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Different pathways to interdisciplinary challenge-based learning for sustainability education: teachers’ approaches in Dutch secondary schools

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Various forms of interdisciplinarity may serve different purposes in sustainability education, depending on intended learning aims and contextual conditions. However, how these approaches translate into practice within secondary school Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) remains insufficiently understood, particularly regarding how teachers navigate curricular and organizational constraints. This qualitative study examines how secondary school teachers perceive and shape interdisciplinary CBL for sustainability education within their school contexts. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers participating in a professional learning community in the Netherlands and through document analysis. Results identified three scenarios of interdisciplinary CBL implementation: (1) projects situated within a single subject, with limited cross-disciplinary connections; (2) projects spanning subjects around a shared theme while maintaining subject-specific objectives; and (3) more integrated projects situated within dedicated interdisciplinary settings, such as project weeks or inherently interdisciplinary subjects. Across these scenarios, teachers valued interdisciplinary CBL but navigated tensions between subject-specific curricular requirements, knowledge development, and opportunities for interdisciplinary and skill-oriented learning. The scenarios reflect different ways in which teachers pragmatically shaped CBL in response to curricular and organizational contexts. Sustainability primarily functioned as a contextual anchor rather than as the main driver of these approaches.
DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2026.2727883
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7210274722
FWCI:
Cites: 63
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Related to: 10