Samhällslära i ämnesintegrerad undervisning – En fallstudie av finländska klasslärares praktik

Abstract

The Finnish national curriculum of 2014 made multidisciplinary education mandatory in primary education. Furthermore, social studies was introduced as a new school subject in upper primary education. This case study investigates how five Finnish primary school teachers implement social studies and multidisciplinary approaches within a shared project on ‘Entrepreneurship’. Data was collected by interviewing the teachers and observing their practice. The study is theoretically framed around concepts of multidisciplinary education and social studies didactics. Through a thematic analysis, the results reveal that the teachers intended to foster students’ entrepreneurial competence through theoretical knowledge and practical training. Their teaching practice included both subject matter content from the social studies curriculum, other disciplinary perspectives (from visual arts, Swedish (L1) and literature, history, mathematics, and home economics), and interdisciplinary entrepreneurial skills. The social studies content was taught through methods of teacher-led lectures on facts, discussions, and practical preparations for work life. Despite their practice, the teachers did not acknowledge disciplinary perspectives as important in their teaching. The results are discussed in relation to the multidisciplinary nature of the primary school teacher profession, and the lack of a social studies teaching tradition in Finnish primary education.