The paper develops a theoretical and methodological discussion about the possibilities and conditions for the articulation of poststructuralist approaches in conducting empirical research in education, especially regarding the Discourse Theory of Laclau and Mouffe. Initially it presents a short conceptual review of the poststructuralist ontology and of their consequences for the rejection of positivism and of modern epistemology. The following are presented and analyzed four propositions formulated by Glynos and Howarth for conducting research referenced in discourse theory. Finally, we rescued the debate on the need of analytical rigor and on the critical potential of this theory in conducting research in the field of Education.
Discourse Theory; Educational Research; Research Methodology; Epistemology; Poststructuralism