What is pedagogy?
last updated:14 Jun 2010
Pedagogy is the stuff of teachers’ daily lives. Put simply it’s about teaching. But we take a broad view of teaching as a complex activity, which encompasses more than just ‘delivering’ education. Another way to explain it is by referring to:
- the art of teaching - the responsive, creative, intuitive part
- the craft of teaching - skills and practice
- the science of teaching - research-informed decision making and the theoretical underpinning.
It is also important to remember that all these are grounded in ethical principles and moral commitment – teaching is never simply an instrumental activity, a question just of technique.
Why is it important?
We believe it is important to put a focus on pedagogy not only as part of our remit to ‘contribute to improving standards of teaching and learning’ but to celebrate the considerable expertise and judgements teachers employ on a daily basis. It’s at the heart of teacher professionalism.
A contemporary opportunity
Evidence is accumulating from around the world that the single most significant means of improving the performance of national educational systems is through excellent teaching (see for example, Barber & Mourshed, 2007; OECD, 2005). The quality of pedagogy, of what teachers actually do, is thus firmly on the contemporary agenda.
By saying ‘pedagogy’ rather than teaching it’s a signal to explore all the things that inform the complex business of teaching. It signals:
- the shared and structured body of knowledge that comprises experience, evidence, understanding moral purpose and shared transparent values
- how expertise and knowledge are progressively acquired– through initial training, continuing development, reflection, daily experience, classroom inquiry and regulated practice
- how relevant theories, values and evidence can inform teachers’ evaluations of their own and others’ practice so that professional judgements can be explained and justified.
