Summary Looking back one notices certain changes in Allgemeiner Pädagogik (theory, philosophy of education): from humanistic grounds towards more political superficial formulars (emancipation), a pluralisation of orientations, methods, pedagogical systems, and a general differentiation into sub-disciplines developing as independent realms. The linguistic turn, a renaissance of the concept of Bildung, and the research for quality in teaching are countermovements. School-autonomy, new and old media and the emerging plurality in cultures and in education ask for new systematics, and new instruments for an evaluation of pedagogical competence as future tasks of general educational theory