Terms: New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Pakistan, Singapore, Sweden, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States
DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2025.2482802
ISSN: 0729-4360
1469-8366
Abstract: We live in a time of complexity, uncertainty, and change that can exacerbate inequities. Student-faculty pedagogical partnership that embraces 'unknowingness' can prepare student partners both to navigate complexity, uncertainty, and change and to work toward equity within and beyond higher education. After noting several current conditions of complexity, uncertainty, change, and inequity in the United States and beyond, this article introduces the concept of unknowingness, defines pedagogical partnership, and describes a longstanding, US-based pedagogical partnership program that embraces unknowingness. Using thematic analysis, the article draws on published essays and anonymous student-partner feedback to illustrate three stages through which student partners learn to work against hierarchies, re-understand complexity, uncertainty, and change, and develop the capacity to navigate the world with an equity orientation. The first stage is the uncertainty student partners feel when they enter into a pedagogical partnership, which reflects the dominant orientation in US higher education to have or seek the right answer. In the second stage, student partners build confidence and capacity through learning to trust unknowingness. Third is embracing unknowingness as a mindset student partners carry with them to navigate with an equity orientation the challenges and opportunities presented by a complex, unpredictable, and increasingly undemocratic and inequitable world.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1503726
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: 'The Virtues of Not Knowing': How 'Unknowingness' in Pedagogical Partnership Prepares Student Partners to Navigate Complexity, Uncertainty, and Change in Pursuit of Equity
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  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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  Data: 10.1080/07294360.2025.2482802
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– Name: Abstract
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  Data: We live in a time of complexity, uncertainty, and change that can exacerbate inequities. Student-faculty pedagogical partnership that embraces 'unknowingness' can prepare student partners both to navigate complexity, uncertainty, and change and to work toward equity within and beyond higher education. After noting several current conditions of complexity, uncertainty, change, and inequity in the United States and beyond, this article introduces the concept of unknowingness, defines pedagogical partnership, and describes a longstanding, US-based pedagogical partnership program that embraces unknowingness. Using thematic analysis, the article draws on published essays and anonymous student-partner feedback to illustrate three stages through which student partners learn to work against hierarchies, re-understand complexity, uncertainty, and change, and develop the capacity to navigate the world with an equity orientation. The first stage is the uncertainty student partners feel when they enter into a pedagogical partnership, which reflects the dominant orientation in US higher education to have or seek the right answer. In the second stage, student partners build confidence and capacity through learning to trust unknowingness. Third is embracing unknowingness as a mindset student partners carry with them to navigate with an equity orientation the challenges and opportunities presented by a complex, unpredictable, and increasingly undemocratic and inequitable world.
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