Integrated curriculum, overcoming the logic of school time

Abstract

This article discusses the fragmentation of knowledge and of the human being caused by the logic of time in modern and contemporary society, where time is controlled by bosses, who enjoy idleness and scientific knowledge, while workers perform tasks within a rigidly controlled time. This dualism also permeates Brazilian education, with the separation between general education for the elites and preparation for work for the disadvantaged classes, consolidated in the 1940s. The school organization, marked by uniformity, does not take into account the various social and individual variables, resulting in a fragmented pedagogical time. The article proposes to overcome this logic through an education that promotes the integral formation of the human being, uniting manual and intellectual work. This requires a curricular approach that is not linear and fragmented, but rather integrated and dialectical, considering work as a central element of human formation. The dialectical perspective suggests the reconstruction of totalities through the relationship between the parts, and the overcoming of the capitalist temporal logic, which controls the time of production. Curricular integration must go beyond the overlapping of disciplines and be guided by innovative methodological approaches that allow a broader and more complex understanding of the phenomena. In addition, the integrated curriculum needs to connect scientific concepts with their practical and social applications, promoting a complete and critical education. Finally, the article argues that the integrated curriculum transcends linear and fragmented temporality, recognizing the importance of individual learning rhythms and the need for an education that goes beyond the reproduction of knowledge, promoting resistance to the dehumanizing logics of capital. The school must thus integrate individual and collective times and spaces, allowing for an education that is truly formative and transformative.