Moving beyond subject boundaries: Four case studies of cross-curricular pedagogy in secondary schools

Cross-curricular work in schools across the United Kingdom generally involves the use of a cross-curricular dimension or theme that spans the work of several subject teachers. The limitations of this type of curriculum planning have been noted in the research literature both within the United Kingdom and across Europe. The research reported here explores a different approach to cross-curricularity, focusing on cross-curricular pedagogy within the work of individual subject teachers. Drawing on observation and interview in four UK secondary schools, it presents a case study analysis of the ways in which secondary school teachers develop cross-curricular elements within their subject pedagogies in terms of their interface with the micro, meso and macro levels of schooling. Rather than seeing cross-curricularity as primarily a feature of curriculum design, it argues that there are many benefits of relocating it within an individual teacher's subject pedagogy.

► Cross-curricularity can be an integral part of an individual teacher's pedagogy.
► Subject links within cross-curricular practices are complex and multi-levelled.
► Analysis of cross-curricular pedagogies should acknowledge broader contexts.
► Curriculum development and teacher development are inextricably linked.