BOUNDARIES OF A PEDAGOGICAL SITUATION

Abstract

Pedagogy has traditionally regarded a pedagogical situation as a fundamental unit of the educational process. Despite its significance, there is still a lack of comprehensive theoretical research on this concept. The term “pedagogical situation” and its scope have often been interpreted inconsistently, making it important to determine its boundaries. The purpose of this paper is to organize and summarize the author’s previous research on various aspects of pedagogical situations, thereby providing the basis for a theoretical framework that allows for the differentiation, description, and analysis of pedagogical situations. The study employed several methods, including componential analysis, content analysis, system and structural analysis, interpretation and contextual analysis. As a result, boundaries of a pedagogical situation have been defined for the first time, leading to a new definition: a pedagogical situation is considered to be a process of educational interaction between participants, within which a task of transmitting a unit of culture is accomplished under specially organized conditions and within a particular space-time context. The pedagogical situation is also viewed as a speech event that enables the marking of its beginning and end based on the teacher’s verbal actions. The findings of this research will support the ongoing development and clarification of the concept of “a pedagogical situation” within pedagogical terminology and semiology, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon.