Critical Theory, Politics and Formation: Experience of German secondary school in the political formation of society

Abstract

This project, aimed at a postdoc internship program abroad, is one of the actions arising from academic exchanges agreed between two research groups, the "Critical Theory and Education - CNPq" (Brazil) and the "Educational Reconstruction of Teaching - University of Frankfurt" (Germany). The project is an attempt of improving the theoretical and methodological framework for empirical research in Critical Theory and Education in Brazil, due to the need of an objective characterization of some problems, which are part of the Brazilian culture, especially in the relationship between politics and education. Among different research perspectives increased by the Critical Theory, the Objective Hermeneutics, a variant of qualitative sociological research developed by Ulrich Oevermann and applied to the empirical situation of the classroom by Andreas Gruschka, both researchers at the University of Frankfurt, may be considered nowadays in Germany as one of the most widespread and recognized approaches in qualitative research to investigate social relationships, especially within the families, school and media (Wernet, 2006; Kraimer, 2000; Vilela, 2010). Accordingly to the aforementioned, the main objective of the postdoctoral stage in Frankfurt is to analyze, from the empirical experience of the German secondary school, and the Bildung referentials (cultural education), the normative principles which underlie the formation policy nowadays.