ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to contribute to the search for a theoretical foundation upon which to develop a critical theory of education. The Frankfurt School took as one of its central values a commitment to penetrate the world of objective appearances to expose the underlying social relationships they often conceal. In other words, penetrating such appearances meant exposing through critical analysis social relationships that took on the status of things or objects. In general terms, the Frankfurt School provided a number of valuable insights for studying the relationship between theory and society. The issues raised here by Horkheimer have not lost their importance with time; they still represent both a critique and a challenge to many of the theoretical currents that presently characterize theories of social education. The strengths and weaknesses of the Frankfurt School project become intelligible only if seen as part of the social and historical context in which it developed.
