Abstract
Interdisciplinary teaching plays an important role in modern physics education by improving students’ understanding, problem-solving skills, and engagement through the integration of multiple disciplines. This study examines pre-service physics teachers’ perceptions of interdisciplinary teaching, focusing on their confidence in implementing interdisciplinary approaches, perceived benefits, and the challenges they expect. A Likert-scale survey was administered to 292 pre-service teachers from two universities in Kazakhstan. Findings indicate that students’ confidence in interdisciplinary teaching increases over time, while their recognition of its benefits remains consistently high across all academic years. However, barriers such as lack of training and feeling unprepared persist, even at the master’s level, indicating the need for structured interdisciplinary training. Institutional differences significantly impact students’ perceptions, with students from one university showing higher confidence levels than those from another, showing variations in curriculum and support systems. Gender differences in confidence were minimal. Additionally, perceptions of interdisciplinary teaching do not follow a linear trajectory, as students in their second and third years experienced a temporary decline in confidence before recovering in later years. Our findings indicate the need for structured interdisciplinary training in teacher education programs, institutional support to reduce disparities in confidence levels, targeted interventions during academic transitions, and ongoing professional development to address persistent barriers.