A critical appraisal of interdisciplinary research and education in British Higher Education Institutions: A path forward?

Abstract

This article examines the development, impact and integration of interdisciplinary approaches in British Higher Education Institutions. It evaluates how the concept of interdisciplinarity has become popularised over time and embraced by disciplines such as archaeology. It then explores the extent to which interdisciplinary approaches have impacted research agendas, first, by evaluating the interdisciplinary research calls from 2019 for seven UK-based research councils and then, at a discipline level, using archaeology as an exemplar. Overall, interdisciplinary research calls only accounted for, at best, 11.9% of a council’s budget. Interrogation of the funding requirements of four of the largest archaeological-research funders demonstrated that successful archaeology-themed grant applications are reliant on interdisciplinarity. The influence of interdisciplinarity on British University’s research and education agendas was examined through analysing the strategic plans of eight universities, followed by an analysis of the availability and potential benefits of interdisciplinary undergraduate and research programmes. This indicated that interdisciplinary approaches are interwoven into university’s research aspirations but displayed variation in relation to their educational goals, with only 20% of institutions offering specific interdisciplinary degree programmes. Despite this, the skillset and research outputs produced as a result of interdisciplinary collaboration were found to be highly valued, thereby suggesting that interdisciplinarity will increasingly feature in the research and education strategies of British universities.

Model of Community Empowerment through Education Non-Formal Entrepreneurship to Improve Independence of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

“…Independent business entrepreneurship requires mindset and skill capacity, therefore the results of interdisciplinary collaboration in various areas of expertise must be oriented to produce learning outcomes that lead to a mindset and skillset that will meet the needs of an entrepreneur (Evis, 2022). Learning not only leads to a mindset but also provides technical support through vocational training, so as to improve skills to diversify business fields (Iqbal et al, 2021).…”

El Enfoque Social de las Ciencias y la Tecnología: Implicaciones en la Educación Superior

“…Además, se considera una condición necesaria para proporcionar soluciones prácticas a problemas complejos para los cuales ningún enfoque disciplinario por sí solo es adecuado. La educación interdisciplinaria también equipa a los estudiantes con habilidades transferibles como el trabajo en equipo, la ingeniosidad y la resiliencia, contribuyendo a su desarrollo integral (Evis, 2021). Adicionalmente, fomenta un ambiente donde los estudiantes aprenden a aceptar y acomodar diversas necesidades y enfoques educativos, promoviendo la globalización y mejorando su capacidad de comunicarse y colaborar con un equipo interdisciplinario (Bell et al, 2015).…”

“…Además, facilita la división del trabajo cognitivo y la estructuración de problemas interdisciplinarios, permitiendo a los investigadores abordar temas complejos desde diversas perspectivas y enfoques. Asimismo, la investigación y la educación interdisciplinaria en las instituciones de educación superior se han evaluado críticamente, enfatizando la necesidad de seguir un camino que abrace y mejore los enfoques interdisciplinarios para abordar los desafíos contemporáneos (Evis, 2021).…”

From Words to Research: Examining the Role of Language Competencies in Shaping Attitudes Towards Doing Research Projects

“…Research projects are vital components of academic, educational, and professional fields (Redden, 2023). Individuals are required to perform research activities related to research projects, such as the construction of research tools, data collection, statistical analyses, and report writing (Evis, 2021). Attitudes towards doing research projects play a very crucial role in the completion of these research projects.…”