Fundamental Pedagogy Jana Doležalová

After studying this chapter, the student is expected to: 

take a more global view of pedagogy as a science; 

provide the basic characteristics of methodology of pedagogy. 
The student is also expected to acquire: 

the ability to choose an adequate procedure when carrying out own 
applied education research, in particular when preparing the final thesis;

the ability to provide the basic counselling to his/her colleagues when 
designing a research project; 

a more detached view of the issue of education research.
Terms to Remember (Key Words) 

methodology 

methodology of 
pedagogy 

methods of 
education research 
Introduction 
Should a specific scientific discipline be regarded as a science, several basic 
conditions characteristic for each science must be fulfilled.
A ‘must-have’ of a scientific discipline:
definition of the language of the science, i.e. exact definitions of terms and 
concepts used within the given scientific discipline; 
clear definition of the subject matter of the given science, i.e. the subject 
matter (object) of research (in pedagogy, it is education);

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tools (methods) used to examine the given subject matter and draw 
conclusions for further development of the science. The methodology of 
pedagogy deals with this issue. 
The term methodology is derived from Greek (
methodos=monitoring, 
observing, tracing; 
hodos=a path) and means the teaching about a method or 
the theory about a method. Methodology focuses on general theoretical 
problems of scientific cognition and rules of scientific research. Methodology 
can be defined as the theory of methods applied when examining an object. 
The methodology of pedagogy includes the methods applied when examining 
educational phenomena and processes. 
The methodology of pedagogy represents a set of knowledge on approaches 
to research into educational phenomena and processes, on the manners of 
obtaining and evaluating knowledge which truly and as objectively as possible 
reflects the permanently changing educational reality in the conditions of the 
ever-changing society. The subject matter of the methodology of 
pedagogy includes methods of scientific work used to discover phenomena, 
relations and rules in education and to contribute to the development of new 
theories.