A Study on Mechanisms for Interdisciplinary Integration in Teachers’ Professional Development and Pathways for Competency Enhancement Under the Guidance of Ideological and Political Education in the Curriculum

Theoretical Underpinnings and Empirical Findings for Designing Interdisciplinary Boundary Zones for Teacher Education

Recent educational trends highlight the need to develop multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary competencies among science teachers to foster innovation in secondary education. However, the debate on which interdisciplinary competences are most relevant—and still lacking—in teacher education remains open, and little is known about how teachers with strong disciplinary backgrounds experience encounters with interdisciplinary forms of knowledge organisation. This study proposes a theoretical approach to interdisciplinarity that informed both the design of pre-service teacher education modules and the analysis of how pre-service teachers positioned themselves in relation to its main challenges. Specifically, Akkerman and Bakker’s (2011) boundary framework was adapted to the context of interdisciplinary teacher education. The framework was implemented in two modules addressing different forms of interdisciplinarity: one on a curricular theme (parabola and parabolic motion) and one on an emergent STEM topic (nanotechnology). Data collected within a European project were analysed through a theoretically oriented thematic analysis grounded in the boundary framework. Across both modules, pre-service teachers displayed a range of reactions—from deep engagement to discomfort that led them to adopt small strategies for restoring epistemic comfort. This discomfort stemmed less from boundaries themselves than from the ambiguity of boundary objects, which challenged their sense of disciplinary security. Multi- and trans-disciplinarity were therefore perceived as more manageable than full interdisciplinarity. Yet these moments of uncertainty also sparked meta-disciplinary reflection on the nature and interrelation of disciplinary knowledge.

Education for Sustainable Development a Methodological Framework and Illustrative Analysis of Teacher Educators' Conceptual Understanding of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has emerged as a central pillar of teacher education reform, yet the term continues to be interpreted in widely divergent ways by the very educators responsible for embedding it in classroom practice. This paper has two aims. First, it proposes and documents a structured methodology — a questionnaire-based elicitation procedure, a five-category coding framework and an inter-rater reliability protocol — for empirically mapping teacher educators' conceptual understanding of ESD. Second, it demonstrates this methodology using an illustrative dataset (N = 100, simulated for demonstration purposes) so that the analytic pipeline, from coding through statistical interpretation, can be reviewed and refined before it is applied to the full field data collected for a broader doctoral study. In the illustrative dataset, responses cluster into five categories — environmental-only, economic-only, social-only, holistic/multidimensional and vague/unclear — with a plurality (34%) reflecting an environmental-only interpretation and just under one-third (31%) reflecting a holistic, multidimensional understanding. The paper discusses the implications such a distribution would carry for curriculum design, teacher training and policy, outlines the limitations of the current illustrative demonstration and specifies the steps required to convert this into a fully empirical study.

Research on the Integration Path of Ideological and Political Education, College Students’ Psychology, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education under the Guidance of Cultural Confidence in Universities

The independent operation of ideological and political education, mental health education, and innovation and entrepreneurship education in universities leads to fragmented educational goals and weak collaborative effects. To address this problem, this study constructs a three-dimensional integrated theoretical framework guided by cultural confidence and designs an operational path of “curriculum integration-practical linkage-faculty collaboration.” The framework integrates value guidance, psychological development, and practical innovation into a unified education system. A quasi-experimental design, action research, and mixed-methods evaluation are used for empirical testing. The results show that students in the experimental group achieved significantly greater improvement in cultural confidence than those in the control group, with an effect size of 41.7%. Their psychological resilience and innovation efficacy also improved substantially, and innovation performance in practical projects was significantly higher. The findings demonstrate that the proposed integrated path can effectively address educational fragmentation and promote coordinated development of value identity, psychological quality, and innovation competence in higher education.

Research on the Construction of Evaluation Framework for the Competence of Ideological and Political Education in Primary School Mathematics Teachers under the Background of Digital Education

Design and Validation of an Integrated Curriculum Model for Nature-Based and Digital Education in Primary School

This study aimed to design and validate an integrated curriculum model that synthesizes nature-based and digital education for first-cycle primary students. A mixed-methods approach was employed. The qualitative phase used research synthesis based on Roberts’ six-stage model and thematic analysis of 18 selected studies. In the quantitative phase, evaluation research was conducted using a researcher-developed questionnaire whose content validity was confirmed by CVR with 12 experts and reliability by Cronbach’s alpha and agreement coefficient. The validated model is structured around the ten elements of the Akker curriculum framework and encompasses four core dimensions: philosophical, strategic, infrastructural, and human. Expert evaluation results indicate strong internal coherence and high content validity, supporting the model’s practical applicability in primary education. The proposed model offers an effective and holistic framework for harmonizing natural and digital learning experiences and provides a viable foundation for balanced, future-oriented primary education.

A Social Interdependence-Based Cooperative Learning Model for Fostering Collaboration Skills in Pre-Service Teacher Education

Background Collaboration skills are increasingly recognized as fundamental competencies for pre-service teachers, as contemporary educational practice requires teachers to work effectively with colleagues, learners, parents, and other stakeholders. However, many teacher education programs continue to rely on instructional approaches that provide limited opportunities for structured collaboration, resulting in uneven participation and insufficient development of collaborative competencies. Methods A Design-Based Research approach was employed through two iterative cycles of analysis, design, implementation, evaluation, and refinement in a Curriculum Development course at Adzkia University, Indonesia. A total of 230 pre-service teachers participated in the study. Quantitative data were collected using validated questionnaires and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. Qualitative data were gathered through classroom observations and reflective journals and analyzed using thematic analysis to complement the quantitative findings and support iterative model refinement. Results The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity across all constructs. Structural model analysis showed that the CLBIS model significantly improved Positive Interdependence (β = 0.687, p < 0.001), which subsequently enhanced Collaborative Engagement (β = 0.739, p < 0.001). Collaborative Engagement had a strong positive effect on Collaboration Skills (β = 0.816, p < 0.001). The model explained 65.9% of the variance in Collaboration Skills. Qualitative findings corroborated these results, revealing improvements in shared responsibility, active participation, communication, teamwork, collaborative problem-solving, and reflective learning. The iterative development process also produced a refined and validated instructional model that was feasible for implementation in teacher education. Conclusion The Social Interdependence-Based Cooperative Learning model provides a theoretically grounded and empirically validated instructional framework for fostering collaboration skills among pre-service teachers. The findings indicate that integrating structured positive interdependence, collaborative engagement, and reflective learning into teacher education can effectively strengthen collaboration competencies and support the preparation of future teachers for collaborative professional practice.