Interdisciplinarity in Primary and Secondary School: Issues and Perspectives

Abstract

The article deals with three questions which feed the debates on the school interdisciplinarity. Firstly, why promote interdisciplinarity in basic education? To answer this question requires to make a fast historical reminder of the emergence and the evolution of the interdisciplinarity in the field of education, so as to highlight three distinct readings of interdisciplinarity before presenting four arguments which show the relevance of its use in teaching. Secondly, how can interdisciplinary practices be fostered in education? The results of various works lead us to draw four strong trends, ideal-typical, to which the teachers use in their practices. Thirdly, what are the educational questions and issues raised by such practices, and what challenges must we address to make sure they are properly applied? We then suggest six principles by which to found and describe what we understand by school interdisciplinarity. A definition of the school interdisciplinarity is then moved forward. To conclude, we call back to mind a few aspects which appear essential when contemplating the use of interdisciplinarity in school, what leads us to place this one with regard to the transdisciplinarity.

Opinions of Science and Social Studies Teachers on Teaching Science-Related Subjects in Secondary Schools

“…In studies conducted by Riordan (1996) and Patrick & Remy (1985), the teachers were found to be of the opinion that cooperation between them would be beneficial pedagogically, in terms of professional development, individual support and maintaining relationship; as for the students, cooperation could help them acquire fundamental information especially regarding science, develop their decision-making and problem-solving skills and increase their academic achievement levels. In addition, Lenoir and Hasni (2016)'s study found that interdisciplinary cooperation could help students to comprehend the subjects via a integrative point of view, and bring a dynamic and constructive perspective in providing their cognitive development.…”

Towards a transdisciplinary approach in the training of teachers: Creating procedures in learning and teaching in higher education

“…An integrative strategy has been established (Klein, 1996;Lenoir, 2016), for all the 21 university teachers, from 10 different disciplines (ecology, anthropology, geology, plant physiology, human geography, philology, literature, didactic of arts, ethics, and history). They were involved in this subject, based on systematic meetings to define common objectives centered on the macro-concept and the transdisciplinary learning-teaching process.…”

The undergraduate dissertation as a reflection of education for sustainability and professional identity: the faculty of education of Bilbao

“…Likewise, in regard to teacher education, it could be considered that teaching is a future-oriented and competence-based profession (Dreer, 2020) that needs well-prepared, motivated professionals with an inquiring attitude and competences to use and undertake research to continually evaluate, innovate and improve their teaching (Baan et al , 2020). In this context, interdisciplinary perspective should be included in their training (Lenoir and Hasni, 2016).…”