Perspectivas de docentes mexiquenses sobre formación disciplinar y transformación social: Un estudio con teoría fundamentada

Academic disciplines constitute one of the foundations of professional education in higher education, whose configuration is mediated by curricular, institutional, and pedagogical processes. However, debates persist regarding their contribution to social transformation beyond preparation for the labor market. The aim of this study was to analyze university faculty members’ perspectives on the articulation between professional education and social transformation in order to develop a situated model for understanding the relationships emerging between these two dimensions from the meanings constructed by the participants. A qualitative study based on grounded theory was conducted between May 2025 and February 2026. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight faculty members from a public university in the State of Mexico, purposively selected according to predefined inclusion criteria. Data analysis involved open, axial, and selective coding, following the constant comparative method until theoretical saturation was reached. The analysis of participants’ accounts revealed a tension between two orientations identified in faculty members’ perspectives: a disciplinary-functional orientation, centered on employability, productivity, and labor market demands, and a disciplinary-social orientation, focused on critical reflection, ethics, and commitment to collective social issues. Based on the analysis, a situated framework was developed that identifies the pedagogical, curricular, and ethical-political orientation of academic disciplines as a fundamental condition for their transformative potential. The study concludes that the capacity of academic disciplines to contribute to social transformation depends not exclusively on their epistemological content, but also on how disciplinary knowledge is reinterpreted and given new meaning within educational and professional practice.