More than just story-telling: Cultural-historical activity theory as an under-utilized methodology for educational change research

Sociocultural theory is increasingly popular as a paradigm for research in education. A recent member in this family of theories is introduced-cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT)-that shows much promise to complement and invigorate the field of educational change, a large, multi-faceted, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of curriculum studies 2011-06, Vol.43 (3), p.403-424
Main Author: Lee, Yew-Jin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bildung
Case Studies
Content Analysis
Context Effect
Cultural Context
cultural-historical activity theory
Curricula
Difficulty Level
Educational Change
Educational Innovation
Educational Research
Foreign Countries
Forschungsmethode
History
Identification (Psychology)
Inquiry
Kulturgeschichte
Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht
Politics of Education
Power Structure
Psychological Patterns
Research methodology
research methods
Science Curriculum
Science education
Secondary Schools
Singapore
Social Theories
Sociocultural Patterns
Theory
Time Perspective
Veränderung
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Summary:Sociocultural theory is increasingly popular as a paradigm for research in education. A recent member in this family of theories is introduced-cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT)-that shows much promise to complement and invigorate the field of educational change, a large, multi-faceted, and persistent problematic. In particular, CHAT-based research can address five areas where educational change research experiences weaknesses and shortcomings: (1) the failure to fully analyse the context; (2) a tendency towards reductionism rather than embracing complexity; (3) low sensitivity to the effects of power and politics; (4) lack of concern with emotions and identity; and (5) the rapidity at which new innovations are often introduced. These arguments are exemplified with a case study of a secondary school in Singapore that had devised a new inquiry-based science curriculum. The paper concludes with some implications for promoting CHAT-based research in educational change.
ISSN:0022-0272
1366-5839
1366-5839
DOI:10.1080/00220272.2010.513069