Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives

The transdisciplinary approach developed naturally at the beginning of organized educational activities, when children gathered together to acquire their knowledge from the adults in their community and relevant knowledge that would serve them in the future as well as strengthen their understanding of their cultural background and roots and would promote their contribution to the community when they mature. This core aim of education was never really changed, but the perspectives regarding the ways in which this goal should be achieved has evolved over time. Actually, the idea of unity of knowledge began in ancient Greece, where learners were grouped together according to what they wished to study and to society’s wish to prepare the younger generation for their future not necessarily according to age or achievement. At that time, there were no formal syllabi their teachers had to follow. At that early developmental stage of education, those responsible for transferring knowledge focused on its relevance to all children in all areas of their lives, without naming it as a ‘transdisciplinary approach’ or naming it anything at all. Specific titles for different teaching approaches were given only much later, once several theories had developed, all aiming to determine the correct way to educate in general or to teach and learn specific domains of knowledge.