Addressing the moral agency of culturally specific care perspectives

Abstract

Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), as a culturally sensitive framework, realises the totality of caring in context. Few, if any, investigations into caring have articulated CHAT as a feasible mode of inquiry for inserting the cultural perspectives of both the researcher and the researched. This article elucidates CHAT as an intelligible and fruitful alternative to unearthing the moral agency of a culturally specific care outlook. Cultural Historical Activity Theory, as an epistemological orientation, brought into relief the complexities associated with agency, culture and morality as they pertain to one African American educator. A data example delineates this educator’s moral agency as deliberate, unconscious intentions and actions shaped by powerful determinants such as race and racism. Her goal-directed moral actions gave way to activities that motivated a particular care theory and approach grounded in Black Cultural Ethos.