American higher education relies on a taxonomy of knowledge stemming from Puritan ways of thinking and knowing--a disciplinary classification system that sorts "questions asked" and "answers possible" into epistemic categories. This paper interrogates the notion of disciplinarity to better understand the arbitrariness of…

Prompted by William Newell's 2013 call for the Association of Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS) to consider whether to rethink its mission in light of other organizations' interests, this article begins by reflecting on similarities and differences among five of the founding organizations of a recently formed Global Alliance for Inter- and…

Powerful knowledge facilitates students' access to profound understanding and abstract thinking. In this study, disciplinary knowledge practices and their curricular capacity are examined in regions, i.e. interdisciplinary and professionally oriented degree programmes. Interview data on curriculum knowledge were analysed drawing on Basil…

As the content knowledge of the world grows, so do the demands placed upon our educational system. These demands come from a variety of sources--local, state, national, and corporate agencies. Critical to meeting these demands are the knowledge, skills, and practices teachers need to educate today's youth. Researchers in the area of teachers'…

This paper examines specific problems of educational practice that I, an undergraduate engineering educator and education researcher, have encountered in creating an interdisciplinary engineering project course. I reveal my process of theorising about problems of practice to position engineering educators' pedagogical theorising as worthy of…

Improving young people's engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is being promoted worldwide as a means of addressing projected shortfalls in expertise needed to further nations' economic, social and environmental goals. Responding to this, schools are reforming traditional discipline-based curricula into…

The historical and political emergence of STEM has changed the educational paradigm. Researchers, educators, and frontline professionals consider STEM as their savior. However, the ambiguity surrounding STEM and its successors, Integrated STEM education, and STEAM has created confusion for educators and frontline workers about which framework and…

Institutional transformation and inclusion have slowly become more prominent in the strategies of historically white institutions in South Africa. Despite these efforts, progress towards these goals has been limited. In this article, we reflect on our conversations about transforming our curricula and teaching practices as an interdisciplinary…

In this chapter, eight foci relevant for science educators are presented and illustrated by paradigmatic examples and discussed in two parts. The first part "from science education to practice and authorities" discusses the four foci of: (1) developing concepts for instruction; (2) responding to the needs of schools; (3) connecting…

The competence to work together and co-create with others outside one's own scientific domain, culture or professional practice is a critical competence for engineers to respond to global challenges. In this context, boundary crossing (BC) competence is crucial. We reflect on a university-wide participatory action research educational innovation…

The importance of engaging students with complex societal challenges has led to the adoption of various interdisciplinary teaching and learning practices in both K-12 and higher education. However, interdisciplinary learning is one of the most complex domains of contemporary educational practice, and, despite its significance, remains…

Purpose: The current article on social studies in primary and secondary education in Norway covers a range of relevant topics which starts with a brief context of Norwegian society, history and social studies framework. Main topics are the new (2020) curriculum, textbooks analyses, social studies teacher competence and practices followed by…

In response to the issue of why and how the humanities--and more broadly the liberal arts and sciences--have historically dominated honors education and disregarded preprofessional fields, the author finds that the crux of the problem is not the nature or worth of the disciplines involved or why this or that subject area is de facto included or…

The relationship between music and mathematics has often been the subject of discussion, both inside and outside the field of education. As part of an exciting project on a European scale, the paper explores the changing contexts in Catalonia (Spain) and England (UK) in relation to the integrated approach to the teaching of music and mathematics.…

Whole Child education nurtures five tenets of the child to ensure they are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged during their time at school. STEAM programs coincide with the Whole Child approach as it allows them to expand their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, build their social-emotional needs, and be prepared for the…