Nowadays, modern educational process and any educational system needs a critical, historical and pedagogical understanding and evaluation of the experience of the past years. In recent years, the interest in the history of higher education has decreased, while this experience is very instructive and valuable in terms of the content, organization and results of research work. In higher pedagogical school, the Department of Pedagogy occupies a special place due to its essential nature. It embodies the unity of pedagogical experience, theory and practice. It plays a system-forming role in the interaction of faculties, departments, and other structural units involved in the training of teaching staff. The paper presents a meaningful description of the priority areas of research work in the four periods of development of research activities of the Department for 80 years. Retrospective analysis of research activities allows us to understand the general and special, to identify what should be preserved and multiplied, and what should give way to the new and promising. The purpose of the historical and pedagogical research was to identify the points of growth of research activities of the Department in different periods of development, allowing it to remain in an active creative form for many years. Despite socio-economic transformations in the country, the reform of pedagogical education shows the consolidating, professionally-oriented and pedagogy functions of the Department of Pedagogy in the University Corporation. The results of the retrospective analysis reveal the features of the development of the research potential of the Department from the descriptive, methodological level to the innovative and research level.