Legitimation Code Theory Research Articles

Digital Simulation‐Based Learning for Reaction Engineering: Activity Design and Student Metacognition

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the integration of digital simulation‐based learning (DSBL) with Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) and problem‐based learning (PBL) for a first‐year undergraduate chemical engineering course on reaction engineering. The DSBL activity was designed to facilitate semantic shifts across the axes of semantic gravity and semantic density, enabling students to move between abstract concepts and simulation‐based applications of varying complexity. Novel to this study is the coupling of DSBL with LCT to create a dynamic learning environment that promotes critical thinking and problem‐solving skills. Student reflection, collected through a survey and processed through reflexive thematic analysis, reveals the positive impact of the DSBL activity on level of understanding, critical thinking, and student confidence in reaction engineering concepts. This triangulation of pedagogical learning theory, DSBL activity design, and student metacognition addresses an important implementation gap offering practical implications for engineering educators.

Knowledge in accounting: using semantic density to explore complexity in threshold concepts and terminology

ABSTRACT Students often struggle to grasp accounting concepts and terminology and connect the meaning of these concepts to their practical application. These challenges arise when accounting students engage with complex ideas and terms that demand the integration of knowledge from both accounting and other disciplines. This qualitative study investigates the complexity students face when interacting with threshold concepts in the specialised area of financial instruments. Using Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), the threshold concepts were analysed through the lens of semantic density, which highlights the complexity of meaning. A translation device was employed to demonstrate how semantic density intensifies as concepts become interconnected. The findings offer insights into the embedded complexity within these threshold concepts and how the development of systemic conceptual links is crucial for building knowledge. The paper concludes by providing examples of pedagogical approaches that educators can implement to help students form conceptual connections, thus enhancing their understanding of specialised accounting knowledge and improving the overall teaching and learning experience in accounting.

Learning to Teach Physics: Ohm´s Law and Autonomy Pathways in the Apprenticeship of a Teacher Trainee

ABSTRACT The articulation and juxtaposition of different types of knowledge in science classes is a challenge for initial teachers. This article analyzes the teaching practices of a future physics teacher during high school classes on Ohm’s Law. It uses the Autonomy dimension of Legitimation Code Theory to examine how discourse moves between different types of knowledge and purposes. The study focuses on two classes in which the teacher guides the interactions with the students on the calculation of current, voltage and resistance using Ohm’s Law. The analysis traces the transitions between the different autonomy codes as the discussions more or less align with the content and the learning objectives. The results show that the exchanges frequently changed between closely aligning with the concepts and purposes of Ohm’s Law and diverging toward more tangential mathematical procedures or everyday examples, amid different paths of Autonomy. The resident had difficulty maintaining interactions within the sovereign code despite his intentions to link experimental data and calculations. Monitoring Autonomy pathways helps identify obstacles that initial teachers encounter when coordinating content, objectives, and student participation during classroom instruction. Finally, the implications of this research are discussed, considering how the Autonomy dimension can contribute to initial teacher training.

Holistic, aspirational professional standards as a boundary object between communities of practice for pre-service teachers

ABSTRACT This article reports on a research project which seeks to understand how pre-service teachers and their school-based ‘mentors’ use a holistic, developmental set of professional standards as a tool for professional development and assessment. The standards are designed to be used to ‘improve not prove’, but there has not been research into the efficacy of this approach for the newest members of the teaching profession. Using Lave and Wenger’s concept of communities of practice, Maton’s concept of semantic waves from his Legitimation Code Theory and Korthagen & Lagerwerf’s Gestalt model of theory formation, the authors propose that the school-based mentors’ strategies to ‘unpack’ the standards for use in the specific school context are vital for pre-service teachers’ development, but that the absence of an explicit imperative to ‘repack’ the standards at points of transition reduces their efficacy as a boundary object, creating moments of discontinuity in the pre-service teacher’s journey.

Exploring shifts in pre-service teachers’ perceptions of mathematicians: from first year to the end of second year

This study examines how pre-service mathematics teachers perceive mathematicians' roles and practices, emphasising the shifts in their epistemic and social understandings during their teacher education programme. Using Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) and variation theory, data were collected from 60 pre-service teachers at a South African university, comparing their views from their first to second year. Initial perceptions often conflated mathematicians with educators, focusing on societal roles and pedagogical functions. However, by their second year, after engaging in a mathematics methodology course rooted in variation theory, participants demonstrated an increased appreciation for mathematicians' epistemic practices, including problem-solving, abstraction, and theoretical application. Despite these advancements, many participants continued to frame their understanding through a pedagogical lens, with limited attention to the social dimensions of mathematical work, such as collaboration and interdisciplinarity. These findings underscore the need for teacher education programmes to balance epistemic and social dimensions, enabling future educators to view mathematics as both an intellectual discipline and a collaborative, dynamic field. This study contributes to understanding how theoretical frameworks can inform and transform pre-service teachers' conceptions of mathematicians' roles, bridging the gap between classroom teaching and authentic mathematical practices.

Understanding the knowledge practices of English language teaching professionals in Mexico

Determining what it takes to be an English language teacher (ELT) is an issue of constant debate. Often, when explaining the profession, the qualities, and abilities of the teacher as well as their implicit bodies of knowledge are put upfront leaving aside other underlying practices such as the context, the social space, and differing idiosyncrasies. This article explores those aspects from the perspective of nine English language teacher trainers from a BA program in a public university in Central Mexico. To understand what knowledge is at stake when exercising the teaching profession, we use Legitimation Code Theory to make visible the patterns of knowledge practices within the field in ELT. Generally, this field is portrayed as practical and homogeneous, composed of disciplines such as psychology, pedagogy and linguistics. Likewise, the English professional is portrayed as a subject specialist, ethically and socially committed and context sensitive. However, those findings look relationally different as teacher trainers add value to social critical practices over pedagogical and technical skills.

Back to school: the impact of preparing student teachers to observe classroom practices

ABSTRACT This article explores the assumption that student teachers are well-placed to observe teaching practices after spending years in the classroom. It reports on an in-depth analysis of the lesson observations written by three South African student teachers from different schooling backgrounds. At the beginning and middle of their first year of study, the participants watched a recorded lesson and were asked to suggest reasons for the teacher's actions. Initially, their observations centred mainly on learner participation in activities, revealing a fragmented understanding of teaching practices. Using the Semantics dimension of Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), the study demonstrates that after completing coursework on teaching as a specialised practice, the complexity of their observations increased significantly. The coursework guided them in analysing knowledge-building during lessons. In later observations, the students drew on their coursework to focus on the teacher's management of content knowledge and the design of learning opportunities. Regardless of their diverse schooling backgrounds, they became better at identifying teaching patterns and interpreting the teacher's pedagogic intentions. The findings suggest that explicitly preparing students to observe and analyse teaching practices can enhance the quality of their learning in practical settings.

Semantic Density and Gravity in Lay-oriented Medical Knowledge Communication II: The Case of Patient Information Leaflets

This article investigates a lay-oriented medical genre, viz., the small type of brochure (the so-called Patient Information Leaflet (PIL)) that accompanies the packaging of medicinal products, providing basic information about the drug in question, particularly its use. The study draws a semantic profile of the texts in order to establish the character, and in particular the degree of challenge for lay readers, of the knowledge communication taking place in the genre. For analytical methodology, a framework derived from Legitimation Code Theory is used to analyze semantic density (complexity of meaning) and semantic gravity (strengths of context-dependence), on the assumption that semantically dense and context-independent texts may be challenging for certain groups of readers. Analytical results reveal that very different strengths of semantic density are represented in all texts, and the same is true for semantic gravity. Based on the analytical results, the PIL genre is then profiled in terms of its semantic codes. The conclusion is that PILs are a highly composite genre that integrates a multitude of codes, thus requiring a relatively high degree of versatility in coding orientation on the part of readers.

Beyond inter- and transdisciplinarity

Abstract While English-medium instruction (EMI) is growing rapidly as a field of practice, there is a lack of agreement around its conceptual and terminological boundaries, and its purposes are often ill defined. To deal with the complexity of the phenomena it addresses, it has been argued that EMI should adopt an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary perspective. This conceptual article adopts a different position, arguing that EMI is best seen as an example of a “practical assemblage” (Pennycook, 2024), which draws on different epistemic resources to engage with its own set of problems, rather than vying to become a discipline in itself. Using the sociological lens of Legitimation Code Theory (Maton, 2014), the article proposes a framework for positioning EMI as an autonomous field of inquiry, addressing its own problem-situations and research questions. The analysis finds that, rather than building boundaries around itself, EMI as a practical assemblage would be better placed to open itself to ideas from other domains of enquiry while maintaining its autonomy in working on its own problems for its own purposes.

How primary school students use their disciplinary drawings to navigate between everyday and scientific discourses of water

In this study, we investigate how young students can make use of their own disciplinary drawings to support transitions between everyday and scientific discourses of water. The empirical data consists of video-recorded stimulated recall interviews with six student pairs (age 8 years), conducted six months after they had been introduced to a water theme that included disciplinary drawing techniques. During the interviews, we provided students with their drawings as recall material. To stimulate a stalled discussion further or to support a new line of thought, we also asked supporting questions and provided the students with plastic models of water molecules, and a bottle of water. To trace their reasoning over time during the interview, the empirical material was used to construct semantic profiles for all student pairs underpinned by Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Our findings show that most students used their drawings to bridge everyday experiences and scientific explanations of phenomena involving water. The plastic models and the water bottle however had varying effects, sometimes leading to adding a scientific discourse, and sometimes leading to off-topic reasoning. The students generally needed adult guidance to use their own drawings for navigating between everyday and scientific reasoning. However, our findings also show that some students were able to independently use their drawings to move between everyday and scientific discourse, in a way that suggests a gradual deepening of their understanding of the chemical properties of water. Based on these findings, we advocate for emergent disciplinary drawing, in combination with guided discussions, as an age-appropriate method for supporting primary students to navigate between everyday and scientific discourses in chemistry class. This approach could ensure that the educational value of students' creative efforts when drawing extends beyond the moment of creation, to also foster a richer language that can open for new ways of understanding and making sense of the world.

Whose ‘useful’ is it anyway? Considering the complexity of ‘useful feedback’ to improve the feedback dialogue

ABSTRACT The concept of ‘useful feedback’ is often used in the literature and practice without fully acknowledging the many (and sometimes conflicting) meanings embedded in it. This conceptual paper, using the Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) dimension of Semantics, aims to unpack the complexity within the idea of ‘useful feedback’ to improve the feedback dialogue between staff and students. In this paper, we organise the notion of ‘useful’ around five central nodes, namely the purpose of feedback, the characteristics of feedback, the implementability of feedback, the feedback giver, and the feedback receiver. A Feedback Usefulness Tool is presented that may be used to further feedback conversations, training, and research, and highlights that ‘useful feedback’ may be contextual, complex, and contradictory.

Using Legitimation Code Theory to Underpin the Development of Undergraduate Nursing Students' Breastfeeding Knowledge: A Qualitative Study.

To explore how undergraduate nursing students develop knowledge during a breastfeeding module. A qualitative study using a single case-study approach. This study was conducted in Australia over 2 years during the period between July 2021 and December 2022. Semi-structured interviews and artefact collection were conducted with a purposive sample of undergraduate nurses (n = 10) who completed a paediatric elective subject that included a breastfeeding module. Thematic and content analysis were used. The specialisation dimension in Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) was used for the content analysis, and students' data was mapped on the specialisation plane. This study reveals how participants developed knowledge by linking personal breastfeeding experiences to theoretical components within the nursing program. Using the LCT dimension of specialisation, this study provides new insights into how participants move through distinct quadrants of the specialisation plane. Learners tour between the knowledge, knower, and elite quadrants of the plane as they integrate their knowledge. The research maps the journey towards becoming the 'right kind of knower' and reveals how personal experience and theoretical knowledge intersect to create disciplinary expertise. This study advances the LCT dimension of specialisation by illustrating the fluid, non-linear nature of knowledge acquisition and knower development. This study highlights the value of integrating personal experiences into nursing education, demonstrating how students use these to build knowledge and professional identity. The findings emphasise the dynamic knowledge development process in preparing future healthcare professionals. Integrating lived experiences and interprofessional education equips nurses to address complex health issues, leading to more effective, personalised care and better health outcomes for breastfeeding mothers and infants. This approach signals a transformative shift in nursing education. By personalising and contextualising learning, fostering reflective practice, deepening disciplinary knowledge, and promoting a collaborative practice environment, this approach enriches nursing education. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ). No patient or public contribution.

Critical Literacy Sustainability: What Pedagogical Practices? Whose Role?

Abstract In today’s fast-changing world, it is essential to equip English as a Second Language learners with strong literacy skills, empowering them to critically assess information, adjust to technological shifts, and engage in global discussions. However, what remains questionable is the suitable pedagogical practices and the teachers’ and the learners’ roles in sustaining literacy in an education system: this study explored pedagogical practices and investigated both stakeholders’ roles in sustaining literacy among ESL learning. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, drawing on two theoretical frameworks: Legitimation Code Theory and Constructivism. Data collection involved tests, questionnaires, document analysis, focus groups, and observations, with analysis conducted using thematic (Atlas.ti), Excel and ANCOVA via Stata17 in SPSS. Results verified that employing semantic gravity and density sustain critical literacy skills. Notably, the null hypothesis (ℎ0) was rejected, confirming influence of the application of semantic gravity and density on informing critical literacy teaching practices.

‘I don’t need professional development; I want institutional development’: legitimising marginalised epistemic capital that disrupts generative AI discourse

ABSTRACT Responding to GenAI technologies, academics press for PLD that informs pedagogical practice and policy development. However, insufficient critical evaluation of whose knowledge informs this and its underlying complexity has resulted in excessively reductive offerings that either champion specific tools or advocate for their prohibition. Engaging with critically complex perspectives provides an opportunity to deepen discourse through untapped funds of knowledge, while considering PLD’s broader role in policy and institutional development. English for Academic Purposes (EAP) lecturers are typically peripheral within universities, positioned as a remedial or technical service who ‘fix’ academic integrity and student language development issues. GenAI disruption has created a heightened demand for language expertise, offering an opportunity for EAP lecturers to advocate for the critical complexity underpinning their funds of knowledge. Using Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) within a Delphi study with senior EAP academics, we argue that engaging with critical complexity can empower institutionally marginalised expertise. The panel established design principles and actionable measures to (i) move beyond individualistic PLD and (ii) formalise the voicing and valuing of diverse expertise through collaboration across institutional hierarchies. Taken together, these offer ways to leverage epistemic relations to disrupt entrenched power structures through transformative PLD and thus catalyse institutional change.

Constellation of the Five Constant Virtues in English Translations of <i>The Analects</i>

The five constant virtues (<i>rén</i>, <i>yì</i>, <i>lǐ</i>, <i>zhì</i>, and <i>xìn</i>) are central to Confucian philosophy and have grown in influence over time, shaping not only traditional moral teachings but also contemporary practices in business management and personal development. However, limited research has explored how these virtues are translated and conceptualized in English versions of <i>The Analects</i>. This study aims to address this gap by examining how the five constant virtues are formed, related, and legitimized across four major English translations, spanning different historical periods. To achieve this, a mixed-methods approach is employed, integrating both qualitative and quantitative analyses. First, a multi-parallel corpus is established, enabling a detailed quantitative examination of how the five constant virtues are expressed across different translations. This analysis highlights variations in the rendering of these key concepts in each text. In parallel, Legitimation Code Theory’s (LCT) constellation analysis is applied for the qualitative component of the study. This approach explores the relationships among the virtues and how translators have conceptualized and structured these interrelations. Results indicate a reduction in variation over time, suggesting a stabilization in how the virtues are conceptualized. While translations consistently represent simpler pairings of virtues, differences emerge when more complex constellations involving all five elements are considered. These findings reveal how philosophical perspectives and temporal contexts shape translation, impacting the way Confucian virtues are legitimized and structured.

Not ready in the ways that count- a qualitative exploration of junior doctor's perceived preparedness for practice using Legitimation Code Theory.

Despite demonstrating the required competencies to graduate, many newly qualified doctors find the transition to internship difficult. There is a concern over whether their preparation is aligned with the expectations of the role. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the competencies needed for legitimate practice as junior doctors and explores their perceived preparedness for practice. A qualitative, descriptive study using focus groups was undertaken with first year internship doctors. Thirty-two junior doctors in their first year of internship took part in five focus groups. The data were analysed using a reflective thematic analysis approach with a subsequent analysis using the Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) specialisation dimension coding framework to aid interpretation. Personal attributes including adaptability, organisation and proactivity form the basis of achievement in internship. While graduates felt ready in some ways, it was not in the ways that counted. Participants felt well prepared in terms of their clinical knowledge and skills, but legitimacy came from being able to take responsibility, communicate effectively and apply knowledge confidently and efficiently to all aspects of patient care, something that they did not feel ready to do. Using LCT has revealed a shift in the basis of achievement between medical school, where individual academic performance is rewarded, and internship, where personal and social competencies are legitimised. There is a clash between what graduates feel well prepared for and the expectations and demands of the internship role, resulting in a difficult and stressful transition from student to doctor.

Conceptual divergence and its causes in English for academic purposes abroad from the perspective of legitimation code theory

The reform of English for academic purposes (EAP) teaching requires clear understanding of its conceptual connotation. Based on the legitimation code theory, this study analysed the development of EAP in major English-speaking countries and the debates on the concept of EAP in the academic community. The study finds that EAP has evolved from a knowledge code, a knower code to an elite code. The core elements of EAP are embodied in a hierarchical knowledge structure, a systematic curriculum framework, and the integration of knowledge and knower in teaching. Therefore, in response to the current debates and problems in China’s EAP teaching and research, it is suggested that EAP teaching should focus on the dialectical unity of language knowledge and disciplinary knowledge, academic skills and academic literacies, knowledge creation and personal development, so as to achieve the resonance of talent cultivation and national development. This article was published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ .

What matters for competent teaching? A multinational comparison of teaching practicum assessment rubrics

What matters for competent teaching? A multinational comparison of teaching practicum assessment rubrics

A distinctive profession? Building professional identity and knowledge for intellectual disability nursing education.

Intellectual disability nursing students can struggle to build a professional identity and make sense of their extensive curriculum and its application to practice. In this article Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) are used to facilitate an examination of the organising principles underlying intellectual disability nursing and the relationships agents construct between intellectual disability and other nursing divisions. In particular this paper explores the relationship with general nursing, and examines the connections and boundaries that intellectual disability nursing builds with general nursing, and their implications. LCT and CDA are used to examine how access to theory for intellectual disability nursing students, as compared to their general nursing peers, is facilitated. The bases of specialisation in intellectual disability nursing is also explored. This article considers how these findings can contribute to strengthening the professional identity of the intellectual disability nurse and building the related knowledge base.

Language Acceptability of Texts in Legal Education: A Case Study from the Perspective of LCT Semantic Density

Language acceptability can be defined as the interaction of complexity and context-dependence of meanings, or semantic density and semantic gravity in Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). This study explores language acceptability in legal education through the lens of semantic density in LCT. Using an American judicial opinion as the data, this study demonstrates how language acceptability can be explored at three levels—text, sentence and word through the analysis of semantic density. The dynamics of language acceptability is also taken into account. This study can serve as a reference for evaluating the language acceptability of legal texts, thereby offering a tool for teaching legal language.