The sciences of education relate to the study of various aspects of education in its approaches methodological and teaching and called upon various disciplines: history of education, sociology of education, didactic, psychology of the trainings, compared education, the school administration, organization and operation of the education systems, policy of education, professional training and continues, staff training of teaching, specialist education, etc

One will use the terms “pedagogy” or “teaching” to indicate a technique of teaching, a teaching relation or an educational act.

Many French-speaking universities (with the Quebec in particular but also in France, Swiss Belgium or ) propose courses of sciences of education .

The question of the definition of what are sciences of education?

Historically, in France, one spoke about science of the education and sciences of education. Thus many authors proposed their definition has this discipline:

For L. Not: The science of education would be centered on educational reality, it would question other sciences to synthesize of them the results in the form of theory which would be in its turn confronted with the practice.

For V. of Landsheere: distinction between research in education which would relate directly to education and the training and research on the education which would be dependant on the various scientific disciplines, it would be dependant on the criteria of validity of sciences mothers. It is a question of working out a general theory of the curriculum vitae designed like the integrated whole of the activities prosecuting of the educational or formative ends.

For Gaston Mialaret: Sciences of education are consisted the whole of the disciplines which study the conditions of existence, operation, and evolution of the situations and the facts of education. To disentangle the factors which come into play requires a great number of scientific disciplines: sociology of education, history, demography, economy of education (…)

It will be noticed nevertheless that the first pulpit of education was entrusted to Emile DURKHEIM.

See too