In this special issue, the research interest is focused on classroom activities.To adequately understand and examine the classroom situation, thewholeness and complexity of the teaching situation should be maintainedand paid attention as much as possible throughout the research process.In dialogues and comparisons between the German concept of Didaktikand the American concepts of curriculum theory and pedagogy, thedifferences between a European, continental, and Anglo-Saxon conceptualizationof education often have been emphasized. Inspired by boththe German tradition of Bildung and the American philosophy of pragmatism,we here understand classroom activity as communication on selectedparts of collective knowledge and social culture, shaping the conditions forboth the continuity and renewal of society. Furthermore, the concept ofdidactics is viewed as the conceptualization of empirically based pedagogicalproblems in classrooms. Even if both the traditions of Bildung andpragmatism embrace a reflective approach, Dewey’s pragmatism placesmore emphasis on freedom and openness in terms of communicationacross social boundaries and on a mutual dependency between educationand democracy. In terms of democracy, a Deweyan view of pragmatismcould thus contribute to the German didactic tradition and the meaningsof the concepts of didactics and pedagogical responsibility.