Using chronotope to research the space-time relations of learning and education: Dimensions of the unit of analysis

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the emergent concept of chronotope and its deployment for the examination of space-time relations in research on learning and education. Chronotopes have been defined in terms of socially emergent configurations of space-time, where space and time are considered as interdependent social constructions. Chronotope is seen as a conceptual and analytical tool that allows reaching a sociocultural and dialogical understanding of human action and interaction in space-time. We argue that the existing chronotopic research has not been sufficiently explicit concerning how units of analysis are selected and conceptualized. To facilitate a wider adoption of this concept, we introduce and discuss four dimensions of chronotopic units of analysis (foregrounding processes, dialogicality, material-discursive features of space-time, and interdependency of space-time). We illustrate these dimensions by discussing how they were implicitly or explicitly included in the conceptualization of the unit of analysis in exemplary studies. In particular, we show how including one or more of these dimensions enabled to make “visible” educationally relevant phenomena and to discuss significant aspects of pedagogical practice. In all, our article contributes to make explicit and discuss the methodological foundations for using chronotope to research the space-time relations of learning.