6 Interdisciplinarity: an indispensable reference for the bioethics teaching-learning process

Abstract

Taking the multidisciplinary training of researchers and students interested in Bioethics as a starting point, the theoretical and practical framework of interdisciplinarity has become an indispensable tool in the teaching -learning process. Through a retrospective study of frequency the curriculum profile of students enrolled in the Stricto Sensu Graduation Program of the Unesco Cathedra in Bioethics at the Universidade de Brasilia (Brasilia University) was analyzed. From 145 students enrolled between 2008 to 2015, 56.6% were from the Master’s Degree course, 41.4 % from the Doctorate course and 2.1 % from the Post-Doctorate course. The students were from 15 different states and the Distrito Federal in Brazil, as well as Argentina, Colombia, Mozambique and Uruguay, and had graduated in 29 different subjects, the most common of which were Physics (14%); Law and Biology (12% each); Dentistry (10%); Psychology and Nursing (8% each); and Physiotherapy and Philosophy (7% each). The areas of prevalent knowledge were Health Sciences (58.3%); Humanities and Social Sciences (33.5%); and Biological Sciences (4.4%). Epistemology of Bioethics is the inherent interdisciplinary framework and essential to the teaching-learning process of these students.