Aug 2026· Studies in the Philosophy of Education· 0 citations· 75 references
Abstract
Interdisciplinarity in school settings is frequently described in educational literature as aconcept with multiple or competing meanings, yet these claims have rarely beenexamined through systematic analysis of research discourse itself. This paperinvestigates how interdisciplinarity is understood through its use within a corpus ofeducational research. Drawing on contextualized conceptual analysis informed byordinary language philosophy, the study analyses all occurrences of the term in theselected studies rather than focusing only on explicit definitions. The analysis identifiesthree recurring dimensions structuring its use: teleological (educational aims),procedural (forms of disciplinary connection), and material (school disciplines). Withinthe teleological and procedural dimensions, distinct orientations emerge, reflectingdifferent understandings of the purposes and scope of interdisciplinarity. Theircombinations yield six recurring configurations of use, which serve as a heuristic mapof the concept’s logic of use rather than as fixed categories or a new stipulativedefinition. These configurations illuminate how different uses of interdisciplinarityoverlap without coinciding. The findings substantiate claims of conceptual diversity inthe literature while clarifying the structured ways in which interdisciplinarity isunderstood in research. The discussion further considers whether the identifiedorientations correspond to different purposes of education more broadly. Bydemonstrating how contextualized conceptual analysis can map variation ineducational concepts, the paper contributes both to philosophical discussions ofinterdisciplinarity and to broader debates about meaning and conceptual clarity ineducation.
There is a consensus that the field of Environmental Sciences is inherently interdisciplinary, as socio-environmental issues have intensified and become increasingly complex, presenting challenging perspectives for the 21st century that can only be addressed by integrating multiple domains of knowledge. However, what are the conceptions and characteristics of interdisciplinarity in graduate programs within the Environmental Sciences evaluation area in Brazil? This study aimed to identify the epistemic trajectories of interdisciplinarity in graduate education within this field in the Brazilian context. To this end, interviews were conducted throughout 2024 and in early 2025 with 33 coordinators of graduate programs from different regions of Brazil. The results reveal distinct modes of interdisciplinary praxis, corresponding to varying levels of conceptual depth and application: Uncritical, Pragmatic-Problem-Solving, Systemic-Critical, and Libertarian-Emancipatory. These findings underscore that the evaluated graduate programs exhibit a diversity of interdisciplinary approaches and strategies, reflecting specific regional needs, institutional contexts, and epistemic trajectories. While interdisciplinarity was a common characteristic, its implementation and conceptual understanding varied significantly across programs.
Tainã T. Almeida, L. A. Farias, D. Semensatto· Anais da Academia Brasileira...· 0 citations
This study aimed to analyze the convergences and divergences between the principles of interdisciplinarity found in the official curriculum of the State of Pernambuco and their appropriation within the institutional documents of the Reference Schools in Secondary Education (EREMs) in Petrolina-PE, Pernambuco. This is a qualitative, document-based study conducted through an analysis of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), the National Curricular Guidelines for High School (DCNs), Pernambuco’s New High School Curriculum, pedagogical proposals, teaching plans available in the Pernambuco Education Information System (SIEPE), formative pathways, and elective curricular units from ten EREMs. The analysis was guided by a Multidimensional Matrix of Interdisciplinarity and grounded in Content Analysis. The results showed that interdisciplinarity holds a central position in normative curricular documents, being presented as a structuring principle of holistic education. However, its incorporation into the schools' institutional documents occurs unevenly, revealing varying levels of appropriation regarding curricular guidelines. The study concludes that there is a gap between the interdisciplinarity prescribed in the curriculum and its institutionalization in school planning instruments, indicating a need to strengthen pedagogical mediation and institutional conditions to consolidate curricular integration within full-time high school education.
I. Cusati, N. Santos, Célia Regina Gonçalves da Silva Carvalho· Revista Acadêmica Licencia&a...· 0 citations
The study aims to reevaluate the role of constructivism within IR by reassessing its philosophical underpinnings. The main research question posed by this paper is whether constructivism can be coherently recognized as a philosophy of science applicable to IR. Mainly, the paper investigates how constructivism aligns with the philosophy of science on ontological and epistemological grounds, hypothesizing that constructivism provides a valid interpretative framework for understanding the social dynamics in international politics. It is a qualitative research method considering discourse analysis, literature review, and case study in an effort to explain how constructivism challenges IR theories like realism and liberalism. Results show that, while emphasizing the role of ideas, norms, and social interactions, constructivism provides a more subtle explanation of international relations compared to materialist approaches. It underlined the importance of social reality, intersubjectivity, and identity construction. The findings of the research are that while not being universally applicable to all sciences, constructivism still proved to be a strong tool for IR in attempting to better understand how states and actors construct reality through social processes. Important implications will pertain to global governance, climate change policies, and the role of non-state actors in international politics.
A. M. Lorek, Mikołaj Sokolski ORCID: e-mail:· Polish Political Science Yea...· 0 citations
Rationale of Study – Assessment practices across African educational systems have, for the most part, remained anchored in individualised, competitive, and examination-centred models whose philosophical origins lie squarely within Western epistemological traditions. These models stand in structural tension with the Ubuntu principle of umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, a person is a person through other persons, which positions knowledge and human development as irreducibly communal achievements. This conceptual paper argues that Ubuntu philosophy can furnish the normative and practical foundations for a genuinely African model of classroom assessment, one that is relational, collaborative, and inclusive by design rather than by accommodation.
Methodology – Drawing on a critical synthesis of Ubuntu philosophy, decolonial education theory, and contemporary assessment scholarship, the paper employs a conceptual analysis approach guided by interpretivist and decolonial epistemological commitments to develop the Ubuntu-Informed Assessment (UIA) framework.
Findings – The framework is structured around four mutually reinforcing assessment principles: relational validity, communal accountability, dialogic feedback, and epistemic inclusivity, each of which is theoretically grounded and practically articulated. The framework's internal logic and the relationships among the four principles are explicitly demonstrated.
Implications – The paper demonstrates that Ubuntu-informed assessment has transformative implications for how learning is evidenced, how feedback is structured, how the assessor-learner relationship is constituted, and how inclusion is understood in African classrooms. Implications are drawn for classroom teachers, curriculum designers, educational policymakers, and assessment theory.
Originality – This paper offers an original conceptual contribution by translating Ubuntu philosophy from its predominantly ethical and pedagogical applications into a rigorous framework for assessment theory and practice in African educational contexts.
M. Kpum· Regional Journal of Informat...· 0 citations
The article addresses the issue of interdisciplinarity in pedagogy, presenting it as a methodological category, a structural feature of the discipline, and one of the key challenges of contemporary science. The author argues that pedagogy, due to its subject of research, namely the human being functioning within complex social, cultural, educational and technological contexts, cannot develop in isolation from other fields of knowledge. The text discusses the importance of interdisciplinarity for the development of pedagogical theory and practice, its presence in pedagogical research, and its role in analysing current educational problems, such as globalisation, digitalisation, social inequalities, higher education and twenty-first-century competences. At the same time, it is emphasised that interdisciplinarity requires critical methodological awareness, as it involves difficulties in integrating scientific languages, tensions between disciplinary autonomy and openness, and the risk of superficial research. Particular significance is also attributed to teamwork, methodological pluralism and the need to preserve conceptual coherence. The analytical and critical perspective makes it possible to show both the potential and the limitations of this approach. The article concludes that interdisciplinarity is a condition for the development of pedagogy, provided that it is based on rigour, reflexivity and genuine dialogue between contemporary sciences.
Przemysław Ławrynowicz· Annales Universitatis Mariae...· 0 citations
Academic research is often narrated retrospectively as a coherent and linear journey: a clearly defined question, a carefully chosen method and a set of outcomes that appear to follow logically from the initial design. Yet for many postgraduate researchers, the lived experience of research is far messier. It is shaped not only by intellectual curiosity, but also by funding priorities, institutional agendas, supervisory expectations and personal commitments that do not always align neatly with what is considered academically “safe” or strategically valuable. This article reflects on my own research lifecycle as a postgraduate researcher in Sociotechnical Futures and Digital Methods, focusing on the decision-making processes that underpin my research design and the persistent tension between academic and funding interests on the one hand and personal, political and ethical motivations on the other. Rather than presenting my research as a stable project with a fixed trajectory, I explore it as a negotiated and evolving process, marked by uncertainty, compromises and reorientation. By situating this reflection within broader discussions around creativity, impact and knowledge production, I argue that moments of tension and apparent failure are not peripheral to the research lifecycle, but central to how postgraduate researchers learn to navigate academia and to imagine what their work is ultimately for. Postgraduate research projects, which are often exploratory and developmental in nature, may generate impact not only through definitive findings, but through the process of learning to ask better questions and engaging in informal, yet meaningful, scholarly discussions.
Alessia Sofia· The Open Review· 0 citations
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