Introduction: pedagogy, didactics and methodology

Methodology (from the Greek methodikí: the art of planned action) is a pedagogical discipline that studies the principles of upbringing and education within a specific subject, or educational field.

Pranjić explains that methodology involves reflection on methods, or rather, their systematic study. There is no universal approach to scientific research. Each scientific field has its own objectives, subject matter, and research methods. Similarly, education within each field follows its own laws and approaches. For this reason, we speak of teaching and learning methods specific to a particular field or subject, or of the methodology of teaching a particular subject. When methodologies refer to other educational domains, they are specified by appropriate attributes (educational methodology, instructional methodology, methodology of practical work, flight training methodology, etc.).

Pranjić also clarifies the relationship between didactics and methodology. He defines methodology as a distinct didactic field of research, teaching, or professional activity whose primary cognitive focus lies in the practical application of didactic knowledge and reflections derived from the relevant scientific discipline. Thus, the fundamental task of methodology is to apply the scientific findings of individual disciplines in educational practice. Didactics and methodology are mutually interrelated disciplines that influence, complement, and permeate one another. Within this relationship, didactics is primarily concerned with general didactic issues, such as adherence to pedagogical principles, whereas methodology focuses on specific problems related to individual subjects or subject-specific didactics and their underlying sciences.

A second criterion for understanding the relationship between didactics and methodology is based on content prerogatives. Didactics is considered a higher-order science in relation to methodology, as it determines and provides appropriate educational content. In this sense, the task of methodology is not to define what content should be taught, but rather to determine how that content can be effectively conveyed. According to this view, didactics answers the question of what should be taught, while methodology addresses how teaching should be carried out. In this context, determining the educational value of content plays a crucial role. Content must be aligned with educational goals (the domain of didactics) and adapted to the structure and dynamics of the educational process (the domain of methodology). Approaches grounded in didactic and methodological principles therefore treat content differently, which is often reflected in the commonly used term methodological-didactic process.

For more detailed information on teaching methodology, be sure to read the article by Pranjić (2011).