Crosscurricular work and bildung: empowering the students

What are the requirements for Bildung-oriented and crosscurricular education and teaching? This question is discussed in this chapter, here taking the experiences from Denmark over the past 20 years as the starting point. What didactical challenges do these experiences point to, and how can they be understood from a theoretical perspective? To answer these questions, this chapter first presents the intentions behind the 2005 reform of the Danish Upper Secondary School system and the research in the case. Then, three cases, that is, three teaching examples, are presented. These three cases are analyzed and discussed based on a theoretical reflection on Bildung-oriented and crosscurricular teaching. The chapter concludes that Bildung-oriented teaching must be crosscurricular, that it must be nonaffirmative, and that it must position students as actors who construct knowledge about epochal key problems. This type of teaching will enable students to empower themselves and be authoritative citizens in a democratic society. Why is Bildung-oriented and crosscurricular teaching needed in upper secondary school in the twenty-first century? What are the requirements for this education? What didactical challenges do we face wanting to implement such teaching? These questions are discussed in this chapter, taking the Danish case as its starting point. Chapter 2 - and the entire book - shows that the discussion on Bildung and crosscurricular teaching is not only taking place in Denmark but also discussing the Danish case is relevant for two reasons: first, in Denmark, since 2005, there has been a comprehensive and ongoing reform of upper secondary school based on the issue of Bildung and crosscurricular work, and second, research has been done on this development. This will be further elaborated on later. Thus, a discussion of the Danish case can contribute to a general discussion of the didactic challenges associated with Bildung-oriented and crosscurricular education.