Art, craft, or science: What does pedagogy mean to you?

Discussion on what pedagogy is goes back a long way. In ancient Greece, Plato suggested pedagogues were “...men who by age and experience are qualified to serve as both leaders (hëgemonas) and custodians (paidagögous)” of young learners (Longenecker, 1982).

In On Pedagogy, published in 1803, the philosopher Immanuel Kant stated that pedagogy “...includes the nurture of the child and, as it grows, its culture” (1900). And, in a similar vein, the American philosopher John Dewey argued that “the question of the relation of subject-matter to experience is the central problem of pedagogy” (1938).

Within this milieu of definitions and views, perhaps pedagogy – or teaching and learning – is best seen as a tradition of specialist practice built upon theoretical knowledge, autonomy, and collective responsibility (Danaher et al, 2000).