Scientific Status of Education: Foundations of a Transdisciplinary Science
Keywords:
Epistemology of education, frontier science, transdisciplinary science, scientific status, human formation, complex systems
Abstract
This study raises the epistemological possibility of recognizing Education as an autonomous science, with its own object of study, method, and theoretical corpus, differentiated from Pedagogy, Educational Psychology, Didactics, and the so-called Sciences of Education. The objective is to examine the epistemological, theoretical, and methodological foundations that support the understanding of Education as an emerging transdisciplinary science, based on the analysis of complex systems theory, the philosophy of science, and Latin American critical epistemology, in order to propose a distinct scientific status for the educational field. A qualitative systematic review was conducted, with an exploratory-descriptive scope, under a hermeneutic-critical approach and PRISMA 2020 guidelines, through searches in Scopus and Web of Science, resulting in the selection of 42 studies for qualitative synthesis. The main result shows that Education possesses an irreducible object—human formation situated historically, culturally, axiologically, and subjectively—as well as methodological pluralism, constitutive normativity, and its own conceptual production. It is concluded that Education can be recognized as a frontier science or boundary science, capable of articulating diverse forms of knowledge without losing its epistemological identity within contemporary knowledge.
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References
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Bazzul, J., & Kayumova, S. (2016). Toward a social ontology for science education: Introducing Deleuze and Guattari's assemblages. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 48(3), 284–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2015.1013016
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Bernstein, B. (2000). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research, critique. Taylor & Francis.
Biesta, G. (2010). Good education in an age of measurement: Ethics, politics, democracy. Paradigm Publishers.
Biesta, G. (2015). What is education for? On good education, teacher judgement, and educational professionalism. European Journal of Education, 50(1), 75–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12109
Biesta, G., Allan, J., & Edwards, R. (Eds.). (2014). Making a difference in theory: The theory question in education and the education question in theory. Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (1972). Esquisse d'une théorie de la pratique. Droz.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1970). La reproduction: Éléments pour une théorie du système d'enseignement. Minuit.
Carr, W. (2006). Education without theory. British Journal of Educational Studies, 54(2), 136–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8527.2006.00344.x
Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical: Education, knowledge and action research. Falmer Press.
Chevallard, Y. (1991). La transposition didactique: Du savoir savant au savoir enseigné (2e éd.). La Pensée Sauvage.
Creswell, J., & Plano Clark, V. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). SAGE.
De Sousa Santos, B. (2009). Una epistemología del Sur: La reinvención del conocimiento y la emancipación social. CLACSO / Siglo XXI.
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Feyerabend, P. (1975). Against method: Outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge. New Left Books.
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Flyvbjerg, B. (2001). Making social science matter: Why social inquiry fails and how it can succeed again. Cambridge University Press.
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Goodson, I. (1988). The making of curriculum: Collected essays. Falmer Press.
Herbart, J. (1806). Allgemeine Pädagogik, aus dem Zweck der Erziehung abgeleitet. Röwer.
Hirst, P. (1974). Knowledge and the curriculum: A collection of philosophical papers. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Hirst, P., & Peters, R. (1970). The logic of education. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Hordern, J. (2017). Bernstein's sociology of knowledge and education(al) studies. In G. Whitty & J. Furlong (Eds.), Knowledge and the study of education: An international exploration (pp. 191–210). Symposium. https://doi.org/10.15730/books.100
Jackson, P. (1968). Life in classrooms. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Kuhn, T. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press.
Lakatos, I. (1978). The methodology of scientific research programmes. Cambridge University Press.
Liu, W., Li, X., & Li, G. (2025). The contributions of philosophy of science in science education research: A literature review. Science & Education, 34, 1203–1222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-023-00485-w
Loayza, E. (2020). La investigación cualitativa en Ciencias Humanas y Educación. Criterios para elaborar artículos científicos. Educare et Comunicare, 8(2), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.35383/educare.v8i2.536
Mateescu, B. (2015). Transdisciplinary education and human micro universe decipherment – The key to universal knowledge. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 187, 581–585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.480
Mialaret, G. (1976). Les sciences de l'éducation. Presses Universitaires de France.
Morin, E. (1999). Los siete saberes necesarios para la educación del futuro. UNESCO.
Mylonakou-Keke, I. (2015). The emergence of "Syn-epistemic wholeness" from dialectic synergy of disciplines: A transdisciplinary social pedagogic model. Creative Education, 6(17), 1844–1858. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.617169
National Research Council. (2012). Discipline-based education research: Understanding and improving learning in undergraduate science and engineering. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13362
Nicolescu, B. (1997). The transdisciplinary evolution of learning. In Proceedings of the International Congress on What University for Tomorrow? Towards a transdisciplinary evolution of the university (pp. 1–11). Locarno, Switzerland. http://www.learndev.org/dl/nicolescu_f.pdf
Nicolescu, B. (2002). Manifesto of transdisciplinarity. State University of New York Press.
Nicolescu, B. (2005). Towards transdisciplinary education. Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 1(1), a300. https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v1i1.300
Nicolescu, B. (2014). From modernity to cosmodernity: Science, culture, and spirituality. State University of New York Press.
Norambuena-Meléndez, M., Guerrero, G., & González-Weil, C. (2023). What is meant by scientific literacy in the curriculum? A comparative analysis between Bolivia and Chile. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 18, 937–958. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-023-10190-3
Peters, R. (1966). Ethics and education. George Allen & Unwin.
Rodriguez, M. (2024). Implicaciones en la educación hoy de la tríada: Transepistemes, decolonialidad y complejidad. Conhecimento & Diversidade, 16(44), 573–600. https://doi.org/10.18316/rcd.v16i44.12262
Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.
Shindaulova, R. (2022). Noohumanism as a new worldview paradigm of the 21st century. Philosophy and Cosmology, 28, 107–117. https://doi.org/10.29202/phil-cosm/28/9
Singer, S., Nielsen, N., & Schweingruber, H. (Eds.). (2012). Discipline-based education research: Understanding and improving learning in undergraduate science and engineering. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13362
Stokols, D., Hall, K., & Vogel, A. (2013). Preparing emerging doctoral scholars for transdisciplinary research: A developmental approach. Journal of Transdisciplinary Research, 4(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v4i1.131
Vygotski, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1930–1934)
Zemelman, H. (1992). Los horizontes de la razón: Vol. 1. Dialéctica y apropiación del presente. Anthropos / El Colegio de México.
Zhang, H., Chen, L., & Yang, Z. (2024). Research on the structure of disciplinary knowledge systems from the perspective of a knowledge behavior strategy. Systems, 12(12), Article 579. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12120579
Apple, M. (2004). Ideology and curriculum (3rd ed.). RoutledgeFalmer.
Ausubel, D. (1963). The psychology of meaningful verbal learning. Grune & Stratton.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall.
Bazzul, J., & Kayumova, S. (2016). Toward a social ontology for science education: Introducing Deleuze and Guattari's assemblages. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 48(3), 284–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2015.1013016
Benner, D. (2010). Allgemeine Pädagogik: Eine systematisch-problemgeschichtliche Einführung in die Grundstruktur pädagogischen Denkens und Handelns (7. Aufl.). Juventa.
Bernstein, B. (1971). On the classification and framing of educational knowledge. In Class, codes and control: Vol. 3. Towards a theory of educational transmissions (pp. 202–230). Routledge & Kegan Paul. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203011430
Bernstein, B. (1999). Vertical and horizontal discourse: An essay. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20(2), 157–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425699995380
Bernstein, B. (2000). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research, critique. Taylor & Francis.
Biesta, G. (2010). Good education in an age of measurement: Ethics, politics, democracy. Paradigm Publishers.
Biesta, G. (2015). What is education for? On good education, teacher judgement, and educational professionalism. European Journal of Education, 50(1), 75–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12109
Biesta, G., Allan, J., & Edwards, R. (Eds.). (2014). Making a difference in theory: The theory question in education and the education question in theory. Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (1972). Esquisse d'une théorie de la pratique. Droz.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1970). La reproduction: Éléments pour une théorie du système d'enseignement. Minuit.
Carr, W. (2006). Education without theory. British Journal of Educational Studies, 54(2), 136–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8527.2006.00344.x
Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical: Education, knowledge and action research. Falmer Press.
Chevallard, Y. (1991). La transposition didactique: Du savoir savant au savoir enseigné (2e éd.). La Pensée Sauvage.
Creswell, J., & Plano Clark, V. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). SAGE.
De Sousa Santos, B. (2009). Una epistemología del Sur: La reinvención del conocimiento y la emancipación social. CLACSO / Siglo XXI.
Debesse, M., & Mialaret, G. (Eds.). (1969). Traité des sciences pédagogiques: Vol. 1. Introduction. Presses Universitaires de France.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. Macmillan.
Díaz Barriga, Á. (2009). Pensar la didáctica. Amorrortu.
Erickson, F. (1986). Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 119–161). Macmillan.
Feyerabend, P. (1975). Against method: Outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge. New Left Books.
Flitner, W. (1966). Das Selbstverständnis der Erziehungswissenschaft in der Gegenwart. Quelle & Meyer.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2001). Making social science matter: Why social inquiry fails and how it can succeed again. Cambridge University Press.
Furlong, J., & Lawn, M. (Eds.). (2011). Disciplines of education: Their role in the future of education research. Routledge.
Gibbons, M., Limoges, C., Nowotny, H., Schwartzman, S., Scott, P., & Trow, M. (1994). The new production of knowledge: The dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. SAGE.
Goodson, I. (1988). The making of curriculum: Collected essays. Falmer Press.
Herbart, J. (1806). Allgemeine Pädagogik, aus dem Zweck der Erziehung abgeleitet. Röwer.
Hirst, P. (1974). Knowledge and the curriculum: A collection of philosophical papers. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Hirst, P., & Peters, R. (1970). The logic of education. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Hordern, J. (2017). Bernstein's sociology of knowledge and education(al) studies. In G. Whitty & J. Furlong (Eds.), Knowledge and the study of education: An international exploration (pp. 191–210). Symposium. https://doi.org/10.15730/books.100
Jackson, P. (1968). Life in classrooms. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Kuhn, T. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press.
Lakatos, I. (1978). The methodology of scientific research programmes. Cambridge University Press.
Liu, W., Li, X., & Li, G. (2025). The contributions of philosophy of science in science education research: A literature review. Science & Education, 34, 1203–1222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-023-00485-w
Loayza, E. (2020). La investigación cualitativa en Ciencias Humanas y Educación. Criterios para elaborar artículos científicos. Educare et Comunicare, 8(2), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.35383/educare.v8i2.536
Mateescu, B. (2015). Transdisciplinary education and human micro universe decipherment – The key to universal knowledge. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 187, 581–585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.480
Mialaret, G. (1976). Les sciences de l'éducation. Presses Universitaires de France.
Morin, E. (1999). Los siete saberes necesarios para la educación del futuro. UNESCO.
Mylonakou-Keke, I. (2015). The emergence of "Syn-epistemic wholeness" from dialectic synergy of disciplines: A transdisciplinary social pedagogic model. Creative Education, 6(17), 1844–1858. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.617169
National Research Council. (2012). Discipline-based education research: Understanding and improving learning in undergraduate science and engineering. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13362
Nicolescu, B. (1997). The transdisciplinary evolution of learning. In Proceedings of the International Congress on What University for Tomorrow? Towards a transdisciplinary evolution of the university (pp. 1–11). Locarno, Switzerland. http://www.learndev.org/dl/nicolescu_f.pdf
Nicolescu, B. (2002). Manifesto of transdisciplinarity. State University of New York Press.
Nicolescu, B. (2005). Towards transdisciplinary education. Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 1(1), a300. https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v1i1.300
Nicolescu, B. (2014). From modernity to cosmodernity: Science, culture, and spirituality. State University of New York Press.
Norambuena-Meléndez, M., Guerrero, G., & González-Weil, C. (2023). What is meant by scientific literacy in the curriculum? A comparative analysis between Bolivia and Chile. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 18, 937–958. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-023-10190-3
Peters, R. (1966). Ethics and education. George Allen & Unwin.
Rodriguez, M. (2024). Implicaciones en la educación hoy de la tríada: Transepistemes, decolonialidad y complejidad. Conhecimento & Diversidade, 16(44), 573–600. https://doi.org/10.18316/rcd.v16i44.12262
Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.
Shindaulova, R. (2022). Noohumanism as a new worldview paradigm of the 21st century. Philosophy and Cosmology, 28, 107–117. https://doi.org/10.29202/phil-cosm/28/9
Singer, S., Nielsen, N., & Schweingruber, H. (Eds.). (2012). Discipline-based education research: Understanding and improving learning in undergraduate science and engineering. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13362
Stokols, D., Hall, K., & Vogel, A. (2013). Preparing emerging doctoral scholars for transdisciplinary research: A developmental approach. Journal of Transdisciplinary Research, 4(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v4i1.131
Vygotski, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1930–1934)
Zemelman, H. (1992). Los horizontes de la razón: Vol. 1. Dialéctica y apropiación del presente. Anthropos / El Colegio de México.
Zhang, H., Chen, L., & Yang, Z. (2024). Research on the structure of disciplinary knowledge systems from the perspective of a knowledge behavior strategy. Systems, 12(12), Article 579. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12120579
Published
2026-06-28
How to Cite
Loayza Maturrano, E. F. (2026). Scientific Status of Education: Foundations of a Transdisciplinary Science. EDUCARE ET COMUNICARE Revista De investigación De La Facultad De Humanidades, 14(1), 39-52. https://doi.org/10.35383/educare.v14i1.1484
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INVESTIGACIONES
Copyright (c) 2026 Edward Faustino Loayza Maturrano
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Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
Los artículos publicados por la revista científica "Educare Et Comunicare" de la Facultad de Humanidades de la Universidad Católica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, Chiclayo, Perú están sujetos a una licencia internacional Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0
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