Cultural-historical Theory Research Articles

FORMAÇÃO DE PROFESSORES EM UM COLETIVO: ALGUNS PRINCÍPIOS ORIENTADORES

ABSTRACT: This study falls within the field of research focused on teacher training, aiming to understand how these professionals are trained in a collective context, such as a study and research group. This article presents an interpretation of actions carried out in a study and research group, which, based on certain principles, can guide the teacher training of the participants. The intention is to view this training from the perspective of activity, based on the premise that a collective study and research group that emphasizes actions beyond its structural dimensions offers training that, with new qualities, transforms the individuals involved. Thus, a research was developed based on the premises of Historical-Cultural Theory, with the objective of understanding the principles that guide teacher training in a collective. Data were produced through the analysis of actions carried out in a study and research group with 18 members, comprising undergraduate students, teachers pursuing postgraduate studies, and/or teachers from Basic Education or Higher Education participating in its projects. The analytical process, grounded in the dialectic between the guiding and executing dimensions, sought to identify guiding principles of teacher training in the group through the various actions it develops. The results indicate that these actions allow the principles to be actualized, facilitating the formation of individuals from the perspective of a collectivist personality, based on the affective-cognitive unity constituted in the process of participating in the group/collective, which can contribute to the personality development of the individuals involved.

The Virtual Identity Status: The Concept and Inventory (VISI)

The objective of the study was to develop and test the methodology to assess virtual identity statuses: identity achieved, moratorium, foreclosure, diffusion. The digital image, mediated by technologies and self-simulated, refers to the virtual identity, but the basis of its psychological mechanism remains unknown. The psychological scientists study the impact of digital experiences on virtual identity, yet no research has been conducted to date that captures the statuses this complex entity. Our study of the virtual identity statuses draws on E. Erikson's conceptualizations of the identity development and provisions of cultural-historical theory. This study applies an originally designed Virtual Identity Status Inventory (VISI). The study also measured: the five broad personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism) and self-determination. The sample comprised 350 students (age range 17 to 25 years; 44.3% men). For data processing, confirmatory factor analyses, Cronbach coefficient alpha, Pear son’s r-test, and Student's t-test were applied in the SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21 programs. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the 2-factor structure of the inventory, formed by the scales “In-Depth Exploration” and “Meaningfulness of Commitment” (χ2/df = 1.17; p = .08; RMSEA = .07; CFI = .93). We modeled these variables into 4 quadrants formed by a 2-axis circumflex integration of scales in 4 virtual identity statuses. We found that male students, who were open to new experiences and high in self-determination, significantly often demonstrated an achieved virtual identity (p < .01). The status of virtual identity was relatively stable during 2 months (φ* = .21). Thus, the VISI is reliable and valid, and can be used as a tool for solving theoretical, empirical, and experimental problems related to identity development in digital space.

INOVAÇÃO PEDAGÓGICA? ANÁLISE SOBRE O USO DE UM LIVRO DIDÁTICO DIGITAL ACESSÍVEL

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the use of an accessible digital textbook built based on the perspective of the universal design for learning. The quantitative and qualitative study was carried out in public schools of four teaching networks of Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the participation of 21 students with disability, their teachers from regular classes and the specialized educational service, as well as the classmates. The analysis, according to the cultural-historical theory, problematizes concepts such as pedagogical innovation, pedagogical mediation, and use of technological resources at school.

LA LECTURA LITERARIA DESDE LA PERSPECTIVA DE LA TEORÍA HISTÓRICO-CULTURAL

The theme of literacy is marked by worldview disputes. In this sense, this research aims to discuss the importance of literary reading in the literacy process, based on the assumptions of the historical-cultural theory. Thus, the following question arises: what are the main implications of literary reading for the literacy process, based on the assumptions of the cultural-historical theory? This is bibliographical research, with qualitative data treatment and a critical-dialectical approach, using the Marxist categories 'content' and 'form'. Although incipient, the results point to the possibility of re-dimensioning the literacy process based on literary reading, from the perspective of historical-cultural theory. An approach that goes beyond the didactic-instrumental perspective, a process focused on the formation of the reader subject.

Meaning of Problem in School Mathematics: From Exercise and Application to the Learning-Triggering Problem

Background: There are, in the school context, especially in mathematics education, different historical and cultural meanings that are being produced and impregnated in the term Problem, as well as different understandings regarding the roles of Problems in teaching practices, which justifies studies focused on to the analysis of the implications of such conceptual meanings in the training of teachers who teach mathematics. Objectives: The aim is to answer the question: What are the meanings of Problem present in research and publications that dialogue with training for teaching mathematics? What would be, specifically, the meaning of Problem from a cultural-historical perspective? Design: The research was carried out with students of the degree course in mathematics of a Brazilian public institution, in which they participated in a training movement that had Problems as mediators. In the context of that research, theoretical and bibliographical studies were developed to understand ideas impregnated in didactic-pedagogical proposals that exalt the importance of Problems in teaching practices. We recognise these ideas as meanings based on the analysis that considers the theoretical and methodological assumptions of the cultural-historical theory. Setting and participants: Publications that circulated in the context of the training course for mathematics teachers were analysed, which contextualised the research that gave rise to this clipping about the understandings of the authors of those texts regarding their understanding of the possible relationships between the Problem and the teaching of mathematics. Data collection and analysis: The texts were selected from the bibliographies present in the teaching plans of the subjects of that degree course or that were used as a textual reference during the formative experiment carried out to produce research data and were analysed according to the assumptions of the cultural-historical theory to the concept of meaning. Results: The results point to the constitution of meanings according to which the Problems are usually adopted, in teaching practices, as lessons already presented or as opportunities to apply concepts in supposedly everyday situations. There is also a process of meaning from which the Problems are understood, from a cultural-historical perspective, as triggers of mathematics learning. Conclusions: The main conclusion points to the understanding that the Problems play, historically and culturally, some roles in mathematics teaching practices, among which, three stand out: they are opportunities to practice lessons already taught; they are opportunities to apply techniques, algorithms, or definitions in simulated situations (problem solving); or they are learning-triggering problems.

Использование культурно-исторической теории для анализа образовательного неравенства: потенциал, барьеры, перспективы

<p>The cultural-historical theory, which is basic for Soviet and post-Soviet Russian psychological science, is based on the idea of "specifically human" higher mental functions. The key concepts for the theory of "social situation of development", "zone of proximal development" include as a central element the cooperation of the child with other people. The article shows that in the works of followers of cultural-historical theory psychology in the USSR and modern Russia, very little attention was paid to the problems of development and learning related to differences in the characteristics of the sociocultural environment and interaction with teachers and peers. Explanations of this phenomenon are offered. The examples of the development of L.S.Vygotsky's ideas in the studies of educational inequality in foreign sociology are analyzed, the importance for Russian science of using cultural-historical theory to understand the mechanisms of the relationship between the peculiarities of social circumstances and the dynamics of child development, the analysis of pedagogical discourse is substantiated.</p>

Сравнительный анализ подходов Л.С. Выготского и Дж. Боулби к развитию ребенка на первом году жизни

<p>Objective: To compare the positions of L.S. Vygotsky and J. Bowlby regarding three critical aspects of mental development of a child: the characteristics of newborn perception, the extent of an infant's engagement in early social interaction, and the psychological nature of the bond between an infant and its mother. Method: a comparative analysis. Results. The authors' viewpoints share common ground in acknowledging the child's immediate engagement in social relationships following birth and the pivotal role of a primary caregiver figure in the child's development. Nevertheless, disparities in the interpretation of “primordial we" and "attachment" concepts, employed by the authors to elucidate the specifics of the child's connection with the mother or a caregiver, are explored. The study reveals a divergence between L.S. Vygotsky's postulate of infant helplessness, forming the foundation of the developmental social context at this stage, and J. Bowlby's perspective, emphasizing the presence of highly effective inborn forms of social perception and behavior in infants. Conclusions. These disparities in the authors' viewpoints may be attributed to their reliance on different research paradigms, with one emphasizing culture-centred approach and the other adopting an evolution-centred approach. L.S. Vygotsky's assertion about infant helplessness, though lacking empirical validation, maintains its theoretical importance as a direction in the search for the unique course of human development. Keywords: cultural-historical theory, attachment theory, newborn, childhood, infancy.</p>

Копинг-стратегии в период формирующейся взрослости у российских студентов

<p>As people grow up, coping strategies shift towards more adaptive styles, but little is known about coping processes in relation to psychological attributes of the new transitional period of “emerging adulthood” (ages 18-25). Applying the cultural-historical theory developed by L.S. Vygotsky and the ideas of J. Arnett’s neo-Eriksonian cultural theory of development, we have investigated the parameters of emerging adulthood (identity exploration and self-focus; negativity and instability; personal freedom; experimentation and possibilities; feeling in-between; and other-focus) as peculiar features of social situation of development related to coping strategies among Russian students. The sample consisted of data obtained from 510 students, aged 18 to 25 (40,1% male), studying at universities in cities of Moscow and Tula, Russia. The study presents the measurements of emerging adulthood (IDEA-R) and coping strategies (WCQ) using methods adapted to the Russian research pool. The findings suggest that prolongation of the transitional period to adulthood is associated with an increase in avoidant and emotion-focused coping strategies. We have found that the degree of anxiety caused by transitional instability and self-focus of young adults could work as predictors of attempts to overcome difficulties. Among themare problem denial, inflated expectations, suppression of emotions and self-blaming.The degree of openness to experimenting with life, optimism about the future, identity exploration, and other-focus worked as predictors of problem-solving, positive rethinking of the challenging situation, and seeking social support. We noticed that age and gender factors reduce the degree of dependence of coping strategies on psychological attributes of emerging adulthood. The study materials contribute to the understanding of the processes the age-related psychological development of modern youth deals with.</p>

Evaluation of Teacher's Classroom Practices in the Context of Vygotsky's Cultural-Historical Theory

The effective continuation of the learning process depends on the teacher's interaction with children. Teachers must be facilitative in this interaction process while guiding children's learning. This study focuses on determining how teachers' classroom practices are reflected in the learning environment in the context of Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory. The study was designed as a case study from qualitative research models. All six teachers who constituted the study's data set worked in the same preschool education institution. Each teacher was observed for five days during the half-day period at the school using the non-participant observer technique. The observations were followed according to the "Teacher Observation Form" prepared by the researchers. This form included five headings: "Use of Language", "Use of Mediators," "Shared Activity," "Zone of the Proximal Development," and "Play." Content analysis was used to analyze the observations. As a result, it was concluded that teachers need to be informed about Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory in terms of theory and practice and that they need to share practices in the theory infrastructure.

Vygotsky: A Marxist analysis of the crisis in psychology

Vygotsky’s analysis of the crisis in psychology is an important methodological milestone in the development of his cultural historical theory. Therefore, discussing his work would entail including an examination of this analysis from a methodological point of view. This study emphasises the significance of the Marxist method in Vygotsky’s analysis of the crisis in psychology – in the emergence of the social character of psychological knowledge, in the critical approach to the different currents of the time, and in the search for new ways to creatively develop the science of psychology.

Rozwijanie zdolności samoregulacyjnych u dzieci w wieku wczesnoszkolnym – perspektywa kulturowo-historyczna. Etnograficzne studium przypadku

The aim of this article is to address the development of a child’s self-regulatory abilities and their significance in enhancing students’ academic achievements. In order to understand the genesis of an individual’s metacognitive processes, the article draws upon the cultural-historical theory of L.S. Vygotsky, wherein self-regulation is closely linked to the development of higher mental functions. Students’ self-regulatory abilities are nurtured through interactions with adults. Teachers, acting as “promoters of students’ self-regulation”, contribute to the emergence of personal planning procedures, control of the child’s own actions, shape learning experiences, and develop cognitive operations necessary for increasingly independent learning. Most researchers believe that school does not teach self-regulation. Self-regulation appears in formal school documentation and declarations, but few teachers make real attempts to deliberately develop it. The article presents an ethnographic case study and analyzes the socio-cultural context of an intentionally created learning environment conducive to the development of self-regulatory abilities in children in their first year of school education. The research encompasses two perspectives: the experiences of the teacher and the children.

Educators’ agency in implementing English-medium-instruction in Chinese higher education: a cultural-historical perspective

ABSTRACT The internationalisation of higher education (HE) worldwide has led to an expansion of courses using English-as-a-medium-of-instruction (EMI) in non-native-English-speaking countries. Research has identified complex challenges facing EMI educators in implementing EMI policies and suggested separately the significant roles educators’ agency and perceptions of EMI play on their EMI practice. However, little is known about how individual educators exercise agency in response to the perceived demands of EMI teaching and the role of their interpretations and perceptions of EMI in the process. Adopting a cultural-historical theory perspective, this study explores how Chinese educators exercise agency to respond to perceived demands of EMI practice. Data included questionnaires and written interviews with ten academics teaching in EMI courses at three Chinese universities. Manifest in their engagement and commitment, deliberate actions and responsibilities towards themselves and students, their agency is unfolded in acts to improve their pedagogy and student learning of academic content, but not necessarily to develop students’ English proficiency. Educators’ perceptions of EMI appear to play a vital role in orienting their agency as they respond to demands from EMI practice when enacting EMI policies.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN DAYCARE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF BABY AWARENESS

The present study was motivated by theoretical findings that indicate that, when working with babies in day care, in general, there are still conceptions that characterize the routine as household chores, focused on protection, food and hygiene, a non-directive teaching job, spontaneous, based on everyday life and waiting for the baby's development to come and that, for this reason, there is no pedagogical work to be done with him. This text aims to defend the pedagogical practices experienced at the daycare as promoters of the baby's awareness development. We understand consciousness as a typically human capacity that develops through social interactions and cultural appropriations since the birth of the baby. This theoretical-bibliographic study is based on historical-cultural theory and its understanding of child development process. This theory has helped us to understand human development from an early age in distinctive periods which each have their leading activities that contribute most to this process. As a result it shows us the necessity of intentional pedagogical practices mediations to provide babies with moments of objects exploration and relationships with more experienced individuals who use speech to signify human actions. Such discussion collaborates with the teacher in his function, who plans and organizes didactic elements in order to enable the baby's development of consciousness in the daycare center.

The concept of computational thinking in mathematics education

This article is part of an investigation that aimed to develop, from conceptual nexuses and assumptions of cultural-historical theory, the theoretical concept of computational thinking for its development in mathematics education. Therefore, a study of the logical-historical movement of the term “computational thinking” in mathematics education was carried out, seeking to explain how and under what conditions the term was used in academic and documental productions in Brazil. In summary, the results indicate that studies corresponding to computational thinking in mathematics education are still incipient in Brazil and, until then, there was no concept for this term in the area. Thus, this concept was developed in order to establish three conceptual nexuses: problem-solving, algebraic thinking, and algorithmic thinking, which are in constant motion as they are dialectical, historical, logical, and cultural.

Cultural taboos in mediating science in a Namibian bilingual primary school

Background: The need to meet the demands of education in the 21st century has seen Namibia move, after democracy in 1990, from a segregationist educational system to an inclusive one in a bid to develop students’ capacities to think critically, particularly in science. Research indicates that cultural taboos can impact on how science knowledge is transmitted to and acquired by students.Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate whether and how cultural taboos impact on the teaching of science in a Grade 4 class in Namibia.Method: Using a single case study design, we investigate the impact of cultural taboos on students’ acquisition of concepts relating to sexual reproduction and excretion, focusing on the extent to which cultural taboos influence talk as a mediating tool.Results: Findings indicate that cultural taboos silence students and impede the teacher’s ability to unpack sensitive concepts in science, potentially creating misunderstandings.Conclusion: Cultural taboos impact how effectively sensitive science concepts are mediated in this context.Contribution: This article adds to the knowledge of cultural taboos in science teaching but also develops a view of science teaching in a disadvantaged rural area where children are being taught in English, not their mother tongue. The use of cultural historical theory, we feel, also adds a fairly tale lens to the understanding of how scientific concepts must be linked to everyday concepts for student acquisition.

A RELAÇÃO CONTEÚDO-FORMA-DESTINATÁRIO EM PESQUISAS DO ENSINO DE BIOLOGIA NA EDUCAÇÃO DE JOVENS E ADULTOS

This is part of a Master's investigation and aims to understand the content-form-recipient relationship in postgraduate research with proposals for didactic intervention in Biology Teaching in Youth and Adult Education that present the Historical-Cultural Theory (THC) and Historical-Critical Pedagogy (PHC) as references or part of the theoretical framework. Methodologically, the study is of the State of Knowledge type and used the CAPES Catalog of Theses and Dissertations as a database. Fifteen dissertations defended between 2006 and 2019 were analyzed. The data show that the works do not only mobilize THC and PHC and present other theories with different epistemological bases, such as Genetic Epistemology, Meaningful Learning and Freirian Pedagogy. There is in the productions, the disarticulation between contents, forms and recipients and the daily life is the main selection criterion for the contents and forms which the research resorts to. Recipients are treated empirically, through characterizations that do not consider them as concrete subjects from their condition of precarious access and permanence in school. It is argued that studies linked to THC and PHC assume Historical-Dialectic Materialism (MHD) and constitute ways of organizing the teaching of biological knowledge that are really attuned to propositions for the working class

Культурно-историческая психология овладения деятельностью и альтернативы цифровизации

<p>The article analyzes approaches to education where digitalization does not hinder the development of thinking, understanding, and acting among the teenagers. The article is based on the premise backed by the cultural historical theory of Lev Vygotsky and the concept of mastering ways of thinking by Vasiliy Davydov that existing ways of digitalization decrease the developmental opportunities of teenagers. In the case of common-sense digitalization communication processes between teenagers, teachers and different adults are reduced to scripts of interaction with monitors or digital devices according to behavioristic scheme “stimulus- reaction”. These stereotypic interactive processes do not motivate teenagers to increase their level of situational awareness and understanding of others in social interactions. The operational uniformity, supported by algorithms, without stimulating the discovery of new elements and units in the actions of the students, and the excessive chaotic visibility, diverting their attention to eye-catching but not essential elements for a better insight into the learning problem in typical digital systems, reduce the ability of teenagers to master skills such as modelling and idealization. The author considers a different type of digitalization in education that gives an opportunity to master the ways of design activity, research activity and meta-game activity. In this instance proposed visual items and operational units in digitalized simulative milieu are analyzed and considered by teenagers in communication with teachers and peers as sense bearing symbols and schemes representing personal understanding of situation by different participants of a teamwork. The author proposes that conceptual instruments of the activity theory can be used as the new framework to design and to elaborate educational digital systems of next generation that stimulate development of intellectual abilities.</p>

Communication of Children of Preschool and School Age during Distance Learning in the Conditions of COVID-19

Introduction. The article presents the results of a study aimed at understanding how communication occurred among children of preschool and school age during distance learning in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was based on the ideas of Vygotsky, the founder of cultural-historical theory, in which communication plays a fundamental role in human development, especially in childhood, as it influences the formation of consciousness and personality. 
 Methods and Research procedure. The main research method was a survey of parents. A questionnaire was prepared on the Google Digital Platform, which consisted of 26 questions. From the obtained answers, those directly related to the research object were analyzed, leaving aside other data that will be the subject of analysis in the study. Sixteen respondents participated in the survey. The questionnaires were filled out not only by parents but also by other relatives of children who were undergoing distance learning in preschool and school institutions (both public and private) during the pandemic. Since many children lost their parents due to COVID-19, it was decided that these relatives could also participate in the study. It was important for us that these individuals were responsible for the upbringing of the children. 
 Results and Conclusions. After analyzing the obtained answers, it can be said that the pandemic has generated significant problems for preschool institutions, schools, and families of children. It has also shown a great variety of forms for continuing children's education proposed and implemented by preschool institutions and schools. Furthermore, it can be affirmed that the younger the child, the more difficult it was for them to communicate with their peers during distance learning.

The longitudinal influence of the level of executive function development on children's transcriptional skills: a modern view of A. Luria's ideas.

In the realm of Cultural-Historical Theory, A. Luria suggested writing as a model of a complex system of higher mental function, since that function is based on various psycho-physiological mechanisms, including processing of audial and visual information; and as a complex system of the frontal lobe functions of overcoming perseveration, and creation and control of the writing program. Subsequent research on these topics has shown a close association between the level of development of executive functions (EF) and writing skills. Nevertheless, the question of which parts of EF influence which aspects of writing, remains unresolved. In addition, there are few longitudinal studies of EF's influence on writing. In this article, we focus on the results of a longitudinal study of the influence of EF in children 6.3 years old on their mastery of basic writing skills at the age of 7.5. The results of regression model construction showed that all the aspects of executive functions strongly influenced the children's transcription skills, while the greatest impact on the development of the graphomotor component and spelling skills was exerted by working memory and inhibition control. These results are consistent with studies that have shown a correlation between the development of writing skills and EF. These results also confirm A. Luria's views on the importance of functions responsible for processing audial and visual information in the process of writing, and the importance of suppressing irrelevant stimuli and perseverations. Our research shows the importance of the development of EF in preschool childhood.

Creating Conditions for Chinese Kindergarten Teachers’ Professional Development in a Play-based Setting

ABSTRACT Although Chinese early childhood education policies have high expectations for kindergarten teachers’ play pedagogy, teaching and play are still discussed as a bifurcation in Chinese kindergartens’ daily practice. To support Chinese kindergarten teachers’ development of play pedagogy, this study conducted an educational experiment (EE) framed by cultural-historical theory. The study was conducted in a public kindergarten located in the northeast of China. Two teachers and 34 children (4-5 years) were involved in the study. The data were collected using the methods of digital video observation, interviews, and focus group discussions. The findings indicate that EE creates a new social situation that can motivate teachers’ development in ways of collaborative teaching. Moreover, the collective reflection and Conceptual PlayWorld (CPW) implementation within the EE amplified teachers’ play pedagogy development. We argue that the EE works as a source of teachers’ professional development (PD) and builds their identity as experts in creating playful learning environments in a Chinese cultural context.