Cultural-historical Perspective Research Articles

Natural Catastrophe as a Consequence of Forced Displacement: Reviewing the Handlová Landslide From a Cultural-Historical Perspective

Natural Catastrophe as a Consequence of Forced Displacement: Reviewing the Handlová Landslide From a Cultural-Historical Perspective

Redefining Vygotsky’s early works as a theory of aesthetics

The paper critically examines Lev Vygotsky’s art-related texts from 1915 to 1924, challenging interpretations based in Psychology by asserting that his aesthetic framework transcends outdated objectivist references, offering a nuanced philosophical perspective. Situating this within post-1917 Revolutionary Russia, the study explores its alignment with the visions of a ‘Revolutionary’ theatre for the ‘new human being’ in the Russian Futurist movement. It underscores Vygotsky’s pursuit of empirical evidence for understanding theatre’s impact on individuals and society, highlighting Marxist dialectics as the backbone of his aesthetic thought. Moreover, it establishes a connection between Vygotsky’s thought and Formalism, rooted in their shared emphasis on art’s structural features and links his ideas with Futurism, exploring their shared belief in the transformative power of form as a crucial element in provoking social change. The paper defines Vygotsky’s aesthetics, focusing on integral aspects of artistic reception, particularly emotion and imagination. It traces the shifts in Vygotsky’s understanding of these terms from his early reliance on psychoanalysis to the incorporation of dialectic and, later, cultural-historical perspectives, thus integrating Vygotsky’s later theories on human psychology into his aesthetic theory. The paper concludes by exploring the resonance between Vygotsky’s redefined aesthetics and contemporary Cognitive Theatre Studies. It draws attention to methodological convergence and shared insights on the interplay between natural and cultural influences, such as image schemas and conceptual blending, emphasising the enduring relevance of Vygotsky’s perspective on artistic structure and theatre’s transformative socio-political impact.

Metacognition and Computational Thinking in Vygotsky's Historical-Cultural Perspective

In a post-pandemic context, where pedagogical practices evolve based on different epistemological bases, the encouragement of autonomy and innovation among students and teachers stands out. Aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda, research assumes as an epistemological basis the interdisciplinary relationship between education and Computer Science by exploring Computational Thinking associated with Metacognition. The text addresses the characteristics of this thought, identifies gaps in the theoretical bases and presents a scope that intertwines it with Vygotskian theory, Metacognition and Cognitive Educability. Results of the theoretical and conceptual reflections indicate that metacognition, when applied systematically, promotes the development of computational thinking. To this end, we propose a functional architecture anchored in Vygotskian principles, differentiating content and skills, contributing to a more robust understanding of this thinking with potential consequences for other conceptions and development of curricula, not only in computing, but in teacher education in all areas.

Spread of Ideas: The Legacy of Diffusionism School

This comprehensive analysis explores the concept and development of diffusionism throughout the history of anthropology. Diffusionism, a theory that emerged in the early 20th century, posits that cultural elements are assimilated and disseminated throughout multiple nations, leading to transformative shifts in society. The German and British diffusionist schools were the primary institutions that concentrated on the transmission of cultural characteristics across temporal and spatial dimensions. The notion of "culture circles," first proposed by German diffusionism, led by figures like Wilhelm Schmidt and Robert Fritz Craebner, posited that the cultural traits of ancient civilizations spread to the surrounding regions. British diffusionism, spearheaded by Grafton Elliot Smith and V. J. Perry, emphasized Egypt as the birthplace of civilization and attributed cultural advancements to Egyptian origins. Franz Boas, the founder of the US diffusionist school, advocated for a historical-cultural perspective that opposed the idea of linear progress. Boas emphasized the importance of culture as a unified entity shaped by particular historical circumstances and dismissed notions of cultural advancement. Notable American diffusionists include J. Robert Lowie, Edward Sapir, Clark Wissler, and Alfred Louis Kroeber. Kroeber's examination of women's fashion trends and cultural zeniths demonstrates the multifaceted nature of diffusionist analysis. Lowie's study focused on challenging linear evolution ideas and emphasizing the crucial significance of spatial dispersion in understanding cultural events. Wissler concentrated on the biological components of disperse on, whereas Sapir examined how individual personalities shape cultural patterns. While diffusionism is not as common in modern anthropology, it is important for comprehending the intricacies of cultural transmission and societal progress. Diffusionism provides valuable insights into the dynamics of human culture and civilization by examining historical processes, geographic distribution, and cultural interaction.

The Beginnings of Stage Directing in the Romanian Theatre. A Historical View

Lacking a consolidated tradition in the art of stage acting and directing, the Romanian national theatres, which had only existed for a few decades, faced a series of legislative, administrative and aesthetic reforms at the beginning of the 20th century. These reforms aimed to acclimatize the most important novelties of modern performance, just emerging on Western stages. Such changes strongly impacted the conservative world of declamation and rhetoric, still indebted to the Romanticist school of theatrical interpretation. This paper aims to provide a cultural-historical perspective on the generational and artistic conflict that led to the modernization of the Romanian mise-en-scène and to the consolidation of the director’s status, in the “century of directing”, focusing on Alexandru Davila’s contribution to the process. Keywords: Romanian theatre, directing, scenography, performing, realism, modernism.

“Aves de toda especie”: representaciones sociales de la homosexualidad en la prensa en Antioquia, Colombia, 1960-2000

Objective/Context: This article explores, from the perspective of cultural history, the social representations produced by the press about homosexuality in Antioquia (Colombia) during the second half of the twentieth century. In doing so, it aims to approach the figure of the sexual monster, the ridiculous homosexual, the infectious “faggot”, the individual explainable by science, and the subject who conquers its citizenship and disputes its rights. Methodology: The discourses and representations of homosexuality in the newspapers Sucesos Sensacionales, El Colombiano and the radio newspaper El Clarín were identified; an interpretative matrix was constructed by cross-referencing cultural elements of the context with journalistic representations. Originality: The period 1960-2000 corresponds to an unexplored period on the subject. Its revision is articulated with the observation of previous and parallel representations of the processes of homosexual liberation and the conquest of rights: the decades of 1960-1970, the emergence of hiv/aids in 1980, and the appearance of a series of social organizations around the anti-aids struggle in the 1990s accompanied by the juridical-political path traced by social movements. Conclusion: During this period, a homosexual subject emerges who, in addition to being outlined by the media, begins to postulate an image of himself that tensions the field of representations. Despite pointing to changes associated with freedoms and rights, the novelties in the press - influenced by international and local contexts and contested by everyday practices that claimed sex/gender dissidence - also pose a conservative counter-response that reinstates old ghosts and prejudices. Thus, this is not a linear and progressive history that moves from darkness to light, that is, from a dark past of violence and denial to the conquest of rights, but reflects diverse continuities and simultaneities in the representation of homosexuality.

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>

Supporting Young Children’s Exploration of Mathematical Concepts: Co-teachers’ Involvement in Joint Play

ABSTRACT There has been a major international focus on the education and care of toddlers. To date, empirical studies on adults’ interactions in play with toddlers have focussed on the proximity of teachers, teachers’ affective responses, and joint attention between adults and children in play. However, less attention has been given to the role of two teachers working together in supporting children’s exploration of concepts in joint play. This paper takes a cultural-historical perspective and draws upon the concepts of play and subjective positioning to investigate how co-teaching promotes toddlers’ joint play and exploration of mathematical concepts. Visual data of a group of toddlers playing with two teachers is analysed to explore how the teachers applied co-teaching pedagogy to support children’s exploration of mathematical concept. The study argues that co-teaching provides potential to support collective play as two teachers can work collaboratively to address the toddlers’ challenges and needs and support their exploration of the rules and mathematical concepts in play. Co-teaching by paired teachers enables toddlers’ joint play to become more complex, helping the children to explore mathematical concepts and, in turn, further enhancing their play.

A RELAÇÃO ENTRE AFETO E COGNIÇÃO: PERSPECTIVAS TEÓRICAS

ABSTRACT This article aims to present the relation between affection and cognition from the Jean Piaget, neuroscience and Lev Vygotsky’s theoretical perspectives. From Piaget’s theoretical perspective, it emphasizes the concepts of interest and assimilation. From the neuroscience theoretical perspective, emphasis is placed on the biological bases of learning. Furthermore, it problematizes the place of Vygotsky’s historical-cultural perspective, emphasizing the concepts of meaning and sense in the conceptual context of the relation between affection and cognition. Based on the selection made, it presents some possible contributions of such readings within the theme discussed regarding the relation between affect and cognition. It also argues that although they have differences, the three perspectives explain the importance of affect for cognition. In this direction, it concludes that the contributions made by reading Piaget, Vygotsky and neuroscience are relevant. The sources used are from the available literature about the topic.

¿Por qué Fracasa la Investigación Educativa? Una Lectura desde la Teoría Histórico-Cultural

ABSTRACT Educational research must not only produce knowledge and academic reflection, but also contribute to solving the problems it studies. However, the conditions in which the research teams work and the current educational scenario make it difficult to carry out effective research. This essay shares meta-reflections and learning based on the experience of six qualitative investigations from a cultural-historical perspective of the activity. Mistakes and mistakes made by the research team are identified and lessons learned are presented. It is hoped that the experiences and reflections presented in this work can be useful for future research work.

La Lingua dei Segni Italiana (LIS) nella scuola: la prospettiva bilingue ed embodied come risorsa inclusiva per alunni sordi e udenti a partire dai contesti educativi zero-sei

Presence of deaf pupils in school, starting from nursery and kindergarten, constitutes a great opportunity to reflect on the inclusion processes and to conceive and experiment pedagogical and methodological-didactic innovations that are enriching for all children, as it involves different interrelated areas, first of all the linguistic-communicative one, essential for cognitive, emotional and relational development, and central to the teaching-learning processes. It also sheds new light on the specifics of human communication, deepening the role of body and space in the intersubjective relationship, adopting a multimodal and embodied perspective. Therefore it promotes, in parallel, new ways of mediation and conducting activities by educators and teachers , not only in pre-school contexts, but also in every eduacational level. In the article I will therefore try to show why, as far as deaf children are concerned, the pedagogical perspective cannot be separated from developmental psychology, psycholinguistics, neurosciences and the historical-cultural perspective. I will then deepen the possible methodological choices if a bilingual perspective is adopted and the achievable objectives for both deaf and hearing children.

Исследование парадоксов в развитии математического мышления: культурно-историческая перспектива

<p>Primary school teachers are the educators responsible for introducing children into the world of mathematics. In the process of learning mathematics, children may experience negative emotions and develop negative attitudes or mathematics anxiety. Some authors approach these issues by focusing on primary teachers’ mathematics anxiety or proficiency in mathematics. In this article, we explore whether and how certain social and educational practices shape or not the development of mathematical thinking in prospective primary teachers, from a cultural-historical perspective. The study’s sample consists of twelve prospective primary teachers in their last year of studies. The participants were interviewed about their experience with mathematics throughout their educational years. By examining and contrasting the different developmental trajectories of the participants, we identified their “imprisonment” in situational thinking and some of the paradoxes that characterise their development. Adopting a historical perspective in analysing participants’ trajectories was crucial in uncovering the paradoxical nature of the development of mathematical thinking. We conclude by highlighting the socially mediated nature of mathematics and the obstacles posed by the competitive and exam-driven nature of educational practices</p>

Activity and consciousness: reflections on the teaching work from a cultural-historical perspective

The purpose of this theoretical article is to reflect on how teaching can be understood as a work activity under the referential of Cultural-Historical Psychology. From this perspective, we emphasize the concepts of activity and consciousness; a brief discussion on the psychological function of the teaching work is also presented. We argue that teachers' awareness of their work activity is a relevant tool that transforms teaching practices and strengthens their power to act in the situated context of the classroom. We conclude that Cultural-Historical Psychology brings significant contributions to the understanding of teaching activity, being configured as an approach that values the creative and critical character of teaching as a conscious, intentional, accessible, and transforming action of work and life relations for the teacher.

Pretend play as the space for development of self-regulation: cultural-historical perspective.

Self-regulated behavior is a prerequisite for learning and success in life. Considerable research confirms that mature forms of play support the development of self-regulation in the early years. This study explores the relationship between (3-6-year-olds) children's pretend play and self-regulation skills. Teachers filled out a child's play and self-regulation checklist evaluating the level of children's play and self-regulation skills. The findings revealed that the levels of children's play and self-regulation skills are statistically significantly linked: the better the child performs an assumed role in play activity, the higher the level of their self-regulation. The results also suggest that a child's playing skills, gender, and age predict children's self-regulation skills manifested in play activity.

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.

Ankara Ethnography Museum with Sustainable Cultural Heritage Management and Historical Perspective in the 100th Anniversary of the Republic

Ankara Etnografya Müzesi Cumhuriyet’in asırlık tarihinin önemli kurumsal temsillerinden biridir. Cumhuriyetin kuruluşunda gerçekleştirilen köklü toplumsal, siyasal, ekonomik değişim ve dönüşümler ulus-devleti inşa etme ve milli bir bilinç yaratmaya yönelik olmuştur. Ankara Etnografya Müzesi Türkiye’de devlet eliyle inşa edilen ilk müzedir ve Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’ün de naaşının uzun yıllar burada muhafaza edilmiş olması dolayısıyla da tarihsel bir öneme sahiptir. Ankara Etnografya Müzesi ulus-devletin inşasının, milli bilinç yaratma, kültürel mirasın korunması ve gelecek kuşaklara aktarılmasının bir temsili olarak kurumsallaşmıştır. Bu yönüyle Ankara Etnografya Müzesi yalnızca bir müze olmanın ötesinde taşıdığı temsillerle birlikte Cumhuriyetin asırlık tarihinin sembolik bir örneği haline gelmiştir. Bu açıdan Ankara Etnografya Müzesi kültürel mirasın en önemli kurumsal temsillerinden biridir. Kültürel miras toplumların ortak geçmişlerini, tarihi birikimlerini ve kimliklerini yansıtır. Dolayısıyla kültürel mirasın yönetimi kurumsal yapılar, yasa, yönetmelikler ve çeşitli uygulamalarla düzenlenmekte ve uluslararası sözleşmeler de belirlenmektedir. Günümüzde kültürel mirasın -somut ya da soyut- öğeleri toplumlar tarafından sürdürülebilirlik esas alınarak planlanmakta ve önemsenmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı kültürel mirasın önem, kapsam ve çerçevesini Ankara Etnografya Müzesi örneklemi üzerinden ele almaktır. Bu çalışmada sürdürülebilir kültürel miras yönetiminin koruma ve yaşatmaya yönelik planlamalarının günümüzde kadar uzanan öneminin kökleri Ankara Etnografya Müzesi örneği üzerinden tartışılmıştır. Çalışmada Ankara Etnografya Müzesi, çağdaş sürdürülebilir kültürel miras yönetimi anlayışının önemli, özgün, tarihi ve sembolik bir örneği olarak tespit edilmiştir.

Conceptual PlayWorld: creating motivating conditions for new kindergarten practices in China to support engineering education

ABSTRACT In recent times, engineering education has increasingly emerged as a valued kindergarten practice. Engineering teaching in play brings challenges for Chinese kindergarten teachers. An educational experiment (EE) was conducted to help Chinese kindergarten teachers face this challenge. Qualitative data including video data and interview transcripts were collected in a public kindergarten located in a Chinese provincial capital city. Participants included one focused teacher and 28 children aged four to five years. In the context of early childhood education, drawing upon a cultural-historical perspective, we study how engineering pedagogical practices changed under the conditions of an intervention, called an engineering Conceptual PlayWorld (CPW). The findings show a shift in the focused teacher’s subject positioning, and new practice contexts in which an engineering pedagogy emerged. We argue that a CPW created motivating conditions for Chinese kindergarten teachers to explore new engineering pedagogical practices, wherein they realised a new form of collective imaginary play and designed new engineering pedagogies for teaching young children.

A cultural-historical perspective of young children gaining autonomy in the playground

ABSTRACT This paper draws on a three-year ethnographic study during which we investigated young children's cultural development in a Brazilian early childhood centre. A cultural-historical approach was used to understand the concept of autonomy. We focus on Danilo, a very young child who overcame his fear of using a play slide (a cultural artefact). We believe that this process led to his achievement. Our findings suggest that young children's conquests consist of intentional actions that become part of their individual and social identities.

Intertextuality and the advance of mathematisation in young children’s inscriptions

ABSTRACT A fundamental question in early childhood mathematics concerns the relationship between young children’s own informal signs and the formal abstract symbolic language of mathematics. This study presents research investigating the genesis of mathematical semiosis from a Vygotskian cultural-historical (social-semiotic) perspective. In this study we look at the premature stages of dealing with quantity and their relationships. Our aim is to reveal the interweaving of young children’s sign-use and to consider the role of intertextuality in mathematisation. Longitudinal, ethnographic data were gathered from case studies of seven children aged 3–4 years in an inner-city nursery school in England, documenting observations of their spontaneous pretend play. The data are interrogated through interpretive analysis and show that some graphical signs moved between individuals’ texts, also borrowed from others including the teacher, and woven together. Children’s progressive understandings of mathematical sign-use appear to be attained in part through intertextual exchanges in social and culturally meaningful contexts, such as pretend play.

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.