Cultural Historical Activity Theory Research Articles

Researching student competence development through the lens of cultural historical activity theory

ABSTRACT In the present study, we followed a group of students over the course of a three-semester project aimed at increasing their abilities to express their competence development. Extensive data (video, transcripts, documentation of artifacts and communications, and field notes) was analyzed in a framework analysis based on cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT). We understood contradictions, either within or between students’ activity systems, as drivers for expansive learning. Based on the in-depth analysis of three exemplary students, this study adds to the understanding of competence development in higher education by pointing out its individuality and situatedness, as well as the social dimension of expansive learning. Implications call for researchers and educators not to take competence development for granted when designing learning opportunities, but deliberately to create spaces in which competence expression can be facilitated.

Understanding Complex Relationships between Teachers and Parents

Collaborative relationships between school and families are increasingly put forward as a means to promote student success and persistence. This collaborative work sometimes creates tensions and misunderstandings (Ravn, 2005) that can exacerbate divisions of power and reproduce inequalities (e.g., Crozier, 2000; Lareau, 2011; Vincent 2000). The main purpose of this study is to identify the areas of tensions and inner contradictions that emerge in the teacher-parent relationships in order to guide them while engaging in individual and collective transformation processes. Relying on Hoover-Dempsey et al.’s proposed model (2010), we conducted in-depth interviews with volunteered elementary and secondary teachers. Salient findings are discussed in light of the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) (Engeström, 2015). These include mainly issues of trust versus control when it comes to choosing communication tools and issues related to the hierarchical status and power inside and outside the school when it comes to the redistribution of actions among the school community members. As a promising research and intervention avenue, the authors suggest to apply the Change Laboratory method (Virkkunen & Newnham, 2013) anchored in CHAT and that uses mirror data to reflect upon and foster transformative processes, hence, relationships between teachers and parents.

Cultural Historical Activity Theory as a tool for reimagining WIL: Conducting contradiction analysis workshops and the implications for Change Laboratory work

Cultural Historical Activity Theory as a tool for reimagining WIL: Conducting contradiction analysis workshops and the implications for Change Laboratory work

“Fractional” Vocational Working and Learning in Project Teams: “Project Assemblage” as a Unit of Analysis?

Situated and Activity theories have exercised a significant influence in the field of vocational learning for some considerable time, both sharing a focus on bounded forms of work and forms of learning that facilitate learning in, or to changes to, bounded forms of work. Yet much learning occurs in unbounded contexts often referred to as projectification, where collaborations occur only for the life of a project thereby creating new contingent contexts for learning . Given the existence of this form of working and learning, what type of unit of analysis (UoA) is required to analyse that vocational working and learning in the context of projectification? To address this question, the paper advances the following inter-theoretical argument. Firstly, it is timely to develop a new unit of analysis (UoA) to capture the fractional (intermittent, discontinuous and concurrent) working and learning dynamics associated with the forms of projectification, where funding has to be procured in order to commence. Secondly, that unit of analysis is constituted by the concept of project assemblage, which is based on ideas from Actor Network Theory, Cultural-historical Activity Theory and Cultural Sociology. Thirdly, this new UoA enables researchers to identify the way in which project teams, where members are coming in-and-out, learn to use their different forms of specialist activity to enact objects, why team members will have different backgrounds and understandings of their work, why objects may not cohere, even though team members may treat them as unified and coherent, and how team members learn to incorporate one another’s insights and suggestions, and establish a finalized object.

Lost in translation: how can education about dementia be effectively integrated into medical school contexts? A realist synthesis

ObjectivesThe prevalence of dementia in both community and hospital settings requires a clinical workforce that is skilled in diagnosis and management of the condition to competently care for patients. Though...

The Mindful Interactions (MI) tool: promoting student mental health in tertiary education

This conceptual paper introduces the Mindful Interactions (MI) tool designed to enable university teaching academics to promote student mental health and in so doing, impact positively on academic outcomes. The MI tool is comprised of three elements: understandings to provide theoretical guidance which inform pedagogy, practices to provide strategies for translating theory into practice, and guiding principles which provide a catalyst for critical reflexion, challenge existing beliefs, and create a shared vision from which to work. Relationships are at its core, acknowledging that university students report teacher-student relationships as key to their mental health. Issues related to university student mental health, of which psychological distress is an important component, have been well documented and exacerbated since the onset of COVID-19, increasing demands on universities to meet student mental health needs. It is contended in this paper that understanding the causes of psychological distress, particularly in relation to Adverse Childhood Experiences, offers an alternative lens through which to view student mental health. This lens suggests additional ways of thinking about how university teaching academics and universities might proactively respond to student mental health needs. Cultural Historical Activity Theory informed the theoretical framework for the study, whilst two ‘approaches’ (the ‘Three Pillars of Trauma-informed Care’ and ‘Trust Based Relational Intervention’) along with associated trauma literature underpinned the development of the MI tool.

Individualising processes in the making: policy complexities and tensions of municipal adult education in Swedish for immigrants

This article examines individualising processes in the context of Municipal Adult Education in Swedish for Immigrants (SFI). Demands to adapt education to individual students’ needs are increasingly evident in adult education policies, requiring accountable authorities’ active engagement in enacting effective organisational frameworks while accommodating the labour market’s needs. Such endeavours are often sources of tensions. Conceptual tools from cultural-historical activity theory are employed to address the complexity and multiplicity of individualising processes. An analysis of policy documents and interviews with municipal actors shows that individualising processes are played out through tensions found in three areas of object formation: making of an individual student; making of an effective education; and making of a coherent society. Hence, the study unpacks how individualising processes elicit transformations of SFI education through destabilisation/restabilisation cycles in the involved actors’ activities, concluding by highlighting the concept’s dynamic and potentiality for development in contemporary adult education settings.

Assessment Strategies in Outcome-Based Education: Preferences and Practices Among University Lecturers in Vietnam

Amidst the diverse landscape of modern educational methodologies, outcome-based education (OBE) has gained prominence as an effective approach to teaching and learning. Originating from the desire to produce specific and measurable outcomes for learners, OBE focuses on what students should know and be able to do by the end of their educational experience. Motivated by the need to delve deeper into the implementation of OBE, particularly regarding assessment preferences, this study aims to explore the types of assessments preferred by university lecturers for implementing OBE in Vietnam. Building on the existing gap in literature that emphasizes the intricacies of OBE assessment choices, utilizing qualitative research methods, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 university lecturers from various disciplines. To analyze the gathered data, a thematic analysis approach was employed. The findings reveal a strong preference for formative assessments, aligning with educational theories such as Constructivism, Assessment for Learning (AfL), and the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). The study also highlights the growing adoption of project-based assessments, rubrics, and reflective practices as effective means of evaluating student outcomes. Contrary to prevailing trends, a subset of participants also advocated for well-designed standardized tests, providing a nuanced understanding of their role in OBE. Implications point to a significant shift in assessment culture within Vietnam’s higher education sector, with broader ramifications for educational policy and practice. Limitations and recommendations for further research are also discussed.

Towards a brain-compatible approach for online programming education through CHAT

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of higher education institutions were faced with the challenge of adopting various online platforms as a means for teaching and learning. This added an additional level of complexity in teaching modules such as programming, which are difficult to teach even in traditional classroom environments. Teaching and learning programming is difficult since the teaching does not only focus on programming, but should also show the students how to solve complex programming problems. Also, many programming students struggle to understand programming since they would typically not put their programming knowledge into practice outside of the learning environment. Online learning adds additional challenges, since the teacher is not available to provide immediate feedback which is one of the critical aspects in programming education. This paper reports on a case which considers brain-compatible principles when creating online programming content for learning programming. Furthermore, it reflects on the use of the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to delineate the various elements required for teaching and learning programming.

문화역사적 활동이론 관점에서 마을교육공동체 활동 분석과 활성화 방안

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze the process of creating, continuously growing, and evolving vil-lage schools in Gyeongnam Innovation City. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the activity system of village schools, based on Engestöm's Cultural Historical Activity Theory, and to study the growth and change of village schools which arose from the process of resolving contradictions.
 Methods We conducted a literature research, in-depth interviews, and participant observation, and analyzed the activity system based onEngestöm's Cultural Historical Activity Theory. Two in-depth interviews were conducted first with all village teachers at S village school and secondly with key managers among village teachers.
 Results The results of analyzing the village school's activity system from the perspective of cultural-historical ac-tivity theory are as follows. The five-year activity period of the village school is largely divided into two periods ac-cording to the contradictions and differences of the subject, tool, and object of the activity system. The main con-tradiction came from the difference in the individual situation and activity of the village teachers, and the differ-ence in perception between the village teachers who watched the identity and activity of the village school. The contradictions that appeared in the tool began with the practical difficulties of recruiting students, leading to two conflicting opinions: one to expand to resident participation activities and one to focus on student-centered activities. The contradictions in the community elements were expressed as the community's lack of under-standing of the village school, the absence of governance, and the uncertainty of financial support for the public offering project. The factor that led to the occurrence of expanded learning by overcoming major contradictions was that through continuous formal and informal meetings such as general meetings and teacher learning centers within the village, emotional intimacy was formed between village teachers and relationships expanded, thereby overcoming contradictions and conflicts. It appears that a new activity system has been creatively created.
 Conclusions In the results of this study, the elements necessary for the sustainability of village schools and vital-ization of village educational communities are as follows. First, it is a democratic communication structure and continuity of learning within the members. Second, the direction and activities of the village school can change, and this must be discussed and agreed upon with the village school members. Third, it is necessary to expand the range of contact with residents in the village and to have a network with the community in the village. Finally, it shows the need for the role and support of the Happy Education District and local governments in the formation of public, government, and academic governance for sustainable activities.

Learning to co-teach: understanding the co- in a mentored co-teaching activity

PurposeCo-teaching is a foundational mentoring model used in teacher residency programs in urban classrooms throughout the United States of America. Beyond the basic understanding of co-teaching in categorizing classroom models, the purpose of this qualitative case study is to investigate the dialectical tensions manifested in mentored co-teaching activities through the lens of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT).Design/methodology/approachDesigned as a qualitative case study of 17 pairs of teaching-residents and mentor-teachers, the authors used thematic analysis to scrutinize archival interview data in an urban teacher residency program located in the largest megalopolis of the USA Northeast. The authors used CHAT-based concept coding to analyze the interview narratives from participants across different secondary school placements as they reflected on their co-teaching philosophy and the relationships they built.FindingsThe authors found that for teaching-residents and mentor-teachers to co-develop as co-teachers, they jointly must learn to resolve the dialectical tensions of unbalanced classroom ownership vs added co-working responsibilities, breaking from routine so that a partnership can grow. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the prefix co- should be understood as (1) shifts in thinking that transcend the status quo and (2) the orchestration of human capital to change norms.Originality/valueThis new understanding of the prefix co- allows teacher education programs to better mediate the dialectical tensions experienced by co-teachers in a mentored co-teaching activity, from individual teacher learning (e.g. a pair/dyad comprising one teaching-resident and one mentor-teacher) to collective co-learning across activity systems (e.g. partnership-based teacher education).

Collaborative Learning in Engineering Design Education: A Systematic Literature Review

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Contribution:</i> This article presents a comprehensive overview of characteristics of educational designs of collaborative engineering design activities found in literature and how these characteristics mediate students’ collaboration. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Background:</i> Engineers have to solve complex problems that require collaboration. In education, various collaborative engineering design activities have been implemented to prepare students for these professional practices. According to cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), educational activities can be described in terms of interrelated elements, i.e., subject, object, tools, rules, division of labor, and community, that influence learning outcomes. A key issue is how these elements mediate students’ collaborative efforts and how they contribute to learning. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Research Questions:</i> 1) How is collaborative learning implemented in engineering design education? 2) How do the elements of CHAT and their interrelations mediate collaborative learning? and 3) What is the evidence that the implementation of collaborative learning contributed to the achievement of desired learning outcomes? <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Methodology:</i> A systematic literature review following preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analyses protocols guidelines was conducted, including 111 articles published between 2011 and 2021. CHAT was used as analytical framework. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Findings:</i> Collaborative learning was implemented in engineering design activities to develop technical as well as nontechnical skills. For the CHAT elements, it was found that establishing a common object, rules for collaboration, and division of labor are essential for effective collaboration and can be enhanced through digital technologies (tools) and support from a community, for example, educators. Finally, results showed that there is evidence that described implementations contribute to learning. However, this evidence needs to be interpreted with care, due to methodological issues in some included articles.

The "Creativity Crisis" as a Mind in Crisis: A Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Position.

Creativity is considered a global ability and crucial for ordinary-daily and special (e.g., science, aesthetic) activities. In this paper, from the position of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), we expand the debate about the creativity crisis and hypothesize that the noted crisis is only the tip of the iceberg represented by the crisis of the postmodern' incoherent mind, reflecting the crisis of self-realization as a leading activity in the individualistic epoch. By investigating creativity as an original functionality of the mind, two key titles are stressed. One is the halting of the activity system; two,it is the inconsistency between the objective meanings sphere and the subjective sense-making sphere. Both titles represent the epistemological rupture embedded in the mainstream culture and praxis rooted in the internal contradictions of individualism and post-modernism as worldview and practices, leading the mind to close its eyes on the contradictions which are the crucial source of grasping the internal content (abstraction and generalization) of the given experience, hence, a crucial source of creativity. Thus, it is considered that not only creativity is in crisis, but also the coherence of the mind as well, as an extreme result of the shattered postmodern existence.

Integrating Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and Authentic Learning with Technology in Teaching and Learning: A Case Study Analysis

This research work presents a comprehensive framework that merges Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (C), Authentic Learning (A), and six distinct roles of Technology (T) in the context of teaching and learning. The study reviews five individual case studies that explore the utilization of technology in educational settings, examining their alignment with the CAT framework. The research highlights the significance of adventure games as an effective medium for knowledge construction, wherein embedded puzzles and core content serve as extrinsic mediators, while discussions between players intrinsically mediate knowledge construction. Additionally, artifacts of mass media, such as games, software, and other media, facilitate knowledge production when they function as tools rather than objects of the activity. Drawing on Vygotskian concepts of social tool-mediated dialogical knowledge construction, the research concludes that games and media play an integral role in enhancing teaching and learning experiences. This study aims to contribute to the broader understanding of technology integration in education, encouraging educators to adopt transformative approaches to optimize the benefits of technology in the learning process.

Developing professional capacity for Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teaching in Vietnam: tensions and responses

In this paper, we report on an international collaborative project designed to address the professional development needs of Vietnamese teachers for the implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). We collected data on a group of CLIL Vietnamese teachers and leaders through online interviews. Drawing on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), the paper illuminates how CLIL teachers, as the subject of the professional learning (PL) system, utilized tools to develop their capacity for CLIL teaching against the backdrop of various sociocultural factors that regulate this learning process. The analysis helped us to identify various challenges facing CLIL teachers’ PL. These challenges arose from an absence of an effective learning system mostly related to contextual obstacles and widespread misconceptions, even among the leaders and CLIL trainers, about the nature of CLIL. This study contributes suggestions to enhance the quality of PL for CLIL teachers, which is a pressing issue for the successful implementation of CLIL in the context of Vietnam and beyond.

Relationships between Organizational Factors and Teachers’ Knowledge and Use of Culturally Relevant Education

Background/Context: Culturally relevant education (CRE) is a powerful tool for improving students’ educational experiences and outcomes. Yet CRE is not the norm in U.S. public education systems (Achinstein &amp; Ogawa, 2011, 2012; Borrero et al., 2016; Coffey &amp; Farinde-Wu, 2016), perhaps because teachers are socialized into systems that reproduce and uphold white-normed practice (Leonardo &amp; Manning, 2017). The organizational contexts and conditions surrounding teachers’ practice could be a tool for leaders and policy makers to promote the use of CRE in schools. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how three organizational factors—administrative support, school culture, and curricula—may contribute to teachers’ knowledge and enactment of CRE. We framed our analysis using cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) (Cole &amp; Engeström, 1993), a tool for examining how learning is situated in contexts and conditions, and how these contexts and conditions mediate teaching practice (Foot, 2014). Research Design: Guided by the tenets of quantitative critical inquiry (Stage, 2007; Stage &amp; Wells, 2014), we used survey data from 534 teachers in 33 schools in the 2019 school year to explore how three organizational factors (i.e., administrative support, school culture, and curricula) contribute to teachers’ knowledge and enactment of CRE. We collected data in spring 2019 in a high-poverty urban district in the southeastern United States serving predominantly students of color. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test each scale’s dimensionality, accounting for clustering by school, and then used structural equation modeling (SEM) to model relationships among the organizational factors and teachers’ self-reported CRE knowledge and practice. Conclusions/Recommendations: Our analysis indicated that curricular resources for CRE and collective expectations for CRE—an element of school culture—were both positively associated with teachers’ self-reported CRE knowledge. CRE knowledge, curricular resources for CRE, and administrative support were positively associated with teachers’ self-reported CRE practice. Finally, CRE knowledge partially mediated the relationship between curricular resources for CRE and CRE practice. Notably, general curricular resources were negatively associated with CRE practice. Findings suggest that norms and curricula focused on the use of CRE are crucial for enhancing teachers’ knowledge and use of CRE practice; general curricular resources may not foster teachers’ work in providing CRE in their classrooms. Finally, findings suggest that administrators may be uniquely positioned to help teachers transform their practice. We discuss implications for research and practice, in light of present efforts to curtail teachers’ use of CRE in seeking to provide students with meaningful educational opportunities.

Promoting formative assessment practices in senior phase mathematics classrooms using meaning equivalence reusable learning objects

South African mathematics teachers in the Senior Phase (Grades 8 and 9) were introduced to the pedagogical tool, meaning equivalence reusable learning objects (MERLO), as a formative assessment (FA) strategy to promote and support teachers’ professional growth in using FA practices in the classroom. The cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) and meta-didactical transposition (MDT) were used to frame the evolution process of teachers’ praxeologies. In this study we used qualitative participatory action research that encompassed 3 phases: pre-MERLO phase, MERLO workshop and post-MERLO phase. The study was conducted in the northeast of Pretoria in the Tshwane district in the Gauteng province, South Africa. Twelve Senior Phase mathematics teachers were purposively sampled in 6 public schools before the workshop training. During the workshop training, only 5 teachers participated due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The data collection techniques included pre- and post-interviews, workshop training sessions, classroom observations, field notes, teachers’ reflective journals, teachers’ lesson plans, learners’ workbooks and learners’ worksheets, and data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that the teachers acquired adequate knowledge and skills to effectively structure and integrate the lesson plan of teachers’ didactical praxeologies as FA activities into their mathematics classrooms. The findings also reveal that the learners showed more interest and motivation, were actively involved, developed a deeper understanding of mathematics content, and showed increased autonomy in learning. Future research could involve implementing MERLO in all South African provinces and introducing MERLO to other emerging countries. However, the findings of this study are based on a limited sample of teachers and schools, and the recommendation is that, for future studies, more teachers should be involved in the MERLO professional development.

An Activity Theoretical Perspective on Writing and Supervising a Master’s Thesis

For students as novice researchers, a master’s thesis is the most demanding component because it requires them to display and learn research skills and work independently. Unfortunately, master thesis supervision has remained far from the limelight of university pedagogy. Drawing on mixed-methods research, this paper characterizes the writing and supervising of a master’s thesis from the perspective of cultural-historical activity theory. It presents various components of the activity system and how the interaction between these systems creates conflicts and contradictions. The implications of such an understanding to effective master’s thesis writing and supervision have been provided.

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.

Facilitating students as partners: co-researching with undergraduates in Asian university contexts

ABSTRACT Students as partners (SaP) has become an impactful practice in higher education as it enables students to take ownership of their learning and exercise agency. However, the implementation of SaP, particularly in Asia, has encountered many challenges, including concerns about a large power distance between students and teachers. Despite the emerging interests in exploring SaP in several Asian regions, there have been few studies about students’ experiences of partnership throughout a project life cycle. This study explores students’ experiences of SaP in three projects spanning two research-intensive universities in Hong Kong based on the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and positioning theory. Data were collected from exit interviews with student partners, their reflective writings, and their responses to open-ended questions in a post-project survey. Our main contribution is the discovery of multiple contradictions between the project designs and students’ enactment of partnership. Specifically, students’ hesitation in assuming a partner’s role was related to their disciplinary identity, the inquiry methods of the projects, and the pre-determined project specifications. In contrast, the cultural factors, which are largely framed as barriers in the literature, only affected the partnership development at the beginning of the project. Our study implies that future SaP projects need to ensure the alignment between project designs and a partner’s role to facilitate equal and sustainable contributions from students and staff members.