Contemporary educational discourse increasingly emphasises the necessity to ground instructional practice within coherent philosophical frameworks, aligning practice with theory. This necessitation reflects a fundamental recognition that teaching is neither a theoretical activity, nor a merely technical skill. Rather, teaching is a complex professional endeavour that requires understanding of how learning can occur, and how appropriate pedagogical interventions can facilitate meaningful knowledge construction. However, the precise articulation of distinctions and linkages between pedagogical terminologies: (1) pedagogical philosophy, (2) pedagogical approaches, (3) pedagogical strategies, and (4) pedagogical practices, and their implications to effective teaching and learning remains persistent challenge in educational discourse and pre-service teacher education. In the teacher education sphere, Scholars’ and practitioners’ frequent mix of foundational pedagogical theories, instructional frameworks and tactics, leads to misalignment between their pedagogical approaches claim, and enacted pedagogical strategies and practice, further impeding effective pre-service teacher preparation and professional teacher practice, and the translation of research into practice. This conceptual study discusses four fundamental and interconnected constructs that structure pedagogical reasoning in contemporary educational discourse: pedagogical philosophy, pedagogical approaches, pedagogical strategies, and pedagogical practices. The paper delineates the epistemological, theoretical, and operational distinctions among these hierarchically ordered and functionally interdependent pedagogical concepts. Drawing on the constructivist theory, the paper analyses coherence challenges across these levels, and the implication for pre-service teacher education and effective teaching and learning in professional teacher’s practice. The argument commences from abstract epistemological foundations to concrete classroom actions, demonstrating how a teacher’s pedagogical philosophy – the core beliefs, values, and assumptions about knowledge and learning –, informs broader instructional approaches – the orientation frameworks –, which guide the selection of intentional instructional strategies – the designs –, and teacher’s teaching practices or observable actions. Critical attention is focused on alignment challenges across these pedagogical levels, the implication for pre-service teacher training and professional teacher’s practice, professional teacher development, and the methodological considerations for educational research. The study concludes that striving for intentional coherence and alignment across this pedagogical hierarchy is a necessary condition for transformative education and evidence-informed teaching, enhancing learning-experiences and understanding, and offers recommendations for both practitioner reflection and scholarly discourse.
Keywords: Constructivist theory, teacher education, pre-service teacher training, pedagogical philosophy, pedagogical approaches, pedagogical strategies, pedagogical practices.