Activity Theory Framework Research Articles

“This Is Exactly the Type of Activity the Museum Should Be Doing All the Time”

Recent research suggests that the use of natural history collections in museum education can be beneficial for science engagement and public education. This study expands on this extant research through an exploration of a natural history Live Lab exhibit, in which museum faculty, staff, and volunteers prepared paleontological specimens for collection while engaging the public in science education in an interactive exhibit space. Using a framework of activity theory, a mixed-methods survey was distributed to individuals who participated in the Live Lab to explore the interactions of the subjects, objects, tools, outcomes, rules, and labor division in the Live Lab. Twenty-two (n = 22) individuals responded, and their quantitative and qualitative responses to this survey were openly coded and analyzed. This analysis revealed that participants valued engaging the public with paleontology, believed both themselves and the public benefited from the exhibit, and expressed enthusiasm for future interactive and collections-based exhibits. Conversely, some participants also experienced challenges with the physical Live Lab space, feelings of unpreparedness, and hesitations about personal skills when engaging in public outreach. As such, a future Live Lab or similar collections-based exhibits are recommended alongside greater preparation and training for those staffing the exhibit.

Negotiating Safety by Movements: Articulation, Alignment and Separation between Train Driving and Railway Traffic Controlling Activities

This article explores the negotiation of safety between two distinct activity systems that operate jointly on a daily basis: train driving and railway traffic controlling. We have employed cultural-historical activity theory and an ethnographic case study of a large European passenger and freight transport company to pinpoint three different types of movement underpinning the negotiation of safety. These different movements can be found in work organization, work situations, and workers’ actions. The negotiation of safety would appear to be based on the movements of articulation (articulation, disarticulation, re-articulation), alignment (alignment, misalignment, realignment), and separation (separation, re-separation, de-separation) between activity systems. Within the framework of activity theory, we have used evidence from highly reliable organizations and the management of high-risk organizations to offer a better understanding of the movements between activity systems in safety negotiation.

Understanding Children’s Learning of Part–Whole Relations Using Fingu

AbstractIn this article, we investigate the effects of the app Fingu on a child’s understanding of the part-whole concept. Using the Artifact Centric Activity Theory framework, we initially analyse the internalisation and externalisation processes that appear to occur during one child’s use of the app. Based on the learning from this process, we then use other aspects of the framework, in particular the subject-artifact-group triangle, to understand how Fingu might be used productively in mathematics education classrooms. Using a 13-min video of a child playing Fingu as our data source, we analyse how children might, as they learn about part-whole relationships, interact with the game. We also investigate how design principles in creating apps can impact on the experience of using the app in ways that may be unintended by their designers. This work has implications for app designers and for mathematics educators seeking to incorporate digital technologies into mathematics education.

Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Tax as Panacea to Backlog of Gratuities and Pensions of Civil Servants in Nigeria

Gratuities and pensions are payments due to retired civil servants; however, payments of these have not been timely and consistent to the extent that 23 state governments are owing N836.40 billion as gratuities and pension liabilities as of the end of 2022. Non-payment of these retirement benefits is often accompanied by social and health problems, leading to the premature death of retirees. Consequently, this study aims to examine the potential of monthly Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax to eliminate the backlog of retirement benefits owed to retired civil servants. To achieve this aim, quantitative secondary data of PAYE tax collections by state governments is collected from the annual Internally Generated Revenue reports of states published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2010-2022. Descriptive statistical analysis tools are employed to analyze collected data while Burgess’s activity theory and public policy analytical framework guided the conduct of the study. On the overall, results from the study revealed that while the 23 state governments owe N836.40billion as liabilities of retirement as at 2022, the same states have collected the sum of N5,672billion as PAYE tax 2010-2022. On individual states, 20 states have collected PAYE tax 2010-2022 more than their liabilities of retirement benefits, while only three states collected PAYE tax less than their accumulated liabilities of retirement benefits. The short-run policy implication is for states to set aside collected PAYE tax to settle the backlog of benefits and adopt the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to avoid future recurrence of the backlog

Bridging Motivation and AI in Education: An Activity Theory Perspective

After the pandemic, research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of education has seen a significant increase globally. Although this topic is not new to education, very few studies conducted before the pandemic addressed the problem of supporting internal motivation in students, crucial for the quality of learning and knowledge retention. This study explores the extent to which this topic is covered in recent research by conducting a cross-disciplinary literature review within the theoretical framework of Activity Theory (AT). It aims to identify the extent of coverage of all types of relationships between nodes in the educational activity system, with special attention to Subject (students) and Object, as this central relationship embodies the motive-driven nature of human activity. The analysis incorporated 69 articles from Scopus published from 2020 till present. The results demonstrate coverage of only some relationships: Subject-Tools (students interaction with AI technology), Tools-Object (development of AI technologies), Tools-Community (adapting AI within an educational community). The central relationship between Subject and Object remains unexplored. Practical implications involve developing and integrating AI tools to stimulate intrinsic motivation by emphasizing personal meaning. Theoretical outcomes involve exploring how to foster and sustain students' intrinsic motivation in relation to AI.

Exploring Iranian EAP teachers’ well-being: an activity theory perspective

Despite the growth of research on EAP teachers in the past decade, little research has focused on their emotions and much less on their well-being. In response to this gap of knowledge, the present study draws on the theoretical framework of activity theory and explores the well-being of 13 Iranian EAP teachers. We collected data from a questionnaire, narrative frames, and semi-structured interviews. Data analyses revealed three themes in relation to the teachers’ well-being: (1) content as a site of experiencing positive and negative emotions, (2) content and institutional contextualities as determinants of seeking purpose in EAP instruction, and (3) sociocultural parameters as shaping meaning in EAP instruction. We found that EAP teacher well-being functions as a layered construct that is influenced by various personal, institutional, and sociocultural dynamics, and substantially influences teachers’ professional practices, identities, and emotions. Across these processes, content operates as the antecedent or consequence of the influence in EAP instruction. Based on the findings, we provide implications for teachers and teacher educators in how to employ professional alternatives that could effectively contribute to EAP teachers’ well-being.

Exploring Chinese kindergarten teachers’ identities and emotions: A sociocultural perspective

This study explores the identities and emotions of 12 Chinese kindergarten teachers from Shenzhen and Shanghai. Using the cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT) framework, we examined how daily tensions shape teachers' identities and emotions. An activity systems analysis identified five emotion-related identities that teachers frequently perceived. The study highlights tensions arising from misaligned objectives, power dynamics, and teacher identity. It suggests that teachers' emotions reflect their notions of self regarding how they believe they should be, act, and understand. The study has implications for teacher education and development, illustrating the complex interplay between teachers’ identities, emotions, and sociocultural contexts.

“Curriculum-based or ideology-based”: An action research on China's curriculum-based ideology and virtuous awareness education in second language writing teaching: An activity theory perspective

This study addresses the prevalent challenges in curriculum-based ideology and virtuous awareness education specifically focusing on the issues of insufficient understanding and exploration of curriculum-based ideology and virtuous awareness elements by Chinese college teachers in the use of second language writing textbooks, as well as the monotonous teaching activities and content models. In response to these challenges, a two-cycle action research was conducted to integrate second language writing teaching into curriculum-based ideology and virtuous awareness education within the framework of Activity Theory. Through teacher observations, interviews, and reflections from both teachers and students, findings were found that: 1) teachers should pay attention to practicing the compilation principles and concepts of textbook compilers, and deeply explore the ideological and political elements of unit themes and contents according to their principles and concepts; 2) the construction of curriculum-based ideology and virtuous awareness community for similar courses, especially the construction of virtual community, is the urgent need for teachers, and is also an effective way to select ideological and political materials; 3) the construction of curriculum-based ideology and virtuous awareness courses should be implemented in all dimensions of professional teaching with planning, forming a systematic teaching mode of curriculum-based ideology and virtuous awareness courses. The findings of this research offer valuable insights into the integration of foreign language education and curriculum-based ideology and virtuous awareness education, with the overarching goal of fostering value shaping, ability building, and knowledge imparting.

College Composition Graduate Instructors’ Development of Conceptual and Practical Tools for Responding to Student Writing

Recent scholarship has demonstrated the need for criticality toward writing assessments that privilege standard language ideologies and correctness-based approaches. However, teachers continue to experience discrepancies between their intentions and actions, struggling to address both content and form in facilitative, constructive commentary. This study uses the activity theory framework of pedagogical tools, composed of conceptual and practical tools, to analyze through interviews and commented-on papers how two college composition graduate instructors responded to student writing. This study finds that while one teacher held and enacted consistent and congruent pedagogical tools grounded in sociocultural theories of writing development, the other experienced entrenched conflict between competing beliefs about evaluative and process-oriented purposes for teaching writing. These contrastive experiences illustrate how instructors’ development of pedagogical tools is mediated by interactions between their epistemological orientations and language ideologies, reinforcing the need to surface tacit beliefs about Standardized English and academic writing. This study concludes with recommendations for productive intervention in novice composition teachers’ development of response practices.

Э.В. Ильенков о свободе воли

<p>Evald Ilyenkov’s works explores the issue of free will within the framework of activity theory. According to him, the concept of freedom is linked to the general activity of living beings in the external world and to the purposeful nature of this activity. Human freedom, or the ‘freedom of the will’, is treated as acting in accordance with the “purpose of the species”, that is, the interests of human society. The will is a psychological function that subordinates an individual’s activity to the goals and norms of social life. Alternative doctrines postulate free will as an immediate “fact of consciousness”, discovered through introspection and underlying human activity. This is where traditional empirical psychology intersects with the physiological doctrine of the unconditional reflex of freedom. Ilyenkov regards such a conception of free will as a “psychological illusion” and examines the implications of this illusion in the classic experiments of academician Ivan Pavlov. The article offers a cultural-historical perspective on the development of the human mind as a process of increasing free will: the emancipation of mental activity from the captivity of natural affects through the use of cultural tools and man’s rational understanding of the world and himself.</p>

Co-development of client involvement in health and social care services: examining modes of interaction

PurposeThe involvement of clients in service encounters and service development has become a central principle for contemporary health and social care organizations. However, in day-to-day work settings, the shift toward client involvement is still in progress. We examined how health and social care professionals, together with clients and managers, co-develop their conceptions of client involvement and search for practical ways in which to implement these in organizational service processes.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical case of this study was a developmental intervention, the client involvement workshop, conducted in a Finnish municipal social and welfare center. The cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) framework was used to analyze the development of client involvement ideas and the modes of interaction during the intervention.FindingsAnalysis of the collective discussion revealed that the conceptions of client involvement developed through two interconnected object-orientations: Enabling client involvement in service encounters and promoting client involvement in the service system. The predominant mode of interaction in the collective discussion was that of “coordination.” The clients' perspective and contributions were central aspects in the turning points from coordination to cooperation; professionals crossed organizational boundaries, and together with clients, constructed a new client involvement-based object. This suggests that client participation plays an important role in the development of services.Originality/valueThe CHAT-based examination of the modes of interaction clarifies the potential of co-developing client-involvement-based services and highlights the importance of clients' participation in co-development.

Expanding Our Understanding of Birth Doulas’ Emotional and Informational Support Role: A Qualitative Analysis of Interventions Delivered During COVID-19

Birth doulas were classified as nonessential personnel during COVID-19 and generally excluded from providing physical, in-hospital birth support. This amplified their emotional and informational support to clients, offering a unique opportunity to examine psychological mechanisms underlying birth doulas’ impact on perinatal outcomes. We conducted a methodologically rigorous qualitative case study leveraging a social action theory framework and interviewed 15 demographically diverse birth doulas. Doulas played an important role in supporting their clients’ psychological change processes (e.g., problem solving, outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, goal structures, cognitive schemas). This study contributes to our understanding of psychosocial interventions that may drive the positive effects of doula care on health outcomes, both within and beyond the pandemic context.

The Impact of social media on Deviance and Crime

The popularity of social media platforms in the digital age has revolutionized how people engage with one another, share information, and interact with their environment. With the framework of social learning theory and routine activity theory, this article aims to summarize and analyze the impact of social media on deviance and crime. As a result, it is now clear how social media has an impact on a variety of societal issues, such as crime and deviance. Using information from a wide range of academic sources, this paper explores the complex connection between social media and crime or deviance. Through the lenses of routine activity theory, social learning theories, and cyber lifestyle-routine activities theory, this study examines the intricate interplay between online behaviors and offline behaviors in an effort to better understand the complex effects of social media on deviance and crime. Meanwhile, people can harness the benefits of social media while reducing its negative effects on crime and deviance by developing rules that address these issues and encouraging a culture of responsible online activity.

Tripartite collaboration in student research and development projects

ABSTRACT This study was conducted within the framework of the cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), focusing on tripartite collaborations among university teachers, practice teachers, and student teachers. Change Laboratory workshops were held, where participants discussed what enables and what constrains student teachers to accomplish their assignments. Transcripts of the audio-recorded discussions were analysed using the constant comparative method and D-analysis, a protocol for analysing communication in discussions. The study results show that all voices were heard and that the parties gradually managed to move from separate positions towards a joint focus and new ways of collaborating. The solution includes a new and more active teacher educator role for the practice teacher. The study contributes to the debate on how universities and schools realise a professionally oriented teacher education.

Role of Individual's Subjective Well-Being in Exposure to Hate Material on Twitter; An Analysis of Lahore-Based University Students

The research examines the association between hate material exposure and subjective well- being on Twitter using a sample of private and public universities in Lahore. The researcher aims to identify how life happiness & satisfaction are associated with higher exposure to hate material. Data is collected through an online survey (n = 400). The researcher used the theoretical framework of Routine Activity Theory. The findings of the research did not determine any significant relationship between the lower level of subjective well-being and exposure to hate material on Twitter (p > 0.05) because hatred content is easily available and accessible on the Internet and does not require any specific psychological or behavioural situation for having being exposed. Attention is given to the problems which become the cause of sharing hateful content online. The study recommends that SNS should focus more on policies to control hateful content as it is targeting people who result in violent behaviours.

Teachers' Views on the Application of Educational Technologies in the Classroom: A Case of Selected Tshwane West Secondary Schools in Gauteng

The teaching profession is moving toward the use of educational technologies (ET) in the form of tablets, laptops, and reliable internet in the classroom to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. The use of these tools in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is believed to positively impact how teachers deliver the curriculum. Teachers’ views on the application of educational technologies in the classroom are examined in this paper. The opinions of the teachers are crucial since they could influence whether or not the technologies are accepted. This study used a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers from one district in Gauteng province. A purposive sampling method was used to select these teachers on the basis that Gauteng is the leading province in ICT integration in schools. Data were analysed thematically from teachers’ responses. The Activity Theory framework was used to underpin the study. According to the findings, teachers voiced their dissatisfaction with the use of these technologies and other issues they face, such as poor technical support, a lack of equipment for maintaining educational technologies, inferior educational technology infrastructure, and unreliable Internet connectivity. Additionally, teachers called on the Department of Basic Education to provide professional development in technology integration and to equip schools with infrastructure as well as Wi-Fi.

New academics’ experiences of induction to teaching: using Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to understand and improve induction experiences

ABSTRACT This paper uses insider research within a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framework to examine the lived induction-to-teaching experiences of twelve new academics at a case-study Northern UK university. A CHAT lens foregrounds contradictions as a source for change in the induction-to-teaching process. Data generated through semi-structured interviews with these academics were analysed and, informed by CHAT, allowed us to discern contradictions in sociocultural and structural aspects of the induction activity systems which significantly impact new academics’ experiences. Examining these contradictions enabled us to identify interventions for enhancing academic induction policy and practice within the case-study University, but also more widely.

Perspectives of the educational psychologist’s role in a multi-agency children’s social care team: A cultural-historical activity theory framework

Aim(s)This study explored views of the role of the Educational Psychologist (EP) working in multi-agency teams (MATs) supporting care experienced children (CEC), from both the perspectives of EPs and Social Workers (SWs) in Wales.Method/RationaleNumbers of children in care is rising in Wales, and the diversification of the role sees greater involvement of EPs in MATs supporting CEC. Online semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with five SW and EP pairs from MATs in Wales. EP and SW transcripts were analysed separately using reflexive Thematic Analysis (TA), before further analysis using the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framework to explore tensions and contradictions.FindingsTA findings are presented in two thematic maps. TA of EP interviews highlighted EP’s core and bespoke contributions to multi-agency working, the unique EP input, as well as their skills in working at a variety of levels through direct working with CEC, families, other stakeholders, and the MAT. Analysis of SW interviews highlighted the unique contributions of the EP as well as their essential role in supporting the collaboration of the MAT. The complexity of findings is further examined through application to the CHAT framework.LimitationsLimitations include the absence of the voice of CEC, families, educational and residential settings, as well as the limitations of the semi-structured interview approach to exploring and unpicking the complexity of MATs.ConclusionsBest practice involves the integration of models of practice, and clarifying purpose, roles, and responsibilities. Suggestions for using CHAT to support MAT establishment and functioning are provided.

Adaptation of Activity Theory Framework for Effective Online Learning Experiences: Bringing Cognitive Presence with Teaching and Social Presences in Online Courses

The study logic is constructed on offering online courses can be seen a new way of enhancing a cognitive presence besides teaching and social presences of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model. Creating and enhancing cognitive, teaching, and social presences require an innovation for teachers during planning, implementing, and evaluating their online courses. As teachers develop their own expertise in teaching online, so hopefully they contribute to enhance cognitive, teaching, and social presences for effective online learning. This study reviews models for online learning experiences and propose a new model by adapting activity theory in the online learning management context. This study presents a framework aims to adapt activity theory to present how to design, develop, implement, and evaluate online courses that enhance a cognitive presence besides teaching and social presences. This study suggest to consider objects as online learning experiences with cognitive presence, teaching presence, social presence since enhancing cognitive presence, teaching presence and social presence means to reach learning outcomes of the course besides matching the required qualifications of higher education.

Cross-sector collaborations via Facebook: teachers’ use of social media

This paper reports on a study that explored the user-driven inter-organisational professional learning that teachers from two education systems collectively engaged in via social media. A dedicated Facebook group was established to enable Australian early childhood teachers (sector one) and primary school teachers (sector two) to engage in collaborations that would support children’s transition to school. Using an Activity Theory framework, findings showed that the site was mainly used by early childhood teachers to seek peer support in meeting reporting requirements, and that school teachers rarely posted. As such, the capacity of the Facebook group to support inter-organisational cross-sector collaboration and learning was challenged as determined by the most active participants within the site, while reinforcing the group’s capacity to support ‘just in time’ intra-organisational professional learning. This highlights a need for further research to explore the ways and means by which social media may best facilitate cross-sector collaboration between education systems, such as a more focussed and integrated use of social media during face-to-face cross-sector professional learning.