Marxism, transformative ethos, and ethical-ontoepistemology: theoretical-critical foundations for research and teaching in Education Policy

Abstract

This article analyzes the contemporary relevance of the transformative ethos of Marxism in the field of education, in contexts marked by political polarization, conservative attacks on public universities, and the advance of neoliberal reforms. It is developed as a theoretical-critical study grounded in historical-dialectical materialism and the philosophy of praxis, based on a conceptual reconstruction and an immanent analysis of key categories of the Marxist tradition, articulated with the proposal of ethical-ontoepistemology and the Transformative Activist Stance formulated by Anna Stetsenko. As a result, the article systematizes the Analytical Matrix of the Transformative Ethos, organized into five dimensions (ontological, epistemological, ethical, political, and pedagogical) and a set of analytical indicators aimed at the critical reading of education policies, hegemonic disputes, and formative processes. It concludes that the transformative ethos does not constitute a militant add-on to research, but rather a criterion of critical scientificity that contributes to denaturalizing technicist approaches, making explicit the societal projects in dispute, and strengthening the defense of academic freedom and the formation of subjects capable of understanding education as a contradictory field of reproduction and resistance.

Keywords: Transformative ethos. Ethical-ontoepistemology. Education Policy.