Pedagogie et Sciences de I 'Education

Abstract

This paper is based on the premise that at the beginning, during the 17th century, "pedagogy" was oriented toward the improvement of teaching. At the end of the 19th century pedagogy became more scientifically oriented and was defined as "the" science of education. Later, more precisely in 1967, in French speaking universities the name used was sciences of education with an "s." We think that the passage from the singular to the plural is more than a simple grammatical detail; rather it indicates an epistemological shift. The emphasis in faculties of education is now more on producing scientific research than on producing research pertinent to teachers in their practice. The author's proposal is to revisit the pedagogical domain and elaborate a theory of pedagogy.