scholarly journals The Role of Tolerance Education in Diversity Management: A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402110608
Author(s):  
Özge Sakallı ◽  
Ahmed Tlili ◽  
Fahriye Altınay ◽  
Ceren Karaatmaca ◽  
Zehra Altınay ◽  
...  

Tolerance education aims to promote the culture of peace and acceptance of others for well-being and diversity management. Therefore, it is important to create learning environments, content, and facilities for tolerance education in line with the universal values in education. However, little is known about how the literature investigated and summarized the findings related to tolerance education. Therefore, this study conducts a systematic review about this topic, where 75 reviewed studies were analyzed according to the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) components. Findings highlighted that: (1) from the subject component, future research should involve more stakeholders, like parents and policymakers, when discussing tolerance education; (2) from the object component, tolerance education should not only focus on the physical environment, but also on the virtual environment; (3) from the tools component, limited digital tools and technology have been used to promote tolerance education; (4) from the community component, more investigation of tolerance education should be outside of school contexts; (5) from the rules component, more ICT training should be provided. The use of big data and learning analytics could be one of the potential methods to assess students in tolerance education; (6) from the labor division component, school family interaction role is very important to manage risks and diversities through tolerance education; and (7) from the outcomes component, tolerance education studies should go beyond simply investigating the awareness and attitudes of learners, and investigate, for instance, the behavioral changes of learners. Finally, recommendations were made under each CHAT component.

Author(s):  
Pauline Vos ◽  
Peter Frejd

Students often do not experience the relevance of learning mathematics. This paper reports on an exploratory case study, in which a class of grade 8 students (n=35) was introduced to Sankey diagrams. The aim was to explore to what extent these students could appropriate Sankey diagrams, meaning: they could describe these as objects in themselves and they could use them to model and visualize phenomena relevant to them. Based on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, we developed an analytical construct defined as the object-tool duality, coordinating mathematics as a set of objects and as a set of tools. The analysis of students’ answers showed that they could use these diagrams as tools to visualize phenomena. When asked to describe the object, all mentioned the tool-side. So, in their appropriation the tool-side came before the object-side. Our contribution is that teaching the tool-side of mathematics before the object-side may increase students’ sense of the relevance of mathematics, which is a topic to develop for future research.


Author(s):  
Pamela Rogalski ◽  
Eric Mikulin ◽  
Deborah Tihanyi

In 2018, we overheard many CEEA-AGEC members stating that they have "found their people"; this led us to wonder what makes this evolving community unique. Using cultural historical activity theory to view the proceedings of CEEA-ACEG 2004-2018 in comparison with the geographically and intellectually adjacent ASEE, we used both machine-driven (Natural Language Processing, NLP) and human-driven (literature review of the proceedings) methods. Here, we hoped to build on surveys—most recently by Nelson and Brennan (2018)—to understand, beyond what members say about themselves, what makes the CEEA-AGEC community distinct, where it has come from, and where it is going. Engaging in the two methods of data collection quickly diverted our focus from an analysis of the data themselves to the characteristics of the data in terms of cultural historical activity theory. Our preliminary findings point to some unique characteristics of machine- and human-driven results, with the former, as might be expected, focusing on the micro-level (words and language patterns) and the latter on the macro-level (ideas and concepts). NLP generated data within the realms of "community" and "division of labour" while the review of proceedings centred on "subject" and "object"; both found "instruments," although NLP with greater granularity. With this new understanding of the relative strengths of each method, we have a revised framework for addressing our original question.  


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Χαρίκλεια Θεοδωράκη

Η παρούσα διατριβή, οργανώθηκε και πραγματοποιήθηκε βασισμένη στις αρχές, στα χαρακτηριστικά και στις διαδικασίες της έρευνας-δράσης. Η παρούσα έρευνα, καλείται να γεφυρώσει το κενό που παρατηρείται στη διδακτική των Φυσικών Επιστημών στην προσχολική και στην πρωτοσχολική ηλικία. Οι συνεχείς εξελίξεις στο χώρο της επιστήμης και της τεχνολογίας, δημιουργούν την αναγκαιότητα εξέλιξης της εκπαιδευτικής διαδικασίας και, ταυτόχρονα, τον εκσυγχρονισμό των εκπαιδευτικών μεθόδων. H απόφασή μας για χρήση της Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) ενισχύθηκε, καθώς η CHAT ως εργαλείο σχεδιασμού και ανάλυσης, προσφέρει έναν δυναμικό μηχανισμό για να εξερευνήσουμε τους πολλαπλούς ρόλους, τα καθήκοντα και τα εργαλεία που χρησιμοποιούνται μέσα σε μια δυναμική κοινωνική και εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία. Βασικός στόχος της παρούσας έρευνας αποτελεί ο εντοπισμός των αλληλεπιδρώντων συστημάτων που διαμορφώνονται κατά τη διδασκαλία θεμάτων των Φυσικών Επιστημών, καθώς και ο εντοπισμός των δευτερευόντων παραγόντων που αναδιαμορφώνουν αυτά τα αλληλεπιδρώντα συστήματα. Επιπλέον, οριοθετείται ο ρόλος του εκπαιδευτικού στο μεθοδολογικό πλαίσιο της Θεωρίας της Δραστηριότητας.Για την παρούσα διδακτορική έρευνα έγινε ο σχεδιασμός των δυο διδακτικών παρεμβάσεων με τίτλους: «Ο παππούς Αρχιμήδης και η Άνωση» και «ο θείος Θαλής και οι Μαγνήτες». Επιπροσθέτως, αποτυπώνεται η αναλυτική πορεία εφαρμογής της έρευνας και η επιλογή των βασικών εργαλείων ποιοτικής ανάλυσης. Συλλέγχθησαν τόσο ποιοτικά όσο και ποσοτικά αποτελέσματα. Κάνοντας ένα σύντομο απολογισμό των αποτελεσμάτων της παρούσας διατριβής, κατανοούμε ότι, οι κοινωνικοπολιτισμικές θεωρίες και η Θεωρία της Δραστηριότητας ειδικότερα, βρίσκουν πρόσφορο έδαφος εφαρμογής, οριοθέτησης, σχεδιασμού και ανάλυσης, στην εκπαίδευση, αλλά κυρίως στη Διδακτική των Φυσικών Επιστημών. Η εφαρμογή της Θεωρίας της Δραστηριότητας στις πρώτες βαθμίδες της εκπαίδευσης, εξασφαλίζει ευελιξία και καινοτομικότητα, σε ένα χώρο που είναι απαραίτητη η συνεχής εξέλιξη και αναθεώρηση του τρόπου εργασίας τόσο των εκπαιδευτικών, όσο και η ανατροφοδότηση και αναδιαμόρφωση του εκπαιδευτικού πλαισίου των μαθητών. Η εφαρμογή του σχεδιασμού δραστηριοτήτων στην παρούσα διατριβή, μέσω της Θεωρίας της Δραστηριότητας, με τη χρήση του τριγώνου του Engestrom (1987) αποδεικνύει ότι η φαινομενική πολυπλοκότητα του σχήματος καταρρίπτεται εκ του αποτελέσματος. Ο σχεδιασμός και η ανάλυση δραστηριοτήτων με τη χρήση του τριγώνου, ξεκινάει από το διδακτικό τρίγωνο Δάσκαλος – Μαθητής – Γνώση, το οποίο αποτελεί βασικό πλαίσιο σχεδιασμού και ανάλυσης των εκπαιδευτικών προγραμμάτων που διαμορφώνονται. Διαπιστώνουμε λοιπόν, εκ του αποτελέσματος, ότι η χρήση του τριγώνου του Engetsrom στη διδακτική διαδικασία περισσότερο μας βοηθάει, μας κατευθύνει και μας οριοθετεί, παρά μας δημιουργεί προβλήματα.Επισημαίνουμε ότι, μέσω της παρούσας διατριβής, επιτυγχάνεται η σύνδεση της Θεωρίας της Δραστηριότητας με τη μαθησιακή δραστηριότητα, τόσο σε επίπεδο σχεδιασμού, όσο και σε επίπεδο ανάλυσης. Τοποθετώντας τον εκπαιδευτικό και τον μαθητή μαζί, τη γνώση απέναντι και στην κορυφή όχι την ύλη, αλλά τα εργαλεία που έχει στη διάθεσή του τόσο ο εκπαιδευτικός όσο και ο μαθητής, ώστε να επιτυγχάνεται η προσέγγιση του στόχου και κατά συνέπεια της γνώσης. Προϊόντα της διατριβής θα είναι η νέα ερευνητική μέθοδος, ένα καινοτόμο curriculum για τις Φυσικές Επιστήμες, και πρότυπο εκπαιδευτικό υλικό (website, e-book). Η διατριβή έχει συνέργεια με συνέδρια, προγράμματα, καινοτομίες στο πλαίσιο της δια-βίου μάθησης.


BMJ Leader ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. leader-2021-000485
Author(s):  
Ana Sjaus ◽  
Krista Corinne Ritchie

Introduction The pandemic spread of SARS-CoV-2, a novel, highly contagious and easily transmissible pathogen, has profoundly affected all aspects of human interaction. Guided by the need to reduce face-to-face contacts, medical organisations have rapidly shifted group activities to virtual platforms. Over 1 year into the pandemic, the necessity to maintain public health restrictions ensures that virtual meetings will be the norm for the foreseeable future.It has yet to be understood how virtual technologies shape healthcare and academic cultures, affect interactions, or influence strategic decisions and policies within these systems.Conclusion In this article, the authors reflect on the move from historically situated activity systems of team leadership in healthcare to ones that now exist in virtual formats. Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) is a framework that explains complex human actions, and how they unfold over time through interaction with mediational tools (eg, technology) and various people representing their own communities, roles and perceived divisions of labour. The authors use the lens of CHAT as a framework to understand the shifting dynamics at play and offer strategies for leaders to co-establish activity systems with team members to make goals of group activities explicit and to deliberately work toward them. Five specific strategies proposed are: (1) use software platforms that fit your needs and give voice to all attendees with technical support present in meetings; (2) converse explicitly about roles and emerging role fluidity during times of change and pandemic response; (3) co-construct something new intentionally; (4) engage in implementation science at this time; and (5) lead intentionally while honouring cultural norms and values. It is imperative that any changes, even the ones that are a part of the pandemic response, are made consistent with the core shared values of the medical community as this necessary new way of coming together is embraced with collective wisdom.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 287-291
Author(s):  
Fulya Damla Kentli

Instructional leadership activities are significant for school development. Although many researchers in this field consider leadership activities relating to the work of school principals, in effect, leadership is a network activity that includes all school staff. This study aims to show this interdependence network activity within Cultural Historical Activity Theory. The research question is “what are the activities of an instructional leader?” in order to understand instructional leadership activities in school from perspectives of Turkish graduate students and Cultural Historical Activity Theory. The answers are conceptualized within the framework of an Activity Theory. The students were asked to write about the activities of an instructional leader in the first and last course of the semester. Eighteen graduate students participated in this study.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Monaphathi Maraka ◽  

The purpose of this study is to interpretively analyse the fight against HIV/AIDS, referred to as ‘response’, in three of Lesotho’s institutions of higher education (IHEs). These are the Lesotho College of Education (LCE), the National Health Training College (NHTC) and the National University of Lesotho (NUL). This study uses cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to qualitatively interpret the response in a country with the second highest HIV prevalence globally. The study applies Vygotsky’s first generation of CHAT, Leontiev’s multifaceted second generation, and Engeström’s third generation, which features a minimum of two interacting activity systems. Its multimodal methodology draws from Mukeredzi’s (2009, p.56) critique of CHAT and its problem of not getting “in” deep into dimensions of an activity. Thus, this study incorporates closely matching theories, models and concepts around CHAT; mainly the World Health Organisation’s (2004b) health standards, Zeithaml and Bitner’s (2000) services marketing mix and Checkland and Holwell’s (1998) information systems. The findings reveal that conceptual tools - human skills and policies, do not mediate material processes such as planning, financing and reporting, resulting in a poor response. Gaps in human agency across critical elements of activity in the three IHEs result in conceptual, functional and material contradictions, and poor use of mediating artefacts adversely affects all interventions, including HIV testing and services (HTS), anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment and viral load suppression (VLS) envisaged in the UNAIDS (2014a and 2015) guidelines. This study teased out ‘expanded contradictions’ and tensions in the IHEs response, which invoked expansion, transformations, opportunities and new implications. Despite the IHEs leadership awareness of need for change, an historical embeddedness in unchanging cultures and functional contradictions due to poor agency (by subjects), lack of policies (rules), finance, (tools), hamper the response. The study found opportunities for IHEs against HIV/AIDS. Thisstudy recommends two new agency models. One is ‘knit-working’, which aims to improve responses by identifying key, specific, and rapidly doable ‘nitty-gritty’ inter-college activities. The second model aims to strengthen IHEs leadership agency through 3-Cs of commitment at top management, improved resources and capacity at middle management, in order to enable operational level services to evidence the concern over AIDS. This study will alleviate a dearth of literature in the nexus of Lesotho’s IHEs, HIV/AIDS and services.


2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-44
Author(s):  
Ana Marjanovic-Shane ◽  
Fran Fox ◽  
Bruce Pollack-Johnson ◽  
Lisa Pack-Allender ◽  
Brian Girard ◽  
...  

Project Learn School community is a unique school coop in Philadelphia Founded 30 years ago, Project Learn was created as a cooperative between teachers, parents and students. The main philosophical principle, derived from J. Dewey?s educational theories is the principle of equality between the parties in the educative process. Other guiding philosophical principles are: the emphasis on the unique constellation of abilities of every student creating opportunities for meaningful personal involvement in the learning process, developing a sense of responsibility in students for themselves and for the larger world, and, finally, educating the whole person rather than just teaching academic skills. Although Cultural Historical Activity theory of L.S. Vygotsky was not very well known in the United States at the time of it?s founding, this school embodies several basic principles of Cultural Historical Activity theory. Among them is the principle of social mediation of the relationship between the subject and the object. The same principle is actualized through the rich use of cultural tools and symbols such as very developed programs in art, music and drama, as well as the frequent use of play and play like activities both to motivate and to create a collaborative learning atmosphere. Furthermore, the unique style of governance, where all families participate without delegation of their decision making powers, provides for a powerful model of human relationships, rules and norms believed to be the most beneficial for individual learning and the over all social development.


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