The purpose of the article is to generalize the experience of philosophical and pedagogical interpretation of the theoretical constructs of J. Habermas and to determine further prospects for their analysis in the context of constructing a fundamental theory of education. It is argued that to date, a certain tradition has developed in the philosophy of education of using Habermas’ theoretical constructs to solve philosophical and pedagogical problems. In general, it involves turning to the critical component of Habermas’s philosophy and justifying the need for free discussion as the main component of the educational process. The author asserts the possibility of expanding the range of research tasks and the need to raise the question of the direct presence of educational issues within the theory of communicative action. The main attention is paid to the difference between communicative and strategic action. Their main characteristics are indicated, allowing one to raise the question of the educational or non-educational nature of the corresponding actions. The differences between the “life world” and the “system” are noted, which may be the basis for their study as pedagogical phenomena. An assumption is made about possible promising directions for the philosophical and pedagogical analysis of the philosophy of J. Habermas.

Keywords: philosophy of education, education, theory of communicative action, communicative action, strategic action, life world, system