In an attempt to provide an in-depth analysis of John Elliott's prolonged contribution to the field of educational and curricular studies, the following paper starts by locating this pedagogue¿s work in the context of key ideological debates of the 20th century, whose consequences shaped the realm of the social and the human sciences. Elliott¿s stand at this ideological crossroads is defined as liberal, on account of the way he tied his own educational philosophy to the ethical sphere and to the means of education, in opposition to the learning of objective knowledge. The second part of the paper explores Elliott's pedagogy from the point of view of the potential it may have to suggest a curricular approach that, contrary to his, defends the objectivity of the social and human sciences and the need for students to fulfil and attain certain content-goals. In contrast to Elliott's intentions, the paper arrives at the conclusion that the fact that students participate in the same social reality they must come to understand and obtain a knowledge of, poses specific pedagogical (emotional and interactional) obstacles that Elliott's principles would be particularly well suited to overcome.