MULTI-DISCIPLINARY STUDIES: THE HALLMARK OF 21ST CENTURY SCHOLARSHIP

INTRODUCTION 

The scope of multi-disciplinary or inter-disciplinary or cross-disciplinary studies has been emphasised over the years due to the positive impacts it has made in the educational system of the world. These terms can be interchanged as they are very similar, as far as this context is concerned. Its importance is not limited to scholars but the society at large. However, it will be difficult to make a precise analysis on this subject matter without the knowledge of its meaning.

According to an introduction to his article, Casey Jones states; “The interdisciplinary approach has become an important and challenging technique in the modern curriculum. The interdisciplinary approach synthesizes more than one discipline and creates teams of teachers and students that enrich the overall educational experience. Many researchers find many advantages, as well as disadvantages, of interdisciplinary studies. Student education has suffered the inferior pedagogy of traditional methodologies that concentrate specifically on only one discipline. The interdisciplinary approach provides many benefits that develop into much needed lifelong learning skills that are essential to a student’s future learning” (Jones, 2009).

Multi-disciplinary studies can be regarded as a well organised and articulated combination of variety of courses, to fit into a scholar’s educational needs, as well as providing a diversified career and developing an all-round intellectual capability. Multi-disciplinary studies could be appreciated, when a scholar grows out of his little web of independent knowledge which his course offers him, and grows into an avalanche of coordinated knowledge, resulting in flexibility in the process of tackling multi-disciplinary problems. A student’s field of study, in many cases, do not always encapsulate his interests and objective, hence, the need for the accommodation of multi-disciplinary studies in schools and colleges.

The National Academies of Science Committee on Facilitating Interdisciplinary defined multi/inter-disciplinary studies “as a mode of research by teams or individuals that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of knowledge to advance fundamental understandings or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area on research practice” (NAS, 2004).