Introduction

Today, the interdisciplinary approach has achieved an important status in education in all school subjects worldwide (Aarup Jensen et al., 2019; Tonnetti & Lentillon-Kaestner, 2023). In mathematics education in particular, this research perspective has undergone considerable development (Doig et al., 2019), with growing interest in conducting comprehensive literature review focusing on the current state of research in this field developed by the international scientific community from various interdisciplinary topics and conceptual perspectives (e.g., Ferreira dos Santos & LessaGonçalves, 2020; Goos et al., 2023). With this study, as part of research on interdisciplinary mathematics education, we hope to contribute to a better understanding of the current research landscape in this field, as well as to encourage new research by presenting opportunities and emerging ideas based on the reviewed literature.

Research in mathematics education that incorporates the interdisciplinary approach is varied and extensive. For example, HenríquezRivas et al. (2023) present the results of an interdisciplinary pedagogical proposal that relates learning from the school mathematics curriculum with the administration specialization in a technical-professional education context at the secondary level. Meanwhile, Venegas-Thayer (2023) examines the actions associated with a process of discursive integration between mathematics and music students, ultimately putting forward the possibility of proposing collaborative interdisciplinary activities at the level of higher education. Both studies present the challenge of developing pedagogical proposals at distinct educational levels and in different contexts, as well as focusing attention on interdisciplinary mathematics education and its study in the context of teacher education. This suggests that both theoretical and empirical research that addresses the study topic in question should be considered.

In the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, an interdisciplinary approach is promoted to boost the learning of 21st-century skills, with the aim of familiarizing children and adolescents with the basic concepts of these areas (Reiss & Filtzinger, 2023). However, some authors point out that further research is needed to examine its theoretical development and educational impact (e.g., English, 2016; Maass et al., 2019). Doig and Williams (2019), in turn, consider STEM education within the corpus of interdisciplinary mathematics education, which encompasses a wide spectrum of research developed.

Other studies on interdisciplinary mathematics education include Just and Siller (2022), who focus on the role of mathematics in STEM education, with a particular emphasis on secondary education. Rahman et al. (2021) analyze mathematics teaching practices in STEM contexts. From another perspective, Tonnetti and Lentillon-Kaestner (2023) identify interdisciplinarity in secondary education without a particular emphasis on mathematics. In contrast, this review seeks to systematize recent advances in interdisciplinary mathematics education, covering different educational levels, in order to offer relevant contributions to both research and educational practice.

Based on the above, this study aims to provide an updated overview of the literature focused on interdisciplinary mathematics education and, in turn, to highlight less studied aspects of this area and emerging ideas for the future of the research community, all of which constitute a topic of interest, relevance, and importance for the contemporary disciplinary field.

Concepts of Interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity is understood as a dynamic and flexible concept that connects and challenges traditional approaches to the disciplines (Huutoniemi et al., 2010). For more than five decades, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has identified four types of interdisciplinarity:

Multidisciplinarity, referring to the juxtaposition of several disciplines that do not have a clear connection.

Pluridisciplinarity, referring to the juxtaposition of disciplines that are traditionally considered to be somewhat related.

Interdisciplinarity, a perspective that describes the interaction between two or more different disciplines ranging from the communication of ideas to the mutual integration of concepts, methodologies, procedures, epistemology, terminology, data, and organization of research and teaching (Apostel et al., 1972; Klein, 2010).

Transdisciplinarity, a perspective that aims to create a set of principles that apply to several disciplines.

Additional complementary ideas have been put forward by Klein (2010), who has utilized terms that reflect interdisciplinarity including the following: integration, interaction, linking, and focusing. Thus, interdisciplinarity has long served as a concept that can refer to all forms of connection that can be established between different disciplines (Lenoir, 2013).

Research Directions in Interdisciplinary Mathematics Education

Interdisciplinary mathematics education seeks to integrate mathematics with other disciplines to improve learning outcomes and prepare students for real-world challenges (Borromeo Ferri, 2019; Tonnetti & Lentillon-Kaestner, 2023). According to Williams (2019), the three directions that should guide the conceptualization and theorization of interdisciplinary mathematics education are research, policy, and practice. In this context, various studies have explored the importance of interdisciplinary approaches, highlighting both the benefits and challenges associated with these three crucial guidelines.

In terms of research, some studies have contributed knowledge from the integration of STEM disciplines through mathematical modeling (Doğan et al., 2019). Meanwhile, Williams and Roth (2019) present a theoretical perspective that explores the history of the disciplines and interdisciplinary activity based on Activity Theory and the theories of Vygotsky, Bakhtin, Bourdieu, and Foucault.

The importance of interdisciplinary mathematics education in the development of curricula and educational practices is increasingly recognized in the area of policy (Goos et al., 2023). Indeed, given the challenges facing our globalized society, students need to acquire various essential skills (Lane et al., 2022). In this sense, Daugherty and Carter (2018) propose that curricula that include STEM disciplines should apply authentic instructional strategies focused on problem-solving and creativity; moreover, this should begin at the earliest educational levels.

In terms of practical guidance, the literature offers several illustrative examples, including that of Rogora and Tortoriello (2021), who propose the design of global interdisciplinary laboratories where teachers from different disciplines can collaborate to carry out activities in their own classrooms through a cycle of planning, teacher training, teaching, discussion, and knowledge updating. For their part, Weinberg and McMeeking (2017) address the disciplinary integration of mathematics and science teachers and express some concern regarding the sequential nature of mathematics and the difficulties that could arise in schools when attempting to implement a highly integrated curriculum. Evidently, putting the interdisciplinary perspective into practice is simultaneously a challenge and a contribution to research.

Research Questions

Based on the above, this study reviews, systematizes, and interprets the findings of existing literature considered as being within the perspective of interdisciplinary mathematics education. In order to reveal how accumulated progress and furthering of research have been achieved during recent decades, the study is organized based on the following questions:

How is research on interdisciplinary mathematics education distributed in terms of methodological characteristics, including year of publication, methodological approach used, and educational level of participants?

Which theoretical aspects have interdisciplinary researchers considered? More specifically, what characteristics do the interdisciplinary tasks employed possess? Which other disciplines are involved?

What main themes have been identified in the studies reviewed, and how are these themes expressed in the research?

What future challenges and opportunities for mathematics education, from an interdisciplinary perspective, can be drawn from the research reviewed?

Methodology

This systematic review is based on the PRISMA statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses), which allows for the research questions to be answered, main study topics to be identified, and the search for and review of the literature to be systematized (Page et al., 2021; Sánchez-Serrano et al., 2022). According to Kaiser and Schukajlow (2024), a systematic review helps identify gaps and highlights possible future directions for research, which is part of the objective of this study.

Regarding the selection of articles, the final search for potentially relevant literature was carried out on March 8, 2024. A search string was used to identify said publications, including the terms interdisciplin*,education, and math*, all of which were connected by the Boolean operator AND. Truncation (*) was used to include variations such as “interdiscipline(s)” or “interdisciplinarity”. The search was carried out in the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases, considering articles published in the last five years in order to explore the most recent advances in the interdisciplinary perspective in mathematics education.

In total, the search yielded 2566 documents, of which 518 were selected and exported to Excel to detect duplicates, resulting in the elimination of 134 articles. Subsequently, the titles and abstracts of the remaining 384 documents were reviewed, applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

The full process of article selection, beginning with the 2566 documents initially found and ending with the final stage that includes the 49 studies considered in this review, is displayed in the flow chart below (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Flow Chart of the Article Selection Process

Data Analysis

To perform the data analyses, a coding procedure was first used in accordance with the four research questions posed above. One of the researchers organized and assigned codes to the publications, then met with the other researcher, who reviewed the work done to ensure consistency in coding. The researchers then discussed collaboratively to refine the criteria applied and reach a consensus that allowed them to compile and interpret the information (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The studies were analyzed using the technique of content analysis, in order to identify theoretical and methodological categories (Kuckartz& Rädiker, 2023). In terms of methodological characteristics, the categories proposed by Cevikbas et al. (2022) were considered, including the following: year of publication, approach used, and education level of participants. Regarding theoretical aspects, the disciplines with which mathematics is integrated (science, arts, philosophy) were identified, along with the type(s) of tasks used to foster interdisciplinary research (problem, project, modeling, and robotics, among others).

A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was then conducted. This process was deductive in nature, based on the objectives and/or research questions proposed in each of the articles reviewed. The purpose of this analysis was to answer the third research question, which is related to the main themes detected. Finally, based on the previous findings, opportunities and challenges for future research were formulated.

Results

This section presents the results obtained from the analysis of the collected data. These findings are organized in accordance with the research questions that guided the study, ensuring a coherent and well-structured presentation aligned with the research objectives.

Group Analysis Based on Methodological Aspects

Methodology Type and Year of Publication of the Articles:

In Table 2, the growing tendency of research related to interdisciplinary mathematics education can be observed between 2019 and 2023. In 2019, five studies were recorded, increasing to nine in 2020 and eight articles in 2021. The most notable increase was observed in 2022 and 2023, with 10 and 15 publications, respectively, which shows sustained interest in this perspective. Although only two articles were identified in 2024, this could be attributed to the fact that the search was conducted in March, when not all publications for the year had not yet been indexed.

Table 2. Distribution of Studies Based on Year of Publication

Of the 49 studies analyzed, seven are theoretical studies and 42 are empirical studies. Furthermore, of these 49 studies, 27 use a qualitative methodology, while 13 use a quantitative methodology, and three adopt a mixed methods approach.

Education Level of Participants:

The coding of participants in the studies analyzed showed that interdisciplinarity is addressed at all school levels (see Table 3). The most frequent school level is students (n=17), followed by in-service teachers (n=12) and pre-service teachers (n=9). Seven studies rely on mixed samples. In terms of education level, 18 studies focus on secondary education, 12 on primary education, and eight on higher education. Early childhood education is the least studied level in the articles reviewed (n=1).

Table 3. Distribution of Education Level of Participants in Studies Analyzed

Group Analysis Based on Theoretical Aspects

Disciplines Integrated with Mathematics:

Table 4 shows the distribution of the disciplines that incorporate mathematics in the research analyzed. Most of the studies link mathematics with the STEM disciplines (n=19), which could be added to disciplines considered STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) (n=4). Another significant number of studies in mathematics education are related to the natural sciences (n=14). Meanwhile, the social sciences and humanities are each represented in five or fewer studies. A smaller number of studies examine the link between mathematics and two different disciplinary areas (n=3).

Table 4. Distribution of the Disciplines Linked with Mathematics in the Studies Analyzed

The predominance of interdisciplinary studies in STEM fields can be attributed to their increasing incorporation into international educational curricula in response to the demand for professionals with technical and analytical skills, essential for innovation and economic development (DeCoito et al., 2024). Similarly, several public policies have promoted their integration into education systems as a strategy to increase competitiveness and prepare the workforce for emerging technological challenges (Hiğde & Aktamış, 2022).

Types of Tasks that Promote Interdisciplinarity:

Regarding the tasks employed to support interdisciplinary research, only 21 of the studies analyzed refer to the integration task or activity utilized. The remaining studies (n=28) do not make reference to the type of task employed or do not focus on task design. As displayed in Table 5, problems are used in six studies, while modeling tasks are used in five. Project development is the most frequently used task type (n=7).

Table 5. Distribution of the Task Types Used in the Studies Analyzed

The predominance of project-based, problem-solving, and modeling tasks could be explained by the practical and collaborative approach they promote, which facilitates the integration of STEM disciplines in the educational context, the development of cross-curricular skills, and problem-solving in interdisciplinary environments (Baran et al., 2021; Williams et al., 2016).

Thematic Analysis

The 49 studies have been organized based on four themes detected through an analysis of the objectives and/or research questions of the studies in question. These themes include the following:

Understanding interdisciplinarity, related to the meanings or interpretations that participants give or attribute to the integration between disciplines.

Pedagogical strategies for interdisciplinary development in mathematics education, grouping interdisciplinary strategies, methodologies, methods, modules, or courses in school or university education.

Interdisciplinarity for skills development, referring to studies that seek to develop a skill through interventions at different school levels.

Professional development of mathematics teachers, which includes research on opinions, expectations, attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs regarding specific factors related to interdisciplinarity in the context of teachers’ professional development.

It should be noted that these themes were categorized based on participants in studies with students, teachers, and future teachers.

In terms of the distribution of themes by year, Figure 2 shows a progressive increase in studies on interdisciplinarity with an emphasis on skills development (Theme c), especially from 2022 onwards. This growth reflects a concern for fostering practical and transferable skills in interdisciplinary educational contexts (DeCoito et al., 2024). On the other hand, themes related to pedagogical strategies (Theme b) and professional development (Theme d) are consistently present throughout the period analyzed, which shows an interest in strategy design and student readiness for interdisciplinary learning (Alrwaished, 2024; Goos et al., 2023; Hiğde & Aktamış, 2022).

Figure 2. Distribution of Themes According to the Year of Studies Analyzed

Theme (a) – Understanding Interdisciplinarity

In terms of the theme in question, 8.2% (n=4) of the studies analyzed address the meanings, understanding, and capacity for disciplinary integration among students, teachers, and future teachers.

With respect to students, the work of De Loof et al. (2023) highlights the need to develop instruments to assess students’ integrative capacity. This capacity is defined as the ability to intentionally combine knowledge and skills acquired from two or more STEM disciplines in order to solve a problem.

In research with future teachers, Yip (2020) reports that real tasks are important for understanding STEM education. Meanwhile, regarding in-service teachers, Da Silva et al. (2021) identify that in Brazilian curricula, interdisciplinarity is addressed through common problems or themes. Teachers have the autonomy to recontextualize these themes or seek out other relevant interdisciplinary ones. For their part, Karpudewan et al. (2023) indicate a clear relationship between knowledge, perceived level of difficulty, and teachers’ self-efficacy in terms of STEM teaching.

In conclusion, the studies reviewed show a variety of approaches to interdisciplinary mathematics education, without a single, agreed-upon definition. This diversity reflects both the richness of the approach and the need for greater theoretical clarity to guide its implementation in mathematics education.

Theme (b) – Pedagogical Strategies for Interdisciplinary Development

Of the studies analyzed, 28.6% (n=14) use pedagogical strategies to promote interdisciplinarity both for students and in teacher education. These strategies include mathematical modeling, task or problem sequencing, and the use of games.

In terms of research with students, several studies have examined mathematical modeling as a teaching strategy. For example, Domínguez et al. (2024) present a learning experience that integrates concepts from physics and mathematics to create models. Meanwhile, El Bedewy et al. (2021) use the software GeoGebra to create mathematical models of ancient architecture in order to promote mathematical understanding of the world.

On the other hand, several studies in school environments include the use of problems or tasks. For example, HenríquezRivas et al. (2023) analyzes the mathematical work of technical-professional education students when solving mathematical tasks and that of the administration specialization in secondary education. On the other hand, Dung et al. (2023) design a STEM situation based on water protection that integrates mathematics and physics to design a salinometer. Likewise, Lugo-López and Pérez-Almagro (2022) report improvements in academic performance through implementing a strategy focused on solving problems contextualized in natural phenomena, while Boz and Kiremitci (2020) explore interdisciplinarity through game-based activities.

Regarding research with in-service teachers, Braskén et al. (2020) report on how different actors plan a multidisciplinary module on energy and sustainable energy production. For their part, Gardner and Tillotson (2019) find that an integrated model of STEM curriculum and instruction includes reflexive durability, dynamic transactional learning, and science as a content connector. In Diego-Mantecon et al. (2021), the authors study the implementation of STEAM projects focused on mathematics and question their effectiveness due to the time required. Meanwhile, in Tytler et al. (2023), four approaches are proposed for teaching and learning mathematics within STEM programs.

In relation to research with future teachers, Rico et al. (2021) signal the necessity to design outdoor and metacognitive activities in order to address STEM education and sustainability.

Thus, the studies analyzed in Theme (b) show a variety of strategies for promoting interdisciplinarity, ranging from collaborative projects to integrated tasks. Most of them focus on specific or short-term experiences, which limits analysis of their sustained impact on the development of more structured and systematic interdisciplinary approaches.

Theme (c) – Interdisciplinarity for Skills Development

The development of skills through interdisciplinary education is addressed by 34.7% (n=17) of the articles reviewed. The skills studied include argumentation, collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and modeling skills, among others.

Regarding research with students, three studies highlight the importance of modeling as a mathematical skill. In Cabrera-Baquedano et al. (2022), the authors analyze the transitions in a modeling cycle carried out by secondary students in a task on financial literacy. Moreover, Gürbüz and Çalık (2021) report that interdisciplinary mathematical modeling challenges traditional approaches to problem-solving, focusing on a modeling activity involving engineering used to promote STEM education.

In relation to argumentation skills, Alsina et al. (2021) examine how early childhood education students relate body temperature and numbers through argumentation. Regarding creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication, Casado Fernández and ChecaRomero (2023) report that STEAM projects motivate students to merge theoretical knowledge with practical application.

Concerning motivation, Otero and Lafuente Fernández (2022) point out that students show a keen interest in integrating mathematical content with physical education activities. The authors claim that this integration is positive in that it reinforces and helps students learn content in a dynamic and experimental manner, promoting various values and skills.

Other studies describe skills development after the implementation of learning sequences or strategies. For example, Chang et al. (2021) find that the STEM approach, accompanied by peer assessment, improves understanding of the purpose of instruction and provides practical feedback in interdisciplinary courses. Likewise, Santaolalla et al. (2020) report improvements in mathematics and the social sciences, in addition to proposing museums as an educational resource, where students can study following a problem-based methodology. Meanwhile, in Mouro et al. (2023), mathematics and philosophy are integrated, and logical operations and manipulative materials are used to develop skills including group work, logical reasoning and creativity, visual perception, concentration, sharing, and responsibility.

In studies with in-service teachers and future teachers, with respect to problem-solving, Vale et al. (2023) posit that teacher training programs should include innovative experiences to develop pre-service teachers’ knowledge in solving tasks and using the teaching and learning principles that they are expected to apply with their own future students. In this context, Sarı et al. (2022) find that practical, STEM-focused activities using Arduinos have a positive effect on reflexive thinking for problem-solving and entrepreneurial skills.

Venegas-Thayer (2023) suggests that higher education institutions should foster interdisciplinarity in the education of future teachers, allowing them to face challenges beyond their area of specialization and develop collaborative skills in dialogue, reflection, and co-creation. Likewise, regarding collaboration between teachers, Dung et al. (2020) show that collaboration between teachers from different disciplines is a viable means to create STEM lessons, suggesting interdisciplinary teams in which ideas can be exchanged and STEM themes can be further developed. In this sense, Krause et al. (2020), in a comparative study, explore possible topics for scientific collaboration in mathematics and physics education between Germany and Vietnam, including beliefs about mathematics and physics, concept formation, models and modeling, problem-solving, and discursive reasoning.

Regarding teachers’ modeling skills, Nurgabyl et al. (2023) report that difficulties in teaching students to construct models result from a lack of interdisciplinary knowledge and insufficient educational and methodological support in the implementation of modeling.

Finally, the studies reviewed on this topic concur in that interdisciplinary education contributes to the development of skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving. However, further clarity is needed on how these skills are promoted, assessed, and sustained over time and across different educational levels.

Theme (d) – Professional Development of Mathematics Teachers

Of the studies analyzed, 28.6% (n=14) address professional development in order to gauge the opinions, attitudes, perceptions, expectations, and beliefs of in-service teachers, future teachers, or students participating in professional development programs, workshops, or pedagogical interventions.

In terms of research with students, Hiğde and Aktamış (2022) report that the lack of STEM activities in classes and lack of familiarity with collaborative activities in particular make cooperative work more difficult to achieve. On the other hand, Ferrada et al. (2023) report a positive impact on students’ attitudes toward science and mathematics resulting from a STEM proposal based on robotics.

In research with in-service teachers and future teachers, studies are distinguished based on their focus on opinions, perceptions, attitudes, expectations, and beliefs.

In terms of opinions, several articles have explored the opinions of future teachers about planning skills, STEM capacitation, the advantages of interdisciplinary activities, and comparison between in-service and future mathematics teachers concerning STEM integration and robotics applications; in addition, other topics have included project-based learning, interdisciplinarity, and integrated learning in the curriculum. In this subcategory, Demir (2021) reports that future teachers consider the STEM approach to significantly improve motivation and cognitive skills.

In Kizilay et al. (2023), the authors indicate that future teachers have positive opinions about interdisciplinary activities. Among the advantages, they highlight an increase in student interest, the development of teaching skills, and the possibility of using more diverse teaching techniques. Likewise, Alrwaished (2024) analyzes opinions on planning skills for STEM lessons after a training session; the participants in this study underscore that planning STEM lessons requires problem-solving skills, improves collaborative skills, and fosters interdisciplinary skills.

In this same line, Yuksel et al. (2020) analyze the opinions of future and in-service mathematics and science teachers about STEAM integration and robotics. This study reports that the future and in-service mathematics teachers provided fewer details in general about STEM and robotics applications, while the science teachers demonstrated greater knowledge about STEM integration but less about robotics applications. Meanwhile, Abra Olivato and Castro Silva (2023) state that teachers consider interdisciplinary projects to be beneficial to students, although the lack of time, training, and resources makes effective implementation difficult.

In terms of perceptions, Domènech-Casal et al. (2019) demonstrate that teachers perceive STEM project-based learning (PBL) as a methodology that improves students’ motivation, personal commitment, and autonomy. Likewise, Makonye and Moodley (2023) indicate that teachers perceive STEM integration as valuable, highlighting the importance of mathematics within this integration. However, they also perceive that the initiative is still in development and has a voluntary character. For their part, Turner et al. (2022) describe that, following a professional development program, most teachers report an increase in their skills and confidence in designing STEM programs themselves.

Within the framework of attitudes, expectations, and beliefs, Aldahmash et al. (2019) find that the implementation of a professional development program has not improved the attitudes of science and mathematics teachers toward teaching an integrated STEM curriculum, possibly due to the program’s short duration. On the other hand, Johnston et al. (2020) report that a teaching and learning network facilitates communication and collaboration, in addition to supporting teachers in appropriating the design of the integration and improving their knowledge. In terms of expectations, Mumcu et al. (2022) categorize the expectations of mathematics, science, and computer science teachers, finding that the teachers expect professional development programs for STEM education to improve their ICT integration skills, as well as their skills for designing teaching and learning. Regarding beliefs, Dong et al. (2020) encounter significant differences in beliefs, knowledge, educational practices, and challenges among STEM teachers depending on their teaching level, seniority, and training experience.

In conclusion, studies on Theme (d) show that teacher training is key to the implementation of interdisciplinary approaches. It is, therefore, necessary to design training programs that combine pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge from an interdisciplinary perspective and are grounded in the real challenges of teaching.

Challenges and Research Opportunities from an Interdisciplinary Approach

Of the 49 articles analyzed, 10 were selected that representatively address the four main themes identified, with the aim of highlighting challenges and opportunities for the development of future research in the field of interdisciplinary mathematics education. These articles were selected based on their theoretical foundation, methodological diversity, and clarity in providing elements to guide future research. These studies are presented in Table 6.

Table 6. Classification of the Articles

In terms of understanding interdisciplinarity, Yip (2020) examines how the conceptual understanding and preparation of future teachers in Hong Kong changed following a questionnaire on STEM education and their perceptions of a course. The findings have implications for the design of activities and tasks for STEM lessons. Meanwhile, Da Silva et al. (2021) draw attention to the need for an interdisciplinary teacher training model, but without foregoing the particularities of each discipline in such a model.

Regarding the theme of pedagogical strategies for interdisciplinary development in mathematics education, An et al. (2019) analyze the strategies employed by future mathematics teachers to design lessons centered on numerical concepts that integrate dance themes, both before and after an intervention. Referring to opportunities for future research, the authors put forward suggestions to examine how future teachers implement designed lessons in their classrooms. For their part, Dung et al. (2023) present a STEM situation designed for students in Vietnam focused on water protection, exemplifying the practical application of STEM in teaching. In this sense, interdisciplinarity is presented as an opportunity to address education for sustainable development based on theoretical, political, and practical factors (Williams, 2019).

In terms of the theme interdisciplinarity for skills development, Chang et al. (2021) investigate the impact of the STEM approach supported by peer assessment of learning performance compared to the conventional STEM approach. They suggest that future research could apply a bidirectional peer assessment approach to improve learning performance and better understand the factors that affect it. For their part, Alsina et al. (2021) analyze argumentation in a STEM activity with early childhood education students, finding that the students’ arguments become more sophisticated when using language and establishing conjectures based on experience and understanding of the topics involved. Considering these results, examination of the development of mathematical skills can be seen to have a role in teaching and learning from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Finally, with respect to the theme professional development of mathematics teachers, Domènech-Casal et al. (2019) identify differences in the objectives that teachers state they are seeking when implementing project-based learning (PBL), including deep learning and student autonomy, alongside the actual characteristics of the projects they design. This study points to the need to investigate how teachers implement PBL in their classrooms and whether the projects designed correspond to the principles of this methodology. Meanwhile, Kizilay et al. (2023) signal that a challenge for research in this area is to evaluate how the effectiveness of technology-supported interdisciplinary activities varies at different educational levels, suggesting that future research could analyze the effects of technology-supported activities carried out in person.

Conclusions

The objective of this literature review is to compile and systematize recent findings from international research on interdisciplinary mathematics education. The analysis revealed four recurring themes: (a) understanding interdisciplinarity; (b) pedagogical strategies for interdisciplinary development in mathematics education; (c) interdisciplinarity for skills development; and (d) professional development of mathematics teachers. This review illustrates the different types of methodologies, participants, and education levels in which interdisciplinarity in mathematics education is researched. There is also a trend toward STEM-based research, but studies linking mathematics to disciplines such as art, engineering, and social sciences are also reported.

Another point that should be underscored in the interdisciplinary perspective is the scarcity of research on early childhood and primary education, which represents an opportunity for future research. In addition, there is ample space for research integrating different types of tasks, as those related to robotics or games have been the most commonly addressed. Meanwhile, an additional area for further study could be the inclusion of theories used in mathematics education and their relevance or possibilities for adaptation to the interdisciplinary perspective.

The predominance of STEM-focused studies responds to international agendas that promote innovation and competitiveness through science and technology education (Toma & García-Carmona, 2021). However, this focus could generate a bias that limits other forms of integration, such as those linked to the arts, humanities, or social sciences (Lenoir, 2013). In this regard, a broad approach that recognizes the diversity of possible relationships and integration between mathematics and other areas of knowledge needs to be promoted.

Among the findings, it is noteworthy that, despite growing interest in interdisciplinary mathematics education, limited attention continues to be paid to early childhood education. According to Leung (2023), teachers' limited knowledge of specific STEM content makes it difficult for them to design and implement interdisciplinary activities, especially those that address abstract concepts in meaningful experiences for children. In addition, the limited availability of resources adapted to these educational levels hinders the integration of interdisciplinary proposals involving mathematics from an early age (Revák et al. (2024). These gaps represent relevant opportunities for future research that, in addition to broadening the educational levels considered, explore theories of mathematics education with potential for adaptation to interdisciplinary contexts.

In relation to the above, future research from an interdisciplinary perspective could consider some of the possible directions that have been reported in previous studies—that is, their development at the research, political, or practical level—in order to make an impact in concrete education terms, for example, in school curricula, textbook tasks, and at the theoretical and methodological levels, among others. If such developments are undertaken, it should be taken into account that these types of projects require a more expansive organization of time and resources, which must be considered for effective implementation.

Lastly, in terms of the limitations of this study, the selection of articles analyzed and the search criteria are recognized. In this sense, other reviews could include sources such as book chapters and the proceedings of important conferences on mathematics education. Additionally, other ways of coding themes emerging from existing literature could be considered based on the research objectives provided by authors of new studies. Nevertheless, the present study largely reflects the development achieved to date in terms of research related to the perspective of interdisciplinary mathematics education.

Recommendations

Based on the findings, a practical roadmap is proposed for researchers and teaching teams, highlighting the following: fostering collaboration between teachers from different areas, such as mathematics, art, science, or technology; designing interdisciplinary tasks adapted to the school context and using accessible materials; reviewing the possibility of using mathematics education theories to explore their potential in interdisciplinary contexts; promoting concrete actions for initial and continuing teacher training that include practical experiences based on interdisciplinary design; conducting interdisciplinary research at the preschool and early primary education levels. Finally, these suggestions are intended to respond to identified research opportunities and contribute to the progressive development of interdisciplinary proposals.

Acknowledgements

Theauthorsthankthe Centro de Investigación en Educación Matemática y Estadística (CIEMAE) at Universidad Católica del Maule, Chile.

Conflict of Interest

No conflict of interest is declared by the authors.

Funding

Thisstudywasfundedbythe Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo de Chile (ANID), Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico de Iniciación 2023, Folio 11230523, and Beca Doctorado Nacional ANID, Folio 21240197.

Generative AI Statement

The author has not used generative AI or AI-supported technologies.

Authorship Contribution Statement

Panqueban:Editing/reviewing, drafting manuscript, critical revision of manuscript anddata analysis / interpretation. Henríquez-Rivas:Editing/reviewing,drafting manuscript, critical revision of manuscript andconcept and design.