Transformation of Learning: Advances in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory

by Bert van Oers

Overview

There is much empirical and theoretical support for the claim that development depends on culture, and varies with cultural-historical settings. Or is it just the forms of expression (of development) that change over time and place? Is all development not intrinsically related to learning and other fundamental structural changes that basically remain the same over the centuries? And what about learning? Is learning perhaps basically an invariant process? Or will it be transformed in accordance with changing cultural and historical settings? Is the learning process essentially different under different interactive conditions? -From the Introduction

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2900521868920
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/03/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Bert van Oers is a Professor of the Cultural-Historical Theory of Education at VU University in Amsterdam. He is an honorary doctor at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. He has published two books in English: Narratives of Childhood and Symbolizing and Modeling in Mathematics Education. His work has been published in many journals, including Learning and Instruction, the Journal of the Learning Sciences, the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal and Mind, Culture, and Activity.

Wim Wardekker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theory and Research in Education at VU University in Amsterdam, and he is a Professor of Quality of Education at Windesheim University of Professional Studies in Zwolle, The Netherlands. His work has been published in journals such as the Educational Review, Mind, Culture, and Activity and the Journal of Moral Education.

Ed Elbers is Professor of Communication, Cognition, and Culture at Utrecht University. His research is on communication processes in the context of learning and instruction, particularly in multiethnic classrooms. He was guest editor of Learning and Instruction and the European Journal of Psychology of Education, and he is the author of many articles and book chapters.

René van der Veer is Casimir Professor of the History of Education at Leiden University. He has published widely on the history of developmental psychology and education. Among the books he has coauthored are Main Currents of Critical Psychology, Understanding Vygotsky, The Vygotsky Reader, Reconstructing the Mind, The Social Mind and Lev Vygotsky.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors ix

Preface xiii

Introduction

1 Learning and Learning Theory from a Cultural-Historical Point of View Bert van Oers 3

Section 1 Tenets of Activity Theory

Introduction to Section One: Exploring Vygotsky's Legacy: The Meaning of Mediation René van der Veer 15

2 Multiple Readings of Vygotsky René van der Veer 20

3 Exploring the Links between External and Internal Activity from a Cultural-Historical Perspective Igor M. Arievitch 38

4 Reflections on Points of Departure in the Development of Sociocultural and Activity Theory Harry Daniels 58

5 Language in Cultural-Historical Perspective Peter E. Jones 76

6 The Formation Experiment in the Age of Hypermedia and Distance Learning Hartmut Giest 100

7 Constructivism and Meaning Construction Ronald Arendt 127

8 Subject, Subjectivity, and Development in Cultural-Historical Psychology Fernando Luis González Rey 137

Section 2 Identity, Diversity, And Inclusion

Introduction to Section Two: Identity, Diversity, and Inclusion Wim Wardekker 157

9 Identity Shifts in Informal Learning Trajectories Anne Edwards Lin Mackenzie 163

10 No Human Being Is Illegal: Counteridentities in a Community of Undocumented Mexican Immigrants and Children Jocelyn Solis 182

11 Cultural Identity and Emigration: A Study of the Construction of Discourse about Identity from Historical-Cultural Psychology Beatriz Macías Gómez Estern Josué García Amián José Antonio Sánchez Medina 201

12 Diversity in the Construction of Modes of Collaboration in Multiethnic Classrooms: Continuity and Discontinuity of Cultural Scripts Mariëet;tte deHaan Ed Elbers 219

13 "Discourse" in Cultural-Historical Perspective: Critical Discourse Analysis, CHAT, and the Study of Social Change Chik Collins 242

14 Reason and Dialogue in Education Rupert Wegerif 273

Section 3 Dynamics of Activity And The Variations Of Learning

Introduction to Section Three: Learning in Social Settings: Challenges for Sociocultural and Activity Theory Ed Elbers 289

15 Children's Learning through Participation in Institutional Practice: A Model from the Perspective of Cultural-Historical Psychology Mariane Hedegaard 294

16 Dialogue for Reasoning: Promoting Exploratory Talk and Problem Solving in the Primary Classroom Sylvia Rojas-Drummond Laura Gómez Maricela Vélez 319

17 What Kinds of Tools and Resources Are Made Available to Students through Effective Guidance in a Student-Scientist Partnership Program? Jrène Rahm Wendy Naughton John C. Moore 342

18 Girls on the Sidelines: "Gendered" Development in Early Childhood Classrooms Sonja de Groot Kim 358

19 Inscripting Predicates: Dealing with Meanings in Play Bert van Oers 370

20 Pretend Play and Preschoolers Ricardo Ottoni Vaz Japiassu 380

Index 399