Integrating Content Across Disciplines: Practices, Perceptions, and Capacity-Building Needs of Public Elementary School Teachers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67167/vertex.688Keywords:
curriculum integration, interdisciplinary teaching, cross-disciplinary content knowledge, capacity building, elementary education, descriptive-comparative researchAbstract
This descriptive-comparative study examined how public elementary school teachers in the Magalang South District, Division of Pampanga, integrated learning content within and across disciplines during School Year 2023-2024, and how their practices compared with the perceptions of their school heads. Using a researcher-made questionnaire validated by five school heads (Cronbach's alpha = .974), data were gathered from 148 teachers and 13 school heads through stratified sampling. Both groups rated the level of integration across five dimensions - cross-disciplinary content knowledge, curriculum alignment, interdisciplinary planning and teamwork, resource selection and differentiation, and reflection and assessment - as Highly Practiced. A significant difference emerged between teachers' and school heads' perceptions of cross-disciplinary content knowledge (p = .04), while the remaining dimensions showed no significant difference. Years of teaching experience were significantly associated with practices in interdisciplinary planning and teamwork and in reflection and assessment, and relevant training attended was significantly associated with curriculum alignment. Teachers also reported a range of persistent challenges, most notably limited access to technology and insufficient instructional time, all rated Highly Encountered. Building on these findings, the study proposes a four-area capacity-building program addressing content knowledge, collaborative planning, resource utilization, and reflective assessment practice to strengthen curriculum integration among elementary teachers.
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