A case study on transdisciplinary approach of integrated curriculum perspectives of early childhood teachers

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2010
Özer, Özden
The purpose of this study is to examine teachers’ beliefs and perspectives about an applied transdisciplinary approach of integrated early childhood curriculum. While developing an integrated curriculum for early childhood education, one of the challenges for educators is delivering the themes into different disciplines. For this reason, researchers have developed different models to integrate disciplines in different ways. Transdisciplinary approach is one of the models developed for integrated curriculum. Transdisciplinary approach, in which activities are complementary, provides different disciplines to be connected through a real life context. That is, the themes or units do not arouse from disciplines, there is a globally significant theme for the thematic teaching units. Furthermore, collaborative planning is another crucial part of transdisciplinary approach for an effective curriculum teachers working together. International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program is the first and foremost a transdisciplinary curriculum developed for international primary education. To examine teachers’ beliefs and perspectives about transdisciplinary approach, collaborative planning, integration of disciplines in a transdisciplinary curriculum and benefits of this curriculum to children and parents in a private kindergarten which is implementing Primary Years Program is chosen. This study is conducted in a private kindergarten in Ankara with eighteen teachers who teach six-year-old children. In accordance with this thesis, the structure of a transdisciplinary approach of integrated early childhood education curriculum and teachers’ beliefs and perceptions about transdisciplinary curriculum are qualitatively determined by the case study approach. The results reveal that teachers have positive point of view towards transdisciplinary curriculum in early childhood education. They believe that there are positive effects of transdisciplinary curriculum on students and parents. Moreover they point out the importance of collaborative planning.

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Citation Formats
Ö. Özer, “A case study on transdisciplinary approach of integrated curriculum perspectives of early childhood teachers,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2010.