ABSTRACT
Pedagogical thought has been dominated by two traditions called by various names: on the one hand, traditional, classical, and teacher-centered; on the other, progressive, constructivist, liberal, student-centered. This chapter utilizes the terms ‘student-centered’ and ‘subject-centered’ because in one tradition, pedagogy begins with the student and in the other, it begins with academic subjects. It looks at some of the people and ideas forming the lineage for each tradition in order to see how the new, unifying vision for teaching combines elements of both. The chapter discusses the blind spots which have rendered issues of equity and cultural pluralism, nearly invisible to both traditions. Subject-centered teaching has roots in higher education as opposed to the student-centered tradition, the roots of which lie in child rearing and the education of young children. The subject-centered tradition began to move beyond the cathedral schools and university settings in the 1700s.
