A lingering question for middle school: What is the fate of integrated curriculum?

Childhood Education, Winter 2001/2002 by Caskey, Micki

CHRISTINE CHAILLE

How can middle level educators support and defend integrated curriculum when faced with the demands of the standards-based reform movement? Before a response to this thought-provoking question can be proposed, a brief glimpse at the history of and longstanding interest in integrated curriculum might be helpful. Interest in Integrated Curriculum Integrated curriculum captured the attention of educators long before the advent of the middle school concept. As junior high schools moved away from a subject-centered curriculum, other curricular options emerged (Toefler, 1997). In the 1930s, for example, the progressive movement advocated a problemcentered, core curriculum centering on themes drawn from social issues (Beane, 1993). In the 1960s, curriculum models became more responsive to middle level students' developmental characteristics, and thus targeted unifying themes. The interdisciplinary concept model described by Jacobs (1989) is a way to systematically connect discipline perspectives when investigating a problem or theme. Beane's multidimensional model (1993) centered on thematic units that drew from the intersecting concerns of young adolescents and issues in the larger world. Many educators concur with Beane's position that "curriculum is a central and crucial factor in the life of a school" (p. 1). Focus on Integrated Curriculum In order to help young adolescents make sense out of their life experiences and connect school experiences to their daily lives outside of school, curriculum needs to be integrative (National Middle School Association, 1995). A truly integrated curriculum enables teachers and their students to make connections between their school learning experiences and real life (Caskey, 1996), while the separate subject approach leaves students with a disconnected view of knowledge that "fails to reflect the way that real people attack problems in the real world" (Daniels & Bizar, 1998, p. 20). Certainly, relevance is the touchstone of integrated curriculum. Support for the Integrated Curriculum Approach A substantial body of theory and research supports the integrated curriculum design. Curriculum theorists (e.g., Beane, 1990; Jacobs, 1989; Vars, 1997) advocate for integrated curriculum models because they center on the problems and interests of young adolescent learners. Perkins (1989) asserts that integrated curricular themes serve as a valuable lens for understanding student thinking. Other scholars and practitioners (e.g., Daniels & Bizar, 1998; Five & Dionisio, 1996; Pate, 2001; Zemelman, Daniels, & Hyde, 1998) detail exemplars of integrated curriculum. The research base on the effectiveness of integrated curriculum for student achievement is expanding. Vars and Beane (2000) found from a review of research evidence that students engaged in interdisciplinary or integrated programs do as well academically, and frequently better, than those in traditional separate subject programs. Drake (1998) presents numerous findings from both quantitative and qualitative studies that substantiate the effects of integrated curriculum. In addition, integrated curriculum has been shown to increase student motivation, elicit higher order thinking, and build stronger interpersonal skills (Vars, 1997); Davies (1992) reported improved rates of student involvement, based on five years of student evaluation data. Clearly, research and a strong theoretical base validate the use of integrated curriculum. Why Does Acceptance of Integrated Curriculum Models Remain So Elusive? Integrating curriculum requires complex change, which may make teachers, school administrators, and parents uncomfortable. Hargreaves, Earl, Moore, and Manning (2001) point out that "integrated or interdisciplinary curriculum is one of the most ambitious yet also contentious aspects of educational reform, as it seeks to connect classroom learning to the lives and understandings of all students" (p. 83).

Integrated curriculum departs from the conventional and deeply entrenched attitudes that support subject-centered approaches to curriculum. Although many national organizations (Daniels & Bizar, 1998), schools, universities, state departments of education, and commercial textbooks and tests (Beane, 1993) are built on traditional subject separations, a more responsive approach for young adolescents is warranted. A separate subject approach distorts the ways that middle level learners experience life (Beane, 1993) and ignores mounting evidence that adolescence is a time when curricular coherence and relevance are paramount. Integrating curriculum is intellectually demanding and timeconsuming work. Many teachers have few models of integrated curriculum and/or have little or no personal experience with integrating curriculum. Teachers are not afforded adequate time for developing integrated curriculum, nor given opportunities to share their experiences. Authentic integrated curriculum cannot be accomplished in a single after-school workshop or one-day inservice program. Integrated curriculum, like any education innovation or change, takes enormous reserves of energy and commitment, as well as additional resources and continual support from administrators and parents. Academic Standards and Integrated Curriculum Academic standards and integrated curriculum are not mutually exclusive. After all, academic standards are the agreed-upon statements of what students should know and be able to do (Jackson & Davis, 2000). At the school level, teachers develop subject-centered or integrated curriculum based on these agreedupon standards. Jackson and Davis (2000) reason that "standards support the twin towers of education: excellence and equity" (p. 32). Accordingly, targeting selected academic standards for inclusion in integrated units of curriculum appears reasonable. Less reasonable is the sheer volume of academic standards required by many standards-based reform movements. Perspectives on whether integrated curriculum and standards are compatible vary considerably.