Authority and Discipline as Cultural Constructions: Reverberations of Herbart’s Thought in the Light of Cultural Studies in Education

Abstract

This article analyzes, from a historical-critical perspective articulated with Cultural Studies in Education, the concepts of government, instruction, and discipline present in Johann Friedrich Herbart’s General Pedagogy (2014). The research consists of a theoretical-documentary analysis of the aforementioned work, confronting it with the assumptions of authors such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Saviani, and Paulo Freire, and later with Stuart Hall, Tomaz Tadeu da Silva, and Michel Foucault, in order to understand the cultural reverberations of Herbart’s ideas in the contemporary educational context. The study identifies that Herbartian pedagogy, although associated with tradition and authority, still resonates in conservative discourses that permeate current school practices, such as militarization and goal-oriented management. The article highlights that such discourses operate as cultural constructions and power devices, making it necessary to problematize them in light of a critical and emancipatory education committed to diversity, democracy, and the formation of autonomous subjects