Transdisciplinary Curriculum Inspired by the Causal Layered Analysis: Philosophical Assumptions, Implications and a Pedagogical Model

Transdisciplinary approach, recently, receives significant attention in various fields of study and particularly in curriculum. It is an integral and holistic approach which offers curriculum specialists with an occasion to overcome the disciplinary limits and to celebrate and respect the complexity in human life as demonstrated by the contemporary society. However, this involves bringing the curriculum with challenges such as philosophical considerations, pedagogical issues and responsibilities affecting the teaching process, students, and the design of the courses. In this paper, with regard to diverse approaches to the transdisciplinary we answer the challenges and so, epistemological assumptions, the conceptual framework, and the model for curriculum development inspired by the causal layered analysis, based on Bhaskar's theory of critical realism, has been explained. Finally, it has been pointed out that a curriculum approach involves a range of institutional adjustments and adaptations that are not easily adaptable and structurally within the framework of current pedagogy. Therefore, in this paper, based on the philosophical, epistemological and educational foundations, a new conceptualization of the transdisciplinary curriculumand its pedagogical implications has been presented.