Introduction: pedagogy, didactics and methodology

Didactics is a branch of pedagogy that enompasses theoretical and empirical knowledge about school teaching and learning. The founders of didactics are Wolfgang Ratke (Methodus didactica, 1613) and Jan Ámos Komenský (Didactica magna, 1632). Didactics can be defined either as a general theory of education, regardless of where the educational process takes place, or more narrowly as a theory of teaching, which represents the most systematic interaction among students, teachers and sources of knowledge.

The word didactics has been known for approximately 2500 years (Greek didaskein: the art of teaching). Historically, it carried several related meanings:

didaskein - to teach and give lessons

didaskalos - teacher (usually a male slave)

didaskaleion - school, space for learning

didaktike tehne - technique, or the art of teaching.

Today, the term didactics is predominantly used in Europe, whereas in the Anglo-American context similar concepts are referred to as curriculum, theory of instruction, or research on teaching. There are numerous definitions of didactics. Pranjić (as cited in Cindrić et al., 2016) categorizes them into five groups:

• the science of teaching and learning
• the theory or science of teaching
• educational content theory
• learning process management theory
• the application of psychological theories of teaching and learning.

Gudjons (1993) emphasizes that didactics always encompasses two aspects: teaching and learning. These processes must be viewed within educational institutions (such as schools, adult education, extracurricular vocational education) as organized activities. Poljak (1991) explains the relationship between didactics and pedagogy by situating them at different levels of educational theory. He defines didactics as a branch of pedagogy that studies the general laws of education, understood as cause-and-effect relationships and interdependencies within the process of acquiring education.

Didactics describes and explains the effectiveness of teaching based on didactic principles and predicts cause-and-effect relationships in the educational process. According to Cindrić et al. (2016), the main tasks of didactics include:

analyzing and planning the educational process

Didactics, as a theory of the educational process, applies a scientific approach and enables research into teaching practice (classroom life). Therefore, it develops a methodology for researching the educational process.

Didactic guidelines should be understood as support for teachers in organizing teaching and learning, rather than as fixed recipes or guaranteed solutions for complex teaching situations. They represent open possibilities that teachers can apply, critically examine in their own practice, and further develop through experience. Consequently, didactics does not hinder teacher or student creativity; instead, it encourages reflection on practice and responsibility for educational outcomes. From this perspective, didactics is not only a theory but also a reflective and practice-oriented discipline.

enabling insight into didactic theories and trends

As a core component of pedagogy, didactics occupies a central position because teaching is its primary focus. Within school pedagogy, didactics addresses the purpose and tasks of teaching by connecting educational goals (such as knowledge acquisition and skill development) with broader educational aims (such as fostering interests, rational attitudes, and socially useful needs). It links goal achievement with the effective organization of teaching, including its temporal structure (school year, month, week, lesson), content, and instructional units. Didactics also examines teaching effectiveness through didactic principles, designs effective teaching methods, adapts instruction to group size, reflects on teaching processes in line with learning logic, and develops systems of monitoring, assessment, and evaluation. Between general educational theory and teaching practice lie subject-specific methodologies, known as special didactics, which apply general principles to particular subject areas.

Contemporary didactics also encompasses curriculum development, as it addresses goals, strategies, media, and evaluation. In this context, we may also speak of digital didactics or e-didactics. Some authors, such as Tchoshanov (2013), argue that the distinction between traditional didactics and e-didactics arises from a paradigm shift—from an emphasis on teaching to a focus on shaping the learning process. This shift is especially evident in online education, where traditional forms of instruction are constrained by the teaching format. While traditional didactics primarily relies on face-to-face instruction (sometimes in hybrid form), e-didactics is characterized by blended and fully online learning. Consequently, the learning environment also changes: the physical classroom is replaced by a virtual space created through learning management systems and social networks.

One important contemporary approach is inclusive didactics, which focuses on student diversity and the right of all individuals to education. Inclusive didactics is grounded in the principles of human rights, equal opportunities, and social justice. Its aim is not to adapt students to predefined educational patterns, but rather to adapt the educational system and teaching methods to students’ diverse needs. This approach rejects the notion of “one curriculum for all” and emphasizes flexibility, differentiation, and openness to different abilities, needs, and potentials.

Teachers play a crucial role in designing teaching strategies that prevent marginalization and discrimination and enable the inclusion of all students, particularly those with special educational needs or those belonging to socially vulnerable groups. Inclusive didactics integrates social and individual dimensions: it promotes equality within society while enabling individuals to develop competencies and autonomy. Although challenges remain in practice—such as insufficient teacher training or unclear implementation guidelines—inclusive didactics strives to make education a participatory process in which all students can actively engage and succeed.

For more information on didactics in a contemporary context, we recommend Chapter 8, Didaktika u suvremenom kontekstu, of the online publication Didaktika by Vasilj and Jovanović.