Understanding Discipline and Subjects (English)

Author: Dr. Ranjana

Dr. Ranjana has written this book specifically for the B.Ed Core Course: Understanding Disciplines and Subjects (UDS), a compulsory foundation paper taught in the 1st Semester across Indian universities. Many institutions list this course under names such as Understanding Disciplines, Subjects & School Curriculum, Nature of School Subjects, or Knowledge and Curriculum (Part I), all aligned with the NCTE framework.

The book explores how different academic disciplines—like Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Languages, Arts, and Commerce—originated, how they evolved, and how each discipline structures knowledge. It helps trainee teachers understand the logic, purpose, and structure behind every school subject, which is a key requirement of the B.Ed UDS syllabus followed by universities like HPU, DU, MDU, IGNOU, PU, KUK, and others.

Important topics include:

• Nature and characteristics of disciplines

• Difference between disciplinary knowledge and school knowledge

• Historical development of different school subjects

• Influence of culture, society, and politics on subject formation

• Curriculum design and subject organization

• Teacher’s role in transforming disciplinary knowledge into classroom content

This book is used in the following B.Ed papers:

• Understanding Disciplines and Subjects (UDS) – Core Paper

• Understanding Knowledge and Curriculum – Foundation Course

• Knowledge and Curriculum (Part I)

• Curriculum & subject organization modules

Overall, this book offers a strong conceptual foundation for understanding how school subjects are formed, making it essential for the Understanding Disciplines and Subjects course in English medium.