The concept of integrative education

Abstract

The article discusses the concept of integrative education in association with the problem of synthesizing the information level of knowledge in the semantic constructs of academic disciplines. This definition of the problem is based on the nature of modern scientific knowledge, which is consistently transformed from a simple set of known facts into complex structural compositions that represent the essential characteristics of cognition objects. It is the conceptual integrity of knowledge about an object that is the most important condition for understanding the internal structure of the object, as well as its essential connections with the outside world. The article proposes the principle of object/subject unity as a methodological foundation for interdisciplinary synthesis of empirical knowledge in integrative academic disciplines. The author describes the matrix for modeling integrative educational disciplines that are both essential and sufficient for the continuous synthesis of new information flows in the conceptual logic of knowledge and the practical use of knowledge. The matrix is constructed based on the object and subject grounds for the classification of sciences. As a result, the nomenclature of integrative academic disciplines is determined on the basis of the object/subject classification of knowledge, covering the information fields of all sciences. The author emphasizes that the phenomenon of mankind as the carrier of all the properties of nature at the level that enables them to transform their environment can be placed at the root of the differential synthesis of knowledge. The subject classification of knowledge includes physical, chemical, biological, mental, social and parametric sciences, whose subject is certain aspects of human activity and interaction with the environment. The practical level of integrating knowledge implies familiarity with the ways of interaction with objects to achieve the goals of a particular activity, the existing technologies of their use in various spheres of life. As an example, the experience of designing and the results and implementing two integrative disciplines — Human Knowledge (for secondary education) and Human Psychology (for higher education) is described. Based on these experiences, the author concludes that the proposed approach is effective.