define integration in education

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An introduction to curriculum integration

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Bringing various subjects together for learning is known by a variety of names such as interdisciplinarity, cross-disciplinarity, cross curricular learning, and curriculum integration, and has a long history reaching back to the American educational philosopher John Dewey (1859-1952). There are reports of interdisciplinary approaches in New Zealand secondary schools as far back as the 1940s i  and, in primary schools internationally, thematic approaches which bring subjects together were particularly popular in the 1970s and 1980s ii . In the 1970s, two prominent and influential English educators Paul Hirst and Basil Bernstein both wrote about curriculum integration, with Bernstein suggesting an integrated approach that involved ‘the subordination of previously insulated subjects or courses to some  relational idea ’ iii . It was thought that linking subjects through a relational idea could be more engaging for students and provide a ‘real-world’ stimulus for learning. Different subjects might offer different interpretations of a particular topic or problem. More recently, the idea of curriculum integration has re-emerged as one of the key themes of twenty-first century learning. In this context, curriculum integration is most often linked with inquiry learning. The logic here is that, in an authentic inquiry context, students need to draw on more than one subject to fully investigate a problem or a topic. 

The term curriculum integration (CI) refers to combining two or more subjects when teaching a topic. CI involves integrating the subject concepts, subject content (the facts or substantive knowledge), and subject competencies (or skills) developed in a topic. For example, the topic Polynesian migration to Aotearoa New Zealand could draw on  subject  concepts  such as exploration, migration, navigation, settlement, and place from Geography, significance and whakapapa from History, and narrative and creative writing from English. The  subject  content  is likely to be about specific Polynesian explorers and voyages, and the  subject competencies  might include map reading from Geography and narrative writing from English. The goal is to provide an opportunity for deep learning – a wider and deeper understanding of the topic as whole and, more importantly, an understanding of the subject concepts within that topic. This understanding of underlying subject concepts enables learners to think abstractly and critically. This can change the way they think about or understand a topic iv .  

It is important to note that, for CI to be effective, the subject concepts and content from the different subjects should be complementary so that their integration has the potential to enrich student understanding. If the subjects do not have sufficient conceptual connection under the umbrella topic, the CI can be awkward, artificial, and even detrimental to the learning process. As an example of effective CI, consider a unit on the Otago gold rush of the 1860s. This topic can draw on historical content about New Zealand society at that time, concepts from sociology about class structure and immigration, scientific content from geology, and even the theory of economics.  

It is also  important to note that CI is different from a  thematic approach   to curriculum design ,  quite commonly used in primary schools, where a theme is considered from the perspective of many or all curriculum areas. For example, teachers might be asked to apply the theme of ‘our community’ to all subjects over a term. However, without developing a  conceptual  basis  to underpin a thematic approach, the learning is likely to lack depth or may even detract from providing an impetus for deep learning where teachers feel pressured to apply it. CI is different from this thematic approach in that it tends to draw on a more limited number of subjects to connect to a theme or inquiry problem. Moreover, well-designed CI draws on the specialised concepts from carefully chosen contributing subjects. For example, for the topic ‘our community’ the subject concepts are likely to come primarily from social studies, and could include citizenship, government, and cultural diversity. Connections can then be made to other subjects where there are strong links, for example to history in considering how principles of citizenship have been developed over time and provide individuals with civil, political, and social rights. Connections concerning community could also be made with the arts in considering how music, drama, dance, and visual arts create a sense of community through the diverse representation of people, places, and culture. However,  specialised concepts  need be utilised to deepen the learning. For example, from music the subject concept of style would need to be explored to develops students’ competency in being able to identify and describe the characteristics of music from different communities and cultures. 

In the most recent promotion of CI it is strongly linked to inquiry learning, where students follow their own interests to investigate a topic or problem. We know that unguided inquiry is not an effective learning approach where students do not have sufficient topic knowledge to know where to start their investigation v  and this challenge can be exacerbated where the inquiry demands knowledge of several subjects. Teacher guidance in relation to the  concepts and content  is therefore just as important, if not more important, than teacher guidance of the  inquiry process  itself. Without subject concepts, the CI and the inquiry process are ‘empty’. For example, students in a ‘real world’ project vi  made eco-bags and eco-treats for an ecotourism conference in their art and technology classes (fabric and food technology). Interviews with the students revealed that, while they found the context for the learning motivating and they gained some insight into being an artist, chef, or designer, there was little connection to the thematic issue driving the project or its underlying subject concepts, and few students appeared to have a strong conceptual grasp of ecotourism and its significance in terms of ideas such as the impact on local and global economies, sustainability, and fair trade vii . This is an example of a big idea, theme, issue, or topic not being sufficiently underpinned by subject concepts to give it meaning beyond an everyday understanding. 

The  reasoning  and  purpose  underpinning  curriculum  integrat ion  

Four interrelated arguments are generally used in support of CI:  

• Traditional subject boundaries are not an accurate reflection of the way the world really is, and therefore are artificial and not conducive to the learning required in the 21 st  century. Learning through CI is therefore considered by many commentators as more ‘authentic’ than single subject learning.  
• CI is more motivating for students, especially when coupled with personalised inquiry learning. 
• Because CI draws on more than one subject, it will lead to deeper learning.  
• CI aligns with the current trend of teachers working cooperatively in shared innovative learning spaces with large groups of students working independently viii . 

Despite these arguments in its favour, CI of itself will not automatically lead to any of these positive outcomes unless it is designed well at the level of subject concepts. If learning is to move beyond everyday understandings, mapping out the subject concepts contained in the topic and making visible the possible connections between subject concepts in the various subjects is the fundamental first step. Where the integration of subjects is done well – at the level of subject concepts – it has the potential to widen and deepen students’ learning experiences. 

W hat is the evidence base to support  using  curriculum  integration ?  

Clear evidence for the positive effects of CI on student learning outcomes is hard to find. There is some evidence that integrated/interdisciplinary programmes result in students performing as well as or better than students taught through separate subjects ix . Going back 90 years, there is evidence from a study carried out in the USA in the 1930s x   that indicates CI can help students improve their academic results (a small improvement was noted) and that there are definite rewards for students in creating a more positive learning environment, perhaps related as much to inquiry as CI.  Recent research in New Zealand also points more to improvements in students’ feelings about learning rather than academic outcomes. For example, in a secondary school context, teachers ‘felt that positive relationships gained through the use of integration were potentially a greater benefit than the curriculum integration itself’ xi . 

Research in cognitive science suggests that there is a likely relationship between knowledge that is conceptually structured (in other words, as a subject with interrelated concepts, ideas, and theories) and the development of human cognition xii . This supports the idea that CI needs to embed subject concepts into its design to retain the essence of the subject’s conceptual structure, so that learning goes beyond everyday knowledge to deep learning. Cognitive science tells us that it is the power of subject concepts that develops a student’s ability to think abstractly and to learn to generalise – one of the key dimensions of logical thought xiii . These understandings from cognitive science need to be taken over into curriculum design and planning in a CI context. 

K ey steps to follow when  designing a topic using  CI  

• Create a  concept map  for the separate subjects in relation to the topic and see if there are areas of overlap or enrichment possible by asking what are  the key subject concepts and subject competencies  that you want students to learn in the topic? Don’t focus on key competencies here but on subject concepts. For example, the topic of Polynesian migration to Aotearoa New Zealand in Social Studies described above could draw on concepts such as exploration, migration, navigation, settlement, location, and place from Geography, significance and whakapapa from History, and narrative and creative writing from English. Each of these key subject concepts will have related ‘subordinate’ subject concepts such as settlement, which infers maunga, awa, urupa, and marae to establish a sense of place.  
• Identify any  subject competencies  associated with the key subject concepts. For example, the Social Studies topic of early Polynesian migration to Aotearoa New Zealand could include map reading from Geography and story-telling from English. Each of these subject competencies will have related ‘subordinate’ competencies such as interpreting contour lines or the use of imagery in story writing. 
• Consider the  key content  through which the students will learn about the subject concepts and develop subject competencies. For example, the Social Studies topic of early Polynesian migration to Aotearoa New Zealand is likely to contain content about specific Polynesian explorers and voyages: who they were, why they travelled, where they travelled, how they travelled and navigated their way across the ocean, and what kinds of communities they established upon arrival. 
• Consider the order in which the content will be shared with students, how the students will be provided with access to the knowledge identified in points 1 to 3 above, how the key subject concepts relate to each piece of content, and the types of learning activities you will use to explore the subject concepts and content, such as reading, direct instruction, and guided inquiry. 
• Consider how you will  assess the topic  to identify how bringing together the subjects has deepened the learning or provided a cognitive advantage. For example, ask students to retell in oral or written form a migration story passed down from Māori ancestors (using English writing concepts and competencies such as narrative structure) that also reveals their understanding of the Social Studies concepts of settlement, place, and identity. Depending on the year level, students might also be asked to explain the connections between migration waka and contemporary iwi and tribal areas. If deep learning has occurred, students will be able to explain the reasons for early Polynesian exploration and migration to Aotearoa New Zealand and why contemporary Māori maintain connections between migration waka, rohe, and iwi groups. 

S ummary principles  

The following principles should be considered when undertaking a curriculum integration approach: 

• Consider what is it that the students will learn that they would not otherwise learn by bringing two or more subjects together. If you are not clear on this point then don’t bring the subjects together. Only bring subjects together where there are  clear areas of   subject conceptual overlap  so links  for deep learning can be made. 
• Only use CI in selected parts of the curriculum and  carefully assess its effectiveness . 
• Plan for CI at the subject concept level once a topic has been chosen . This ensures learning aims go beyond everyday, common-sense knowledge or key competencies to subject concepts and competencies. 
• Use CI to  deepen learning that has already occurred  in a single subject setting.  
• Introduce s ubject concepts  in  a   planned, sequential , and logical way  and revisit them in a spiral fashion. Critical thinking emerges when students knowingly use subject concepts to think with. 
• Ensure that  sufficient time and subject expertise  are available when planning for CI.  

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Dr. Alexis Siteine for the identification of subject concepts and content in the Migration in Aotearoa unit. 

Endnotes  

1 McKinnon, D., Nolan, P., Openshaw, R., & Soler, J. (1991). New Zealand curriculum innovation in historical and political context: The Freyberg integrated studies project and parallel projects of the 1940s. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 23(2), 155–175. 2 Barnes, J. (2015). Cross-curricular learning 3–14. London: Sage; Hammond, D. J. (2017). An investigation into the impact of an integrated curriculum on learning in the primary school (Doctoral thesis). Durham University. Retrieved from http:// etheses.dur.ac.uk/12025/ 3 Bernstein, B. (1971). Class, codes and control: Studies towards a sociology of language (Vol.1). London: Routledge, p.209. 4 McPhail, G. (2020). 21st Century Learning and the case for more knowledge about knowledge. The New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies https://doi. org/10.1007/s40841-020-00172-2 5 De Bruychere, P., Kirschner, P., & Hulshof, C. (2015). Urban myths about learning and education. Elsevier; Kirschner, P., Sweller, J. & Clark, R. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching, Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75–86. 6 Bolstad, R. (2011). Taking a “future focus” in education—What does it mean? Wellington: NZCER. 7 Bolstad (2011, p. 16). 8 McPhail, G. (2019). Curriculum integration in flexible learning environments, challenges for teachers, and teacher education. In M. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of Teacher Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13- 1179-6_369-1 9 Vars, G. (1991). Integrating curriculum in historical perspective. Educational Leadership, 49(2), 14–15. 10 Drake, S. (1998). Creating integrated curriculum: Proven ways to increase student learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 11 Arrowsmith, S., & Wood, B. (2015). Curriculum integration in New Zealand secondary schools. SET: Research Information for Teachers , 1, 58–66. 12 Geary, D., & Berch, D. (2016). Evolution and children’s cognitive and academic development. In D. C. Geary & D. B. Berch (Eds.), Evolutionary perspectives on child development and education, evolutionary psychology (pp. 217–249). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. 13 Erickson, H. L., & Lanning, L. A. (2014). Transitioning to concept-based curriculum and instruction: How to bring content and process together. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Sage; Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press. (original work published 1934).

By Dr Graham McPhail

ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEE

Dr Graham McPhail

Graham McPhail is Senior Lecturer in Music Education in the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the Faculty of Education. He taught secondary school music for 21 years and for three years was the national moderator for NCEA music working for NZQA. His research interests include the place of knowledge in curriculum development, 21st century education, and pedagogy in one-to-one music tuition.  Graham is a past President of the New Zealand Suzuki Institute (NZSI), a member of the baroque ensemble  Extempore , and artistic co-director of New Zealand’s original instrument orchestra  NZ Barok . He also teaches baroque violin in the School of Music  and is one of New Zealand’s leading figures in the critical approach to performance of 17th and 18th century European art music.

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• Why Integration Matters in Schools
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Desegregation may seem like a distant memory to many and an unknown experience to the rest, but integrated schools are no less important today than they were 60 years ago. When Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was first decided in 1954, litigants asked courts, and later policymakers, to make a leap of faith and assume that school integration would improve educational outcomes for minority students. After all, there were no integrated schools to test the proposition. Six decades later, research confirms their instincts were correct.

Today, we know integration has a positive effect on almost every aspect of schooling that matters, and segregation the inverse. We also know integration matters for all students. Both minorities and whites are disadvantaged by attending racially isolated schools, although in somewhat different ways: The harms to minorities are primarily academic; the harms to whites are social and academic.

Predominantly minority schools, on the whole, deliver inadequate educational opportunities. First, these schools tend to serve predominantly poor students. Due to peer influences and environment, students in these schools routinely have lower rates of achievement than students in mostly middle-income schools. This holds true regardless of a student’s race or socioeconomic status.

Second, the curriculum in these schools is lower in quality, and course offerings—like Advanced Placement and college-prep—are far fewer in number. More importantly, predominantly poor and minority schools find it extremely difficult to attract and retain high-quality teachers. To be clear, there have been, are, and always will be a number of excellent teachers in these schools, but on the whole, these schools enjoy a much smaller share and face high teacher-turnover rates. This has the unique effect of undermining instructional continuity and institutional knowledge while increasing administrative burdens. This unequal access to teachers matters because, aside from peer influences, research shows teacher quality is one of the factors most closely linked to student achievement.

Brown at 60: New Diversity, Familiar Disparities

Even with ground-shifting demographic changes, many public schools continue to be highly segregated 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the principle of “separate but equal” education, but those shifts have also created opportunities to approach diversifying schools and classrooms in new ways.

This special series includes data on race and ethnicity in U.S. schools and the following Commentaries on integration.

• I, Too, Am America: Making All Students Feel Like They Belong
• K-12 Education: Still Separate, Still Unequal
• Hispanics Are Forgotten in Civil Rights History
• Integration: New Concepts for a New Era

Money alone cannot easily fix these challenges because the racial and socioeconomic characteristics of schools significantly influence where teachers decide to teach. In the absence of huge salary increases, which are beyond the capacity of nearly every needy district, teachers with options tend to choose schools in wealthier districts.

The negative effects of unequal access to quality teachers and middle-income peers are compounded over time, producing drastically lower graduation rates in predominantly poor and minority schools. On average, only four out of 10 students graduate on time in the nation’s predominantly poor and minority high schools. Lower graduation rates hold true for any student attending one of these schools, regardless of his or her race or wealth. With these odds, it is no wonder that attending a predominantly poor and minority school tends to limit students’ access to later opportunities in higher education and employment.

Of course, not all high-poverty, racially isolated schools are low in quality. A small but high-profile contingent of predominantly poor and minority schools deliver exceptional opportunities on a daily basis.

But these schools are defying the odds and demonstrate that, while delivering a quality education to students under circumstances of concentrated poverty can be done, it costs far more per pupil than it otherwise would. The need for intensive instructional and social-service programs tends to be much greater in high-poverty schools, and we have yet to see the consistent willingness of policymakers to make these sorts of investments.

To the contrary, nationally, the per-pupil expenditures in high-poverty, predominantly minority schools are significantly lower than in other schools. When this fact is raised, these disadvantaged schools are then forced to defend the proposition that “money matters.”

In short, the only tried, tested, and cost-effective solution to unequal and inadequate education is integrated education.

Too often, the conversation around integration focuses exclusively on the benefits for poor and minority communities. However, integration holds substantial benefits for middle-income and white students as well. First, integrated schools improve critical thinking. In diverse environments, students are faced with new and varied perspectives and forced to think through their own or new positions more carefully, which improves their critical-thinking skills. Second, integrated schools better prepare students to navigate the multicultural world and global economy they will face upon graduation.

On these two metrics, whites are seriously disadvantaged. Data indicate that, to the surprise of many, whites are actually the most racially isolated student group in the nation (see charts, Page 31). Research demonstrates that this isolation ill prepares them for the future. Major corporations make this point even more concretely in briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court. They attest that they want graduates who are prepared to work in multicultural environments. Integrated schools produce these students.

In other words, white families who are concerned about long-term competitiveness need integrated schools as much as anyone.

So the key question today is not whether integrated schools matter, but how to achieve them. Various school districts, from Wake County, N.C., to Berkeley, Calif., have shown us the way. In 2000, Wake County adopted an assignment plan that capped the percentage of low-income students that could be assigned to any single school. In 2004, Berkeley adopted a plan that took the race, income, and education level of a student’s neighborhood into account in determining where the student would be assigned.

Unfortunately, courts and policymakers are no longer solidly aligned in support of efforts of these sorts. Positive outcomes in integrating districts now often come in spite of, not because of, courts and policymakers.

For integration to flourish outside the most committed districts, federal and state policymakers once again appreciate that integration and improving test scores are part of the same conversation, not disconnected ideas.

A version of this article appeared in the May 14, 2014 edition of Education Week as Why Integration Matters

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27 Jul Integration vs. Inclusion

Are you familiar with the difference between integration and inclusion when it comes to the classroom environment? The trend in education today is moving away from integration and toward inclusion. While both approaches aim to bring students with disabilities into the mainstream classroom, one system expects students to adapt to the pre-existing structure, while the other ensures the existing education system will adapt to each student.

An integrated classroom is a setting where students with disabilities learn alongside peers without disabilities. Extra supports may be implemented to help them adapt to the regular curriculum, and sometimes separate special education programs are in place within the classroom or through pull-out services. In theory, integration is a positive approach that seeks to help students with disabilities be part of the larger group. In practicality, the differences in the way all people learn can make this system of education less effective overall.

Following guidelines for accessibility makes an inclusive classroom possible. Bridgeway Education can support you in your transition to an accessible curriculum. Contact us for a free accessibility evaluation of a sample of your content, or sign up for The Accessibility Imperative   professional development course to learn about creating accessible learning experiences for all students.

• Our Mission

Why Should Schools Embrace Integrated Studies?: It Fosters a Way of Learning that Mimics Real Life

Integrated studies allows students to gain knowledge in a truly interdisciplinary fashion.

In today's dynamic global economy, centered on the development and exchange of knowledge and information, individuals prosper who are fluent in several disciplines and comfortable moving among them. Creativity, adaptability, critical reasoning, and collaboration are highly valued skills. When it comes to fostering those skills in the classroom, integrated study is an extremely effective approach, helping students develop multifaceted expertise and grasp the important role interrelationships can play in the real world.

Integrated studies, sometimes called interdisciplinary studies, brings together diverse disciplines in a comprehensive manner, enabling students to develop a meaningful understanding of the complex associations and influences within a topic. A happy by-product of this approach, which is often coupled with project-based learning, is that it makes school more interesting and productive for students and teachers.

" The Logic of Interdisciplinary Studies ," an exhaustive 1997 research report, found broad consensus among dozens of researchers as to what the report called the "positive educational outcomes" for students in an integrated- studies program:

• Increased understanding, retention, and application of general concepts.
• Better overall comprehension of global interdependencies, along with the development of multiple perspectives and points of view, as well as values.
• Increased ability to make decisions, think critically and creatively, and synthesize knowledge beyond the disciplines.
• Enhanced ability to identify, assess, and transfer significant information needed for solving novel problems.
• Promotion of cooperative learning and a better attitude toward oneself as a learner and as a meaningful member of a community.
• Increased motivation.

One integrated-studies success story is playing out every day at High Tech High , in San Diego, California, where interdisciplinary curriculum and project learning have propelled 100 percent of the school's graduates to college acceptance; 80 percent of those enroll in four-year institutions. Larry Rosenstock, High Tech High's founding principal and now CEO, explains that the school's approach is not an end in itself, but rather "a means of restructuring the American high school experience for kids." How students learn at High Tech High closely resembles the varied ways in which any of us acquire knowledge and apply skills in the experientially kaleidoscopic real world.

For instance, to create a series of field guides about San Diego Bay, High Tech High students work with a team of the school's biology, math, and humanities teachers, researching, writing, and producing the books. So far, five guides have been published to excellent reviews.

Although integrated studies has been around in one form or another for nearly a century, the approach has won newfound acceptance in recent years, thanks to effective advocate-practitioners like Rosenstock and the many on-the-ground success stories coming out of schools across the country.

After all, our daily life and work are not stratified into "the math part, the science part, the history part, and the English part," Rosenstock points out. "Kids don't experience the world that way." Instead, they -- and all of us -- live in a truly interdisciplinary fashion.

Return to our Integrated Studies page to learn more, or read an extended version of this article with comments by experts Sir Ken Robinson and Heidi Hayes Jacobs and more details about High School High's San Diego field guides.

What you need to know about inclusion in education

Why does unesco consider inclusion in education important  .

Despite significant progress in the last decade, millions are still denied their right to education and learning opportunities continue to be unequally distributed. Globally, one in five children, adolescents and youth, are entirely excluded from education. Poverty, location, gender, language, disability, ethnicity, religion, migration or displacement status are among factors that continue to dictate and limit opportunities. Nearly 40% of children do not have access to education in a language they understand, and children with disabilities continue to be disproportionally excluded from school. Three quarters of all primary-age children - 9 million- who may never set foot in school are girls. Moreover, since 2000, an upsurge in migration and displacement has led to a 26% increase of migrant and refugee children globally, making their inclusion in national education systems an imperative. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, 20 per cent of children and young people faced exclusion from education on a daily basis. The crisis has made some inequalities more visible, widened existing disparities and led to new inequalities and exclusion in education particularly for marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Some 40% of the poorest countries could not support learners at risk during the pandemic, further demonstrating the fragility of the right to education.  

How does inclusion relate to the right to education?  

The right to education aims to ensure everyone achieves their human right to access quality education throughout life. An inclusive approach to education means that each individual’s needs are taken into account and that all learners participate and achieve together. It acknowledges that all children can learn and that every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs. Special focus is placed on learners who may be at risk of marginalization, exclusion or underachievement. For example, where a child has a disability he or she would not be separated from other learners in school and learning assessments and progress would take the disability into account. 

​​​​​​​How does UNESCO work to ensure inclusion in education?

UNESCO focuses on the inclusivity of the whole education system rather than trying to remove barriers one by one; the emphasis is on how to transform existing systems rather than on how some learners can be integrated into them. It promotes education systems that are based on gender equality, that respect diverse needs, abilities and characteristics and eliminate all forms of discrimination in the learning environment. UNESCO helps Member States develop and implement inclusive policies and programmes which reach excluded and marginalized groups and provide them with quality education and helps governments and partners translate policy into inclusive curricula, pedagogy and teaching and programme design and delivery. Among marginalized and vulnerable groups, UNESCO pays special attention to children with disabilities as they are overrepresented in the population of those who are not in education. Indigenous people also continue to experience exclusion within and from education. 

​​​​​​​Why is language diversity important? 

Learners may be excluded if learning is conducted in something other than their mother tongue. In addition, multilingual education based on the mother tongue (s) in the early years of schooling plays a key role in fostering respect for diversity and a sense of interconnectedness between countries and populations. Yet linquistic diversity is increasingly threatened as more and more languages disappear. Globally 40 per cent of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. Multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages which also transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way.  

What makes an inclusive learning environment? 

There are many aspects to be considered in creating an inclusive learning environment including the development of policy with an inclusive lens, adequate and disaggregated data about learners, curriculum, teacher ability and attitudes, language and communication, assistive technology, physical access including transport, and community and family involvement. Children with disabilities are over-represented in the population of those who are not in education. Globally, there are between 93 million and 150 million children living with a disability – 80 per cent of whom live in developing countries. Children and youth with sensory, physical, or learning disabilities are two-and-a-half times more likely than their peers to never go to school. Where disability intersects with other barriers, such as gender, poverty, or remoteness, the risk of exclusion is greater still.  

What is the Cali Commitment to equity and inclusion in education?  

At the International Forum on Inclusion and Equity in Cali, Colombia in 2019 young people,  government officials, educators, civil society, and multilateral organizations representatives pledged themselves to the Cali Commitment , a reaffirmation of the international human rights agenda reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Education 2030 Framework for Action, which recognizes the urgent need to provide equitable and inclusive quality education for all learners, from the early years through compulsory schooling, technical and vocational education and training, higher education, and lifelong learning. It calls on governments to step up efforts to achieve inclusion in education with special emphasis on the role of civil society and the involvement of marginalized groups.

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• Inclusive education

Enhancing Learning Through Integrative Education: On the Road

• First Online: 01 October 2022

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• Nancy Kindelan 3  

Part of the book series: The Arts in Higher Education ((AHE))

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Interdisciplinary integrative educational pathways and dynamic cross-curricular spaces offer opportunities for undergraduates to become intentional learners, formulate new questions, see diverse connections, communicate thoughts to others, and advance new ideas. Chapter 4 samples recent literature that supports the value of a holistic education and an integrative curriculum as well as notes where there are disciplinary perceptions and institutional roadblocks that delay curricular innovation. This chapter identifies how misperceptions about disciplinary goals, pedagogies, and signature work have kept STEM and theatre arts cultures at odds and perpetuated disciplinary siloing. Readers are guided to narratives in the Appendix that address some of this chapter’s ideas.

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For more information on this topic, readers may also refer to NASEM ( 2018 ), “Compendium of Programs and Courses That Integrate the Humanities, Arts, and STEMM,” https://doi.org/10.17226/24988 , linked on the NASEM website under Resources.

Humanics, as defined by Aoun, draws on a comprehensive integrative curriculum and cocurriculum to give students opportunities to master three distinct literacies: technical literacy, data literacy, and human literacy. The third, human literacy, involves the humanities, communication, collaboration, team building, cultural agility, ethical reasoning, empathy, social justice, and design. According to Aoun, human literacy’s qualities and cognitive capacities separate humans from machines and will, for the foreseeable future, give humans an edge in the workplace.

I believe what Chris Gallagher means by a “vaguely Cardinal Newmanesque ideal” relates to Newman’s nineteenth-century idea of a community of learners (mostly in literature and religion) who exchange thoughts about universal philosophical ideas.

For more on ways to teach for integration, see Ambrose et al. ( 2010 , 117–120).

See NASEM ( 2018 , 9–24). The publications on this topic are numerous and are cited throughout this book and in the References and Further Reading sections.

For more on this topic, see NASEM ( 2018 ), “Compendium of Programs and Courses That Integrate the Humanities, Arts, and STEMM,” https://doi.org/10.17226/24988 , linked on the NASEM website under Resources.

For more on integrative learning, see also Barber ( 2012 ). Barber defines integrative learning as “the demonstrated ability to connect, apply, and/or synthesize information coherently from disparate contexts and perspectives, and make use of these new insights in multiple contexts. This includes the ability to connect the domain of ideas and philosophies to the everyday experience, from one field of study or discipline to another, from the past to the present, between campus and community life, from one part to the whole, from the abstract to the concrete, among multiple identity roles—and vice versa” (593).

Storytelling has gained a foothold in curricular STEM programming at such institutions as Harvard University, Arizona State University, Olin College of Engineering, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Institute of Technology.

The report mentions the availability of assessment studies regarding course integration that looks at the arts and humanities and engineering, but not arts and humanities with the sciences.

See “Gallery of Illuminating and Inspirational Integrative Practices in Higher Education” at the end of Chap. 6 in NASEM ( 2018 ) and on pages 233–258 on the online version, https://doi.org/10.17226/24988 . These examples present a wide range of integrative projects involving the arts and sciences.

For future consideration, learning outcomes associated with integrating arts and humanities with medical training include “increased empathy, resilience, and teamwork; improved visual diagnostic skills; increased tolerance for ambiguity; and increased interest in communication skills” (NASEM 2018 , 3).

The AAC&U provides educators with a helpful rubric for assessing integration and applied learning; see AAC&U ( 2009 ). See also Mansilla ( 2005 ).

References and Suggestions for Further Reading

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Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). 2009. “Integrative and Applied Learning VALUE Rubric.” Accessed February 15, 2021. https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/integrative-learning .

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———. 2016. Recent Trends in General Education Design, Learning Outcomes, and Teaching Approaches: Key Findings from a Survey among Administrators at AAC&U Member Institutions . Accessed February 20, 2022. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=source%3A”Association+of+American+Colleges+and+Universities”&id=ED582012 .

———. 2018. “Fulfilling the American Dream: Liberal Education and the Future of Work.” Conducted on behalf of the AAC&U. Accessed February 20, 2022. https://www.aacu.org/research/fulfilling-the-american-dream-liberal-education-and-the-future-of-work . https://www.aacu.org/research/fulfilling-the-american-dream-liberal-education-and-the-future-of-work .

Barber, James P. 2012. “Integration of Learning: A Grounded Theory Analysis of College Students’ Learning.” American Educational Research Journal 49, no. 3 (June): 590–617. Accessed February 17, 2022. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3102/0002831212437854 .

Budwig, Nancy, and Achu Johnson Alexander. 2020. “A Transdisciplinary Approach to Student Learning and Development in University Settings.” Frontiers in Psychology 11 (October): 1–13. Accessed January 2, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.576250 .

Budwig, Nancy, and Amy Jessen-Marshall. 2018. “Making the Case for Capstone and Signature Work.” Peer Review 20, no. 2: 4+. Gale Academic OneFile (accessed February 9, 2022). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A547869395/AONE?u=anon~c262b3e4&sid=googleScholar&xid=a2baf727 .

Burning Glass Technologies. 2015. The Human Factor: The Hard Time Employers Have Finding Soft Skills . Boston: Burning Glass Technologies. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.burning-glass.com/wp-content/uploads/Human_Factor_Baseline_Skills_FINAL.pdf .

Business Roundtable. n.d. “CEOs Say Skills Gap Threatens U.S Economic Future.” Accessed January 3, 2022. https://www.businessroundtable.org/archive/media/news-releases/ceos-say-skills-gap-threatens-us-economic-future .

Doherty, Austin, James Chenevert, Rhoda R. Miller, James L. Roth, and Leona C. Truchan. 1997. “Developing Intellectual Skills.” In Handbook of the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Comprehensive Guide to Purposes, Structures, Practices, and Change , edited by Jerry G. Gaff and associates, 170–189. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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Frodeman, Robert, Julie Thompson Klein, and Carl Mitcham, eds. 2010. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. Oxford: Oxford University Press; reprint, 2012.

Gallagher, Chris W. 2019. College Made Whole: Integrative Learning for a Divided World . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Ge, Xun, Dirk Ifenthaler, and J. Michael Spector, eds. 2015. Emerging Technologies for STEAM Education: Full Steam Ahead . Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

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———. 2020. Navigating the Landscape of Higher Engineering Education: Coping with Decades of Accelerating Change Ahead. Delft: Delft University of Technology, 4TU.Centre for Engineering Education. Accessed December 1, 2021. https://www.4tu.nl/cee/publications/navigating-the-landscape-of-higher-engineering-education-4tu.cee-web-def.pdf .

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). 2018. The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education: Branches from the Same Tree . Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Accessed March 1, 2022. https://doi.org/10.17226/24988 .`All citations are to the print edition unless otherwise indicated.

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Kindelan, N. (2022). Enhancing Learning Through Integrative Education: On the Road. In: STEM, Theatre Arts, and Interdisciplinary Integrative Learning. The Arts in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08907-7_4

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