ABSTRACT
Inevitably, any discussion of integrated curriculum approaches turns to questions about learning – for example, what is being integrated, what is the relationship between integrated teaching and student learning, what kinds of learning, how can learning be measured, and, importantly, are integrated approaches more effective than disciplinary teaching? Although the literature is replete with plausible testimonials, the evidence remains inconsistent regarding the learning benefi ts of an integrated approach to curriculum. In a review of the literature from the 1940s to the early 1990s, Vars ( 1991 ) found more than 80 normative or comparative studies reporting that, on standardized achievement tests, students in various forms of integrated programmes performed better than, or at least as well as, students enrolled in separate subjects. Conversely, Marsh ( 1993 ) tracked some of the major research on integration from the US, the UK and Asia over the previous 50 years and found that there was limited evidence of either a positive or a negative effect.
