This essay explores the broader implications for education of the COVID-19 pandemic. It asks: What can COVID teach us? The case is made that COVID is inviting us to consider a relational universe, and what a pedagogy of presence would look like. It takes a futures perspective and is therefore, unabashedly speculative. It draws on the author's many…

This article examines the main ideas presented in Newell's groundbreaking article, published in "Issues in Integrative Studies" in 2001, "A Theory of Interdisciplinary Studies": that complexity is a precondition for interdisciplinary research, that interdisciplinary research utilizes disciplinary perspectives, and that…

Transition requires a multidimensional, interdisciplinary approach for its re-conceptualisation to bring to the fore systemic and power related concerns affecting marginalised and vulnerable groups. This concluding article examines the special issue articles through a range of perspectives. These include examining transitions through a…

As a newcomer, the philosophical basis of systems biology seems intuitive and appealing, the underlying philosophy being that the whole of a living system cannot be completely understood by the study of its individual parts. Yet answers to the questions "What is systems biology?" and "What constitutes a systems biology approach in…

This article argues that Education Studies needs to develop its existing interdisciplinarity understanding of structures and agencies by giving greater attention to the modern process theories of self-organisation in the physical, biological, psychological and social sciences, sometimes given the umbrella term "complexity theory". The…

A growing body of literature on community gardening, watershed restoration, and similar "civic ecology" practices suggests avenues for integrating social and ecological outcomes in urban natural resources management. In this paper, we argue that an environmental education programme in which learning is situated in civic ecology practices…

Home economists can use their systems approach and multidisciplinary orientation in the promotion and implementation of prevention. Prevention is defined as anticipatory action to stop or reduce the possibility of an undesirable event from happening. (SK)

Interdisciplinary teams are loosely coupled (systems in which elements are weakly, infrequently, or informally linked). Applying loosely coupled systems theory to team training increases its effectiveness, because learning activities may be disjointed and learning goals may diverge. (SK)

The paper traces the evolution of psychiatric care for children from an intrapsychic orientation to a new conceptual perspective provided by systems theory and the accompanying relational formulation of conflict. The interdisciplinary process prevents a challenge to professionals' collaboration and respect for other fields and mandates critical…

Describes basic concepts in the field of general systems theory (GST) and explains the relationship between instructional systems design (ISD) and GST. Benefits of integrating GST into the curriculum of ISD graduate programs are discussed, and a short bibliography on GST is included. (LRW)

Discusses the history of the hierarchical epigenetic systems view as applied to human development and offers examples of its implementation. Notes the agreement by many authors that the multilevel systems view is the right model for developmental psychology in both human and animal studies. (BC)

This paper presents a model and conceptual framework for textbook research. The model will help scholars from a variety of disciplines approach textbook research from a common theoretical grounding and later compare and synthesize their findings using agreed-upon categories and a shared vocabulary. The author first describes two rudimentary models…

The director of the Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD) suggests areas in a technical curriculum that could be improved using an interdisciplinary approach: (1) systems; (2) the electromechanical core; (3) the mathematics/science base; (4) computers; and (5) interpersonal/communication skills. (Author)

After reviewing recent contributions to the field of motor development, suggests a pattern formation or dynamics approach to child development as an alternative to the conventional approaches emphasizing maturation (nativist), specific learning experiences (empiricist), cognitive stages (Piagetian), and strategies of encoding and retrieval…

Argues for a multifocused divisional unit versus the traditional single discipline communication department for institutions that are generally small (6 to 10 thousand students) and where enrollments overall have leveled off for both the institution and department. (KEH)