A Longitudinal Study of Interdisciplinary Teaming and Its Influence on Student Self-Concept

The present study was partial replication of a study done five years earlier which examined interdisciplinary teaming in middle schools and the resulting impact of interdisciplinary teaming on student self-concepts. The degree of interdisciplinary teaming was measured using the stages-of-concern instrument that is a component of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Student self-concept was measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Results showed that the majority of teachers in Iowa schools are at the early stages of usage of interdisciplinary team teaching and usage over time does not lead to higher levels of implementation of the concept. In contrast to the 1987 study, which found students who attended middle schools with interdisciplinary teaming had higher self-concepts than middle schools in which teaming had not been implemented, this study did not find a significant difference between students in user and nonuser schools.