Reflections on the Theory of Activity

Activity theory is a “productive” resource for shedding light on the functioning of traditional and innovative activities. In discussing theoretical-methodological problems related to a valid theory of activity, the author puts forward the hypothesis that singular references to the Vygotskian school lead to an unproducive confinement of activity theory. First of all, there are problems concerning terminology and concepts. Second, there are issues related to the roots of the activity theory and the cultural-historical school. It is a common mistake in Western Europe and in the United States to regard cultural-historical psychology as the basis for critical psychology and to regard both schools as identical with activity theory. Embracing such a point of view is a mistake and a serious matter.

Modeling and Analyzing Contextual Influences

Working practices rather than purpose or instrumentation defines workplaces as individually motivated or systems controlled units of analysis. In this chapter, analysis of religious work in spiritual organizations covers interview data on employees' experiences of their organizations. Methodological consideration applies for comparison between concepts, models, and theories. Results on religious workplace characteristics emerge from applied activity theory and a model of literary analysis. Religious people perceive and conceive of their workplaces as self-controlled, purpose-driven, administratively structured, and multi-faceted environments. As their words come out during interviews, the data they supply differs from their perceived workplace impressions. Deployed activity and literary theory plus empirical data make up the means for analyzing the impact of setting, purpose, individual action, and collective activity.

Subject Matter Analysis in Physical Education

Educational research grounded in the theoretical perspective of developmental teaching can provide some ideas, challenges, and proposals to be discussed. From a developmental perspective, the fundamental content of teaching and learning covers the theoretical concepts of each school subject. Through the area of physical education, the author discusses the process for identifying and systematizing the theoretical concepts that organize school subjects. This discussion is proposed from the point of view of its philosophical foundations in dialectical materialism and from concrete possibilities and challenges in educational research. Through analysis and systematization of the essential and necessary relations that organize physical education and by an attempt at making these relations concrete, the author highlights the value and challenges that arise during a process of a subject matter analysis in educational research.

Collaborative Music Making and Artistic Agency

The focus of this chapter is on musical agency in professional contexts and in Higher Music Education (HME). What is musical agency? How can musical agency be investigated, promoted, and developed? Cultural-historical activity theory approaches hold a potential for exploring and answering such questions with a dialectical perspective on creativity. Three examples of interventionist studies from a one-to-one teaching situation, a professional improvisation project, and a student string quartet are given. They illustrate how individual musical acts influence and transform collective music making. Methodological conclusions are drawn and suggestions are made for the development of intervention studies of musical practice inspired by Change Laboratory methodology.

Mapping [Capital v.2.0]

This chapter explores the benefits of a theoretical and methodological encounter between Bourdieu's concepts of capital, Deleuze's line of thought, and Marxist activity theory, particularly the Russian strand by Ilyenkov and Leontjev. Bourdieu, Deleuze, and Ilyenkov share a common denominator in Marx. In a contemporary light, Bourdieu's sociological concepts reflect an effort to readdress issues of class and practice as raised by Marx. The author claims that development of Marxist activity theory benefits from such an encounter, especially in educational research. The expanded concept of capital is exemplified through the optic of an educational Danish project. The author intends to show how the expanded concept of capital resonates with the theoretical framework of activity theory. He also shows how development of Marxist activity theory benefits from the methodological construct of capital. Bourdieuian and Deleuzian perspectives lead to the construction of a new structural map of events.

Acculturation Processes and Expatriate Behavior

Understanding the expatriate's acculturation process (i.e. a process of learning and acquiring workplace-related skills to successfully inhabit a foreign cultural realm) is essential in an increasingly international labour market. By using a mixed-methods approach, measuring Work Locus Of Control (WLOC), acculturation strategies, and socio-cultural adaptation by quantitative data, the authors pursue that ambition. They apply phenomenographic method and interpret the results using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). Results show that WLOC and choice of acculturation strategy affect the acculturation process. Expatriates view acculturation in terms of intertwined relationships. This study contributes to expanded knowledge on the acculturation process on the role of work in expatriate acculturation.

Creativity in Education

The goal of this chapter is to respond to the scarcity of literature on creativity that is relevant both to CHAT and in the field of education. The authors explore Vygotsky's writings on creativity, imagination, art, and play in relation to three Swedish preschool projects that practice a pedagogy of exploratory learning. Also included are discussions of imagination versus realistic thinking, syncretism in children's creative work, and play as a creative activity. Because this study was a formative intervention, the pedagogy of exploratory learning became significant in the analysis. The bulk of the chapter consists of thick descriptions of the projects and discussion of aspects of creativity as they appear in the projects. The data was collected by teachers and a research team that consisted of the authors of this chapter. Data collection in the three projects took place before the intervention took place, during the initial phases of the intervention, and after the intervention had become an annual theme for the preschools. The research was initially guided solely by a cultural historical understanding of creativity, while the analysis brought CHAT into dialogue with postmodern writings that are related to exploratory learning.

Networking around Supervisors in an Industrial Corporation

This chapter presents a network-level developmental intervention conducted in an industrial corporation. It focuses on production supervisors' changing work and follows how practitioners from the organizational support functions of human resources, occupational safety, and occupational health services build collaboration with supervisors. The notion of “client understanding” provides a starting point for the study: in order to serve supervisors, the support functions need to understand the challenges in the supervisors' operational environment. Results show that attaining client understanding requires, firstly, joint analysis of the sources of the problems and, secondly, the adaptation of dynamic and systemic explanations for them. The study describes the process of how client understanding, in the form of making generalizations, expands during the intervention. The findings have practical relevance for evaluating and developing collaborative practices in networked multi-activity settings.

Project-Based Instruction in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

In this chapter, Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) is used as a framework to examine Project-Based Instruction (PBI) in a Chinese foreign language classroom at a U.S. high school. The implementation of PBI arose from an action research project that resulted from a teacher's perceived need to improve students' engagement, cultural knowledge, and communicative language skills. Data collected include interviews, surveys, classroom observations, teacher reflective journals, and student projects. Data is first analyzed thematically and then reframed from the perspective of CHAT. Findings reveal that PBI motivated students in learning, enhanced cultural understanding, and improved their language skills. Despite the positive evaluation of PBI, there are contradictions within the activity reported such as the tool of language as a barrier. Students wanted to keep traditional learning activity and PBI. Furthermore, analysis of the findings suggest that CHAT is a suitable framework for educational research.

Young Learners

This chapter describes a project aiming at investigating Swedish and Russian 12-year-old learners' use of ICT. They communicate in English on three shared blogs. Their exchanges and contributions are analyzed with a focus on mediating tools, modes of communication, and motives for collaboration. Ongoing activities are studied through classroom observations, interviews, and a research circle. Results show that ICT plays a vital role as a mediating tool and a motive for collaboration. Results indicate that Russian and Swedish learners manage to interact in authentic communication in English with the help of digital tools. Opportunities toexplore a variety of digitaltoolsresultedinnewforms of representation. International collaboration through ICT indicates that conflicting issues and developmental opportunities may challenge the current education system.