Abstract There are numerous complex societal problems worldwide. Solving these problems requires a generation that can break traditional boundaries and drive change. Transdisciplinary education in higher education (TDE), where students, teachers, researchers, and all come from different disciplines and societal partners, learn, work, and research together on an equal footing on a complex societal problem, responds to this demand. Despite its growing development and implementation in the Netherlands, insights into the factors helping or hindering the establishment of TDE remain limited. This study aims to explore the goals of TDE initiatives and the helping and hindering factors experienced by pioneers in Dutch higher education. This study adopted a qualitative, exploratory approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with 13 pioneers involved in 10 TDE projects across the Netherlands. Participants included educators, program developers, and researchers. Thematic analysis was employed to identify key goals, helping conditions, and barriers to TDE implementation. Four overarching goals emerged: achieving societal impact, fostering collaboration, enhancing learning, and ensuring organizational sustainability. The helping factors included shared goal setting, intrinsic motivation, sustainable collaborations, and psychological safety. Barriers encompassed institutional rigidity, insufficient time and resources, and the challenges of designing assessment frameworks compatible with TDE principles. Participants emphasized the importance of transformative learning, while identifying that the misalignment between traditional academic structures and TDE was a significant obstacle. The findings highlight systemic challenges in embedding TDE within monodisciplinary education systems and underline the necessity of institutional flexibility, long-term partnerships, and adaptable assessment practices. Recommendations for practice include fostering psychological safety, prioritizing inclusive goal setting, and integrating diverse perspectives into TDE projects. Future research should examine stakeholder perspectives beyond those of educators. This study provides insights into the helping and limiting factors of TDE, laying a foundation for optimizing its implementation in higher education and contributing to the development of a comprehensive framework for TDE practices.
Kurris et al. (Fri,) studied this question.