What really matters: aspects of pedagogy linked to access to and achievement in specialised knowledge for learners in differing social class contexts

What do high levels of learner achievement at school signify, if not access to and successful participation in, specialised knowledge? A battery of predominantly Portuguese studies has shown the association of specific pedagogic features with high learner achievement in primaryand intermediate-level school science, and that these pedagogic features differ slightly for learners in different social class contexts. This article draws on some of the findings of a detailed investigation into pedagogy and achievement patterns in art – a knowledge form differing in structure to that comprising science – in the final year of secondary school in South Africa. The message in the article relates to the importance of particular pedagogic features for access to and achievement in, specialised art knowledge, for learners in widely differing social class contexts. These pedagogic features appear to play a significant role in learners’ success, regardless of the knowledge form to which they are applied. Further, it appears that teachers can control the features in order to apply them differently in differing contexts.