Integration of the DisciplinesPurpose of this Unit
The purpose of this brief history of curriculum integration is to both examine experiments in curricula integration and to develop topics of inquiry to assist you with better understanding how the history of integration has guided current practice. The purpose of this inquiry is to help you find information which leads to new questions, and these questions assist you with looking at the literature in a critical reflective process.
The Core Curriculum
As educators continue to search for ways to improve the educational process, many find themselves trying to overcome the disjointedness of departmentalized teaching methodologies. These attempts to lessen the lack of integration across the disciplines has once again found educators developing the concepts of "core curriculum." The core curriculum concepts which focus on problems, issues, and concerns of students have been cited in the literature in the early 1800s by Herbert Spencer. Since this time, more than 80 normative and comparative studies have been performed on the effectiveness of integrative programs (National Association for Core Curriculum, 1984).
What were the results of these studies?
A Brief History of Integration
This section provides four examples of experiments in integrating the curriculum. Each of the titles listed below are linked to descriptions of these examples. When you are ready, you can view these examples by clicking on the example name. When you want to explore another example, return to this page and select the next example.
Historical Examples to Study
Most of these experiments, and others in teaching and learning during the early part of the 20th century, did not use the term "integrated" to describe their curricular designs, but many used the principles and processes that are considered a part of contemporary curriculum integration.
Examine the four historical examples by clicking on their names below.
