The disciplinary power as a dimension of organizational culture: a multicase study in private higher education institutions

Abstract

This article had the general objective of investigating how the disciplinary power is manifested and interpreted by teachers in the face of the elements of the organizational culture in private higher education institutions. A multicase study was carried out in Private Higher Education Institutions in the southern region of Brazil, in which it was prioritized the analysis of the organizational discourse in the establishment of the concepts, objects, and the position of the subjects within this discourse, as well as the subject’s actions regarding the practices of production, transmission, and consumption of texts that reinforce, alter, or resist that discourse. Main findings show the weakening of teaching work in this context, where the teacher becomes a mere executor of teaching programs with reduced autonomy and control of their activities. Moreover, teachers start to incorporate the activities of promotion and maintenance of institutions by means of trying to please customers and the market field. All these facts are carried out under strict supervision and control by institutions and students. This work contributes to elucidating the situation of teachers in private higher education by providing an understanding from their own interpretations and experience.