Integrated Programmes in Education: Development and Current Status

To meet the changing demands of the students and many other stakeholders of education in this twenty-first century, the education systems of different nations of the world are in the process of continuous paradigm shifts in their curriculum, methods of instruction, management, evaluation process and other related components. Integrated programmes in education may be considered as a kind of crop of these paradigm shifts. The integrated programmes have many advantages over traditional fragmented programmes in education. Integrated programmes allow the learners to pursue a holistic learning without the restrictions imposed by subject and/or level of learning boundaries. For achieving well-rounded and integrated development among the learners, integrated programmes play a significant role in the field of education. Focusing on these issues, in this present article, discussions are made mostly on conceptual analysis of integrated programmes, the world scenario of development and current status of integrated programmes and Indian scenario of development and current status of integrated programmes. The article is concluded by reflecting on the points that integrated programmes are the latest fashion in programme designing and implementation in education, and these programmes have better implication for achieving multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary skills. Also, in the concluding section of the article, reflections are made regarding measures to be taken at the government level and responsibilities to be shouldered at the level of educational institutions offering integrated programmes to popularize integrated programmes among the stakeholders of education and for establishing integrated programmes as vibrant and leading programmes in education.