The purpose of this study is to give an overview of the theoretical system of Mead s symbolic interaction theory (STI), to examine how mirror neurons provide the basis for the working mechanism of symbolic interaction, and to explore pedagogical applications and utilization potential by analyzing the meaning of mirror neurons. STI placed the focus of research on the real life of schools and contributed to improving the understanding of explicit and implicit interactions and practices occurring in them. However, in Mead s theory, there is no empirical basis for how the mind, self, and society emerge and are maintained based on social interaction. The mirror neuron theory implicates the working mechanism for Mead’s theory and contributes to understanding the essence of STI. This study revealed the validity of the two theories by correlating and comparing the relationship between meaning and action understanding, imaginary rehearsal and embodied simulation, the role of others in ego development, and the antecedents of society and mirror neurons. In this process, mirror neuron research conducted by brain scientists is presented in an easier-to-understand manner from the perspective of pedagogical researchers. Above all, this study pays attention to the change in the way we understand how we learn behavior by observing the behavior of others through the preconscious process of perception-action coupling of mirror neurons, which was not suggested in Mead’s theory. Major pedagogical implications are derived from these perceptual-behavioral systems and preconscious perspectives, and they were explored in terms of educational goals, cognitive systems, context systems, and teaching-learning activities.