The Pedagogic Nature of Subject Matter Knowledge

Abstract

The concept of pedagogic content knowledge is by now a familiar one: Lee Shulman introduced it into the lexicon of research on teaching in order to pick out a distinctive, subject-centered feature of the knowledge base of teaching. But is teachers’ knowledge of subject matter different in kind from that of scholars? This article investigates that question. First, it rejects a possible answer derived from objectivist epistemology on the grounds of its untenability. Second, it explores Dewey’s account of subject matter knowledge to determine if his position justifies a division in subject matter between scholarly and pedagogic forms. The article concludes by rejecting Shulman’s dualistic theory and affirming an alternative: that all knowledge is, in varying ways, pedagogic. This result points to a community of teaching and scholarship that is at odds with our institutional arrangements and practices.

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