Educational Democratization, Disembedded Individuation, and Implications for Democratic Stability
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19203758Keywords:
Democracy, Education, Individuation, ModernityAbstract
The aim of this article is to analyze the historical construction of the modern individual and the role of school as a central device for individuation in modern societies. The individual is approached as a historical and institutional product linked to the civilizing processes of modernity. Based on a
2
review of various authors, we examine how modern schooling institutionalizes dispositions such as reflexivity, self-control, and abstraction, producing individuals who are functional to social differentiation. The work incorporates the notion of social meanings to show how schools articulate reproduction, adaptation, and openness to change. Finally, the democratic implications of educational democratization are analyzed, highlighting its integrative effects and its limits in the reproduction of inequalities and the formation of democratic dispositions.
Downloads
References
Abrantes, P. (2016). Socialização: onde a sociologia e as neurociências se encontram. Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas, (82), 11-25.
Aleman, E., & Kim, Y. (2015). The democratizing effect of education. Research and Politics, 2(4), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168015613360
Apergis, N. (2018). Education and democracy: New evidence from 161 countries. Economic modelling, 71, 59-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2017.12.001
Beck, U. (1998). La sociedad del riesgo. Hacia una nueva modernidad. Paidós.
Bourdieu, P. (1975). The specificity of the scientific field and the social conditions of the progress of reason. Social Science Information, 14(6), 19–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901847501400602
Bourdieu, P. (1998). La distinción: Criterio y bases sociales del gusto. Taurus.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1995). La reproducción: Elementos para una teoría del sistema de enseñanza. Fontamara.
Brown, P. (2013). Education, opportunity and the prospects for social mobility. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 34(5–6), 678–700. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2013.816036
Brown, P., & James, D. (2020). Educational expansion, poverty reduction and social mobility: Reframing the debate. International Journal of Educational Research, 100, 101537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101537
Castoriadis, C. (2007). La institución imaginaria de la sociedad. Tusquets.
Cerna, L., Mezzanotte, C., Rutigliano, A., Brussino, O., Santiago, P., Borgonovi, F., & Guthrie, C. (2021). Promoting inclusive education for diverse societies: A conceptual framework. OECD education working papers, (260), 1-57. https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/94ab68c6-en
11
Cheeks, B. J. (2025). Transforming Education: Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging for Systemic Change. Educational Considerations, 51(1). https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2423
Collins, J., Hess, M. E., & Lowery, C. L. (2019). Democratic spaces: How teachers establish and sustain democracy and education in their classrooms. Democracy & Education, 27(1), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.65214/2164-7992.1432
Dahlum, S., & Knutsen, C. H. (2017). Do democracies provide better education? Revisiting the democracy–human capital link. World Development, 94, 186–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.01.001
Dewey, J. (2020). Democracia y educación: Una introducción a la filosofía de la educación. Ediciones Morata.
Dubet, F. (2005). La escuela de las oportunidades: ¿Es una escuela justa? Editorial Gedisa.
Dubet, F. (2006). El declive de la institución: Profesiones, sujetos e individuos en la modernidad. Gedisa Editorial.
Durango Álvarez, G. (2010). El concepto de los derechos fundamentales en la teoría habermasiana: de la acción comunicativa a facticidad y validez. Revista de Derecho, 33, 247-276.
Durkheim, E. (2020). Historia de la educación y de las doctrinas pedagógicas: la evolución pedagógica en Francia. Ediciones Morata.
Edgerton, J. D., & Roberts, L. W. (2014). Cultural capital or habitus? Bourdieu and beyond in the explanation of enduring educational inequality. Theory and research in education, 12(2), 193-220. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878514530231
Elias, N. (1939). El proceso de la civilización: Investigaciones sociogenéticas y psicogenéticas. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Elias, N. (1983). Die höfische Gesellschaft (Court Society). Suhrkamp.
Fernández Enguita, M. (1997). Educación y clases sociales. Siglo XXI.
Fowler, B. (1995). Pierre Bourdieu's sociology of culture: critical investigations. University of Glasgow.
Furlong, A., & Cartmel, F. (2006). Young people and social change. McGraw-Hill Education.
Gradstein, M., & Chong, A. E. (2011). Education and Democratic Preferences. https://doi.org/10.18235/0010914
Glaeser, E. L., Ponzetto, G. A. M., & Shleifer, A. (2007). Why does democracy need education? Journal of Economic Growth, 12(2), 77–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-007-9015-1
Green, A. (1990). Education and state formation: The rise of education systems in England, France and the USA. Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-12853-2
Gramsci, A. (1967). La formación de los intelectuales. Grijalbo.
Habermas, J. (1981). The theory of communicative action (Vols. 1–2). Polity.
12
Heglum, M. A. (2024). Transformed ‘postmodern’life courses? Continuity and change in young adults’ labour market trajectories in Norway. European Sociological Review, 40(3), 417-433. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcad043
Hubmer, J., Krusell, P., & Smith Jr, A. A. (2021). Sources of US wealth inequality: Past, present, and future. Nber macroeconomics annual, 35(1), 391-455. https://doi.org/10.1086/712332
Jæger, M. M., & Karlson, K. (2018). Cultural capital and educational inequality: A counterfactual analysis. Sociological Science, 5, 775-795.https://doi.org/10.15195/v5.a33
Kalleberg, A. L. (2018). Precarious Lives: Job Insecurity and Well-Being in Rich Democracies. Polity Press
Kim, Y. (2025). The Effect of Education on Democratic Values Under Different Regime Types in Mexico. Journal of Politics in Latin America, 17(3), 386-410. https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X251344318
Kołczyńska, M. (2020). Democratic values, education, and political trust. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 61(1), 3-26.
Lee, A., Erdogan, B., Tian, A., Willis, S., & Cao, J. (2021). Perceived overqualification and task performance: Reconciling two opposing pathways. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 94(1), 80-106. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12323
Leuven, E., & Oosterbeek, H. (2011). Overeducation and mismatch in the labor market. Handbook of the Economics of Education, 4, 283-326. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53444-6.00003-1
Luhmann, N. (1999). Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft. Tijdschrift voor Filosofie, 61(2).
Mai, Q. D., Song, L., & Donnelly, R. (2023). Precarious employment and well-being: insights from the COVID-19 pandemic. Work and Occupations, 50(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/07308884221143063
Martuccelli, D. (2007). Grammaires de l’individu. Gallimard.
Mastrantonio, M. (2021). The question of time for Norbert Elias: Challenges of an interdisciplinary concept and approach towards time. Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal, 9(1), 67–76. https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i1.840
Mauss, M. (1938). Une catégorie de l'esprit humain: la notion de personne celle de" moi". Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 263-281. https://doi.org/10.2307/2844128
Meyer, J. W. (1977). The effects of education as an institution. American Journal of Sociology, 83(1), 55–77. https://doi.org/10.1086/226506
Moutsios, S. (2013). Imaginary significations and education as a social institution. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2(11), 144. https://doi.org/10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n11p144
Montes Ruiz, A. (2019). Trayectorias no tradicionales de acceso a la educación superior: Nuevas y viejas desigualdades en tiempos de expansión educativa. Autònoma de Barcelona.
13
Prieur, A., Savage, M., & Flemmen, M. P. (2023). Distinctions in the making: A theoretical discussion of youth and cultural capital. The British Journal of Sociology, 74(3), 360-375. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.13002
Piketty, T. (2014). El capital en el siglo XXI. Belknap Press
Pineau, P. (2001). ¿Por qué triunfó la escuela?, o la modernidad dijo: “Esto es educación”, y la escuela respondió:“yo me ocupo”. En La escuela como máquina de educar. Tres escritos sobre un proyecto de la modernidad (pp. 27-52). Paidós.
Rama, G. W. (1978, October 16-20). Educación y democracia [Ponencia]. Seminario Condiciones sociales de la democracia, San José, Costa Rica. https://repositorio.cepal.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/34e0fb2e-7bb5-4c2d-87a0-8f8189f368fa/content
Ramírez, F., & Boli, J. (1999). La construcción política de la escolarización de masas: sus orígenes europeos e institucionalización mundial. En M. Fernández Enguita (Ed.), Sociología de la educación (1.ª ed., pp. 297–312). Editorial Ariel.
Rapp, A. C., & Corral-Granados, A. (2021). Understanding inclusive education – a theoretical contribution from system theory and the constructionist perspective. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(4), 423–439. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1946725
Reimers, F. M. (2023). Education and the challenges for democracy. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 31(102). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.31.8243
Rosanvallon, P. (2011). La société des égaux. Seuil.
Said, S. (2018). Jóvenes en Bachilleratos Populares: entre la individuación y la subjetivación política. Universitas-XXI, Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, (28), 141-157. https://doi.org/10.17163/uni.n28.2018.07
Sanborn, H., & Thyne, C. L. (2014). Learning democracy: Education and the fall of authoritarian regimes. British Journal of Political Science, 44(4), 773–797. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123413000082
Selwyn, N. (2019). What’s next for ed-tech? Critical hopes and concerns for the 2020s. Learning, Media and Technology, 45(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1694945
Serna, G. R., & Woulfe, R. (2017). Social reproduction and college access: Current evidence, context, and potential alternatives. Critical Questions in Education, 8(1), 1-16. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1129434
Sennett, R. (1998). The corrosion of character: The personal consequences of work in the new capitalism. Norton.
Standing, G. (2011). The precariat: The new dangerous class. Bloomsbury.
Stichweh, R. (2007). Inklusion und Exklusion: Studien zur Gesellschaftstheorie. Transcript.
Tan, C. Y., & Liu, D. (2022). Typology of habitus in education: Findings from a review of qualitative studies. Social Psychology of Education, 25(6), 1411–1435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-022-09724-4
14
Taylor, C. (1989). Sources of the self: The making of the modern identity. Harvard University Press.
UNESCO. (2020). Educación para el desarrollo sostenible: Hoja de ruta. UNESCO.
United Nations. (2022). Transforming education: An urgent political imperative for our collective future. Vision statement of Secretary-General. https://www.un.org/en/transforming-education-summit/sg-vision-statement
Verba, S., Schlozman, K. L., & Brady, H. E. (1995). Voice and equality: Civic voluntarism in American politics. Harvard University Press.
Weishart, J. E. (2020). Democratizing education rights. Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J., 29, 1. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3708455
Wiedner, J., & Schaeffer, M. (2020). Career trajectories into undereducation. Which skills and resources substitute formal education in the intergenerational transmission of advantage? Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 68, 100526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2020.100526
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 PRIUS - Journal of Law and Political Science

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
PRIUS applies the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to the articles and other works we publish. Therefore, each manuscript submitted for publication by the journal will be processed under the CC BY license. The use of this license is consistent with the open access policy of the journal, since this is the most open license considered "the gold standard" of open access. The summary of this license can be reviewed at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/



