The basic task of educational theory is to ground education in the being of children and youth. Education, however, is a very broad domain, consisting of four major problem areas: (1) the nature and aim of education; (2) the organisation of instruction and school policy; (3) the design and content of the curriculum; and (4) the teaching and learning situation of the classroom (Broudy et al., 1967). This paper will focus primarily on the last of these, upon pedagogy itself, but enclosed within a framework of the first, the nature and aim of education, in order to ground teaching and learning in the being of the student. It will focus upon the epistemological dimension of the acquisition of knowledge by the student and the teacher's efforts to promote this acquisition. To introduce the use of phenomenology in educational theorising, the paper will begin with some ideas of the well-known Paulo Freire and Maxine Greene, plus a physics professor. It will then focus upon the importance of spatiality in learning to support a critical interpretation of Herbart's famous four steps of instruction. The reference to Herbart will insure that the consideration of the transcendental phases of learning occurs in a pedagogical context because of the great importance of learning from older people. Then these phases will be explicated one at a time, ending with the significance of being in the truth. Some concluding remarks will attempt to set these transcendental phases of learning into perspective. (Contains 5 notes.)