The concept of paradigm shift comes mainly from the work of Thomas Kuhn in the context of revolutions in natural science. This change has been precipitated by unprecedented demand for high quality and meaningful education at all levels across the globe. The field of education, at both the basic and higher education levels, has undergone tremendous change since World War II. Paradigm shifts can occur at any of these levels and may cut across these levels. Many of these concepts have been discussed in some detail in previous University World News articles.Ī paradigm shift is a radical change in the core concepts and practices of a given domain, discipline or field. Indeed, many of the problems and issues facing humanity today are so large and complex and global in scope, they require a diverse team of experts that can apply a multi-perspective view that uses knowledge and skills from different domains, disciplines and fields. As such, the prevailing worldview often reflects the predominant paradigm. Thus, a paradigm is ultimately a worldview (that is, a mode of inquiry – a particular way of understanding and interacting with the world) that guides the thinking and practices of individuals and groups. For instance, the fields of education, medicine, engineering, business and technology cut across several disciplines from the different domains.įurthermore, each domain has its own epistemological, ontological and axiological focus of study and perspective of the world and each domain makes its own unique contribution to the world. There are varying degrees of overlap between the different domains, disciplines and fields and any analysis should therefore consider the different levels and types of knowledge and their intersections.

Many disciplines and fields are now multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary. It is typically from fields that communities of practice emerge. So, from an educational perspective, at the domain level, there is the scientific paradigm, the humanistic paradigm and the artistic paradigm.įields are particular areas of study within a discipline, or that cut across several disciplines, and they are usually centred on applied knowledge (for example, professions, careers or occupations). Thus, broadly defined, a paradigm is a related set of concepts and practices (that is, a mode of inquiry together with the related theories, principles, models, taxonomies, methods, rules and assumptions) that define and provide the example of or the framework for a given knowledge domain (science, humanities, art) and discipline and field. Tweet The word paradigm comes from the Greek meaning framework or example.

Paradigm shift definition