Students' Perceptions of Integrated Curriculum

Abstract

A reoccurring theme in education today focuses on restructuring the classroom. A segmented curriculum in which each subject is treated in isolation of another leads many students to not be able to build connections both between subjects and with real-life situations. The implementation of an integrated curriculum approach, in which subjects are blended or connected together to develop relationships between them, may be a means to address this feeling. However, while reforming educators have expressed positive feelings towards an integrated curriculum, the perceptions of students have largely been ignored. This study examines students’ perceptions of their integrated Humanities program at Greece Athena High School, located in a middle-class suburban school district. Surveys and in-person interviews with a selection of respondents were used to measure these perceptions. The results of the study strongly indicate positive student perception towards the integrated humanities program at Greece Athena High School. Students were positive about remaining with teachers and students for two years, the feeling of success or opportunity for success within the program, the preparation this program gave for oral and group presentation, and the preparation this program gave for the two-year regents’ exam at the end of the second year. Students were less positive about the difficulty of the course work, the class atmosphere, and perceptions of social acceptance.