Could official STEM curriculum documents function as enablers of successful boundary-crossing? The Hong Kong case

Abstract

The ability to bridge between perspectives is essential for handling global challenges. To such end, this study aims to consider how far the official STEM curriculum documents in Hong Kong facilitate interdisciplinary dialogues. The official STEM-related curriculum documents were considered boundary objects that bridge constituent disciplines. Three research questions were formulated regarding how the STEM curriculum documents in Hong Kong fostered interdisciplinary dialogues. We concluded from the analysis that the STEM curriculum documents in Hong Kong could facilitate interdisciplinary dialogues to a limited extent. On the positive side, the coexistence of different disciplinary perspectives was officially legitimated. Student-centred project-based approach permitted STEM learning experiences to connect different subjects. Examples could also be found in the documents regarding how the various project elements could be temporally arranged to mandate boundary-crossing. On the other side, there was minimal discussion of the contribution of multiple disciplines. There was no specification about how knowledge translation should occur, and there was a lack of support for developing routines for interdisciplinary knowledge integration and application. It is hoped that this work could stimulate the further use of the concepts of "boundary-crossing" in the analysis of integrated STEM-related curricula.