<p>This paper argues that curriculum integration (CI) is essential for a robust socioscientific issues (SSI) education that will prepare students to fully engage in the public discourse. While SSI, such as climate change and genetic modification, are inherently interdisciplinary, they are often taught within rigid disciplinary silos, particularly in secondary schools. This separation hinders students’ ability to understand the complexity of real-world problems and to fully engage with the interconnected ethical, political, and social dimensions of these topics.&#xa0;To address this challenge, we utilize Michael Young’s curriculum principle of powerful knowledge as a starting point to consider the benefits of CI, as well as its relationship to disciplinary knowledge. While powerful knowledge seemingly focuses on discipline-specific knowledge, we argue that the knowledge produced through CI, which synthesizes disciplinary learning with contextual and applied knowledge, should also be considered a form of powerful knowledge. Crossing disciplinary borders empowers students by providing opportunities to apply foundational disciplinary knowledge to complex problems, fostering skills like critical thinking, perspective-taking, and empathy. While CI is already implicitly present in SSI research, it can better align with existing pedagogical approaches when the integration is made more intentional. We also discuss systemic barriers, such as siloed school structures and teachers’ disciplinary identities, that may impede the adoption of CI. Ultimately, CI is not just beneficial but necessary to prepare students for meaningful engagement with the multifaceted challenges of SSI.</p>