“Integrated Social Studies” was introduced as a new subject in the 2015 revised curriculum, integrating the previously segmented subject areas of history, geography, general social studies, and ethics. However, prior to the development of the Integrated Social Studies curriculum, there was insufficient academic discussion on the concept of “integration,” which has resulted in the intended purpose of integration not being fully conveyed in school settings. This study, based on such critical awareness, examines the limitations of the current principle of “interdisciplinary integration” in the Integrated Social Studies curriculum and analyzes the potential usefulness of the alternative principle of “multidisciplinary integration.” Further, through a sample curriculum design, it explores the practical applicability of this approach. According to the analysis in this paper, applying the principle of multidisciplinary integration to the Integrated Social Studies curriculum can reduce the pressure to artificially extract common learning elements across subjects, effectively implement the intention of the first unit, 'integrated perspective,' and can expand the potential to address more in-depth content for the Korean college entrance exam (Suneung). It is also expected that the existing goal of the subject, which is to explore social phenomena comprehensively from various academic perspectives, can be sufficiently maintained.
H.B. Lee (Tue,) studied this question.