Introduction

The collection of chapters in this book results from ongoing scientific discussions on teaching, learning and curriculum studies in Europe. Didactics as a research field and area of knowledge deals with questions about teaching, learning and educational content. Didactics explores institutionalized teaching and learning processes that are fundamental to allow people living together and acting as citizens. It connects curriculum issues to classroom practices and student’s learning experience in a unique manner that goes beyond the field of curriculum studies and the field of the learning sciences. Focusing on different research traditions for conceptualizing the relationships between learning and teaching through the educational content learnt, the book presents advanced research in field of “Didactics - teaching and learning” that addresses the new challenges faced by the teaching profession.

Overview

The collection of chapters in this book supports the continuous growth of comparative research on classroom practices and addresses in a novel manner the need for including international perspectives on Didactics in teacher education programs and graduate schools in education worldwide.

Part Structure

Part 1 highlights the recent advances in the theoretical development of Didactics and more particularly the development of comparative didactics. Part 2 illustrates the diversity and complementarities of theoretical and methodological approaches for the empirical study of classroom practices. Part 3 maps certain societal challenges that didactic research faces in a changing world.