# Difference between didactics and pedagogy?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-didactics-and-pedagogy/509374>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 9, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-didactics-and-pedagogy/509374 "2009-09-09T02:16:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-didactics-and-pedagogy/509374/1 "2009-09-09T02:16:26Z")

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What are the technical and practical difference between didactic and pedagogy? Wikipedia just has a stub article on it, saying that

> [@](#):
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> didactics is the theory of teaching and, in a wider sense, the theory and practical application of teaching and learning.

I’ve always thought of pedagogy as also having to do with the theory of teaching. In several situations, I’ve seen didactics and pedagogy used synonymously, and some online dictionaries I’ve consulted list them as synonyms. Are they _really?_

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**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-didactics-and-pedagogy/509374/2 "2009-09-09T03:37:48Z")

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Here’s a good delineation (of what is still necessarily a fuzzy distinction for most usages):

> **[Home](https://www.hkmu.edu.hk)**
>
> HKMU About HKMU View More Admissions View More Student Life View More Research View More Explore Highlight HKMU Pause Play Latest News and Events HKMU

> [@](#):
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> We have been using the term “didactics” to describe the “science or art of teaching”. The concept is well-accounted for in the Dutch and German literature (I assume also in the French). It covers the whole range of activities (Instructional design, teaching models, assessment practices, human development and curriculum development). …
> 
> **Pedagogy (Paed=child education)** refers to the theoretical underpinning of the educational processes. We distinguish very clearly between pedagogy (child related educative teaching) and pedagogics, and andragogy (adult education).

I think the real distinction (if one has to be made) is that pedagogy is intended to refer specifically to teaching **children**. Which is where most teaching in our society takes place, granted, but there are many other kinds of teaching, to audiences of many different ages/backgrounds/abilities.

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**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-didactics-and-pedagogy/509374/3 "2009-09-09T04:08:35Z")

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Huh. I haven’t seen that page before. Thanks for the link! 🙂