Giuseppina Marsico

The “Non-cuttable” Space in Between: Context, Boundaries and Their Natural Fluidity

The inherent open-ended nature of socio-cultural phenomena makes it necessary to create new theoretical frameworks that enable us to understand the fluidity of the relations between different parts of the dynamic system. Recent advance in modern biology seems to provide a set of heuristic concepts useful to investigate the complexity and fluidity of the relationship between different contexts. One of these is the Rayner’s logic of natural inclusionality. According whit Rayner’s evolutionary standpoint any living system is constantly in dialogue with its natural neighbourhood on the basis of an interdependent and co-evolutive process involved both the context and the organism. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the model proposed by Rayner in light of contextual perspective in development and educational psychology arguing as the space in between is neither a cuttable and divisible presence into discrete things, nor a mere “nothing” that could be cut off our conceptualization. Rather, it’s a ground (for a figure) in which flow and counter-flow in a fluid interplay amidst a distinct bounded context takes place.The interest for the boundary conditions calls for focusing on what happened on the border. By adopting a simultaneous perspective from two standpoints we are able to constantly focus on both aspects—what happens inside and outside different social settings—we became aware that the “walls” of the context of our living are much more permeable than has been until now theorized by psychological research.

Psychological and social borders: Regulating relationships

Psychological phenomena take place at the border between person and environment. Indeed, psychology as a whole may be seen as a science of human liminal constructions, a science concerned with the dynamic relationships that exist between people and what surrounds them and with the constant border crossing that defines the arena within which all human development takes place. From this perspective, the central question becomes: how do humans deal with such transitions throughout the course of their lives? Cultural psychology offers a way of addressing, theoretically and empirically, the epistemological and social dimensions of this question. In addition, we argue that mereotopology—the theory of the relations of part to whole and of part to part within a whole—provides a conceptual framework of enormous potential for appreciating its unexplored ontological underpinnings, thus contributing to the foundations of psychology as a developmental science of the inherent uncertainty that accompanies all individual and social becoming.

The double uncertainty: Trajectories and professional identity in changing contexts

People do not live in fixed, immutable contexts; neither are their life-trajectories uniform. On the contrary, people experience discontinuities, breaks and transitions at various points in their lives, including their professional lives. The fundamental requirement for a transition is a social and cultural relocation, accompanied by the challenging, reworking or abandoning of former valid identities, routines and representations of reality. The construct of transition can be usefully applied to the study of professional trajectories, by offering a perspective that takes into account the dynamicity and uncertainty imposed by the change in professional practices, not just on the activities that take place in professional contexts, but also on the definition/redefinition/negotiation of individual professional identity. This paper suggests an intrinsic “dual uncertainty” of both the context and the individual during the change processes of professional trajectories. The paper provides a complementary outlook to the points raised in Daniels’ (2011) article on the mutual shaping of human action and institutional settings. Taking Daniels’ approach as a basis, it is possible to broaden the analysis of professional trajectories within rapidly-changing occupational settings, by adopting a perspective that takes into account the inherent open-ended nature of socio-cultural phenomena, the fluidity of living contexts, the permeability of the boundaries within which transitions take place and trajectories evolve, as well as the impact of these aspects on professional identity and on its role in processes of change.

Striving for the new: Cultural psychology as a developmental science

Cultural psychology is a developmental science in its nature because it assumes that all the humans beings (as well as groups, social institutions, communities) are developing dynamic systems constantly striving for the new. The focus of investigation is, thus, the circumstances under which novel organizational forms emerge. Any attempt to focus on a complex issue like culture in psychology requires an interdisciplinary integration between social sciences and a general historical orientation (that is, de facto, developmental) on culture. From the outset, Culture & Psychology has promoted linkages between theory and empirical work. For exploring the complex role of the culture in psychology, mere demonstrations of the effect of the culture on a variable do not produce any theoretical advancement, neither it does a pure theoretical speculation. It is only by looking for both the theoretical and empirical elaboration (as a unity) that a breakthrough in the intellectual machinery of a given science is possible. What we need is a consistency between theory, methods, and empirical phenomena. Thus, the question is what kinds of scientific concepts and methodology are adequate for creating theories of dynamic and meaningful phenomena.

When disruptive behavior meets outcome-based education

Disruptive behavior is a major concern for most educational systems. Schools often respond to disruptive students with exclusionary and punitive approaches that have limited effect or value. Moreover, recent neoliberal trends with increased focus on student learning outcome change the attitudes towards disruptive student behavior and also narrow down and homogenize the range of what is considered as “acceptable student behavior”. In this article we discuss the interrelationship between an outcome-based, neoliberal school approach and notions of disruptive behavior. We claim that the outcome-based and neoliberal approach to education basically promotes an un-educational way of thinking about education that also has a huge influence on perceptions of and tolerance towards all kinds of disruptions in schools - whether they come from students, parents, teachers or researchers.

Jerome S. Bruner: manifesto for the future of education / Jerome S. Bruner: manifiesto por el futuro de la educación

Abstract Jerome (Jerry) S. Bruner’s death at the age of 100 left a huge human and intellectual void, especially for those who had been in regular contact with him. Jerry has been an inspiration, not only due to his enormous intellect but also to his vitality and warm mentoring of so many people. This article aims to continue to honour the richness of his work, but also to cultivate possibilities for the new generations. Based on a personal elaboration of Bruner’s ideas, this article is a manifesto for the future of education that cannot be but a manifesto of cultural psychology of education. Here it has been summarized in five main stances.

Identity and Belonging in Third Culture Kids: Alterity and Values in Focus

With increasing globalization, the number of people living outside their home country continues to rise. This is true of both refugees and asylum seekers, as well as employees on international assignments, and, consequently, more research is done on the effects of leaving one’s home country, and the challenges it causes in identity development and feelings of belonging (Mann & Heineck, 2012; UNHCR, 2015). One group, in particular, stands out, as it does not really fit into the category of being forced to move, nor choosing to move. These are children of families that move to work in a country other than their own. These children are forced to move because their parents choose to move, and their number is increasing on the global scale, as international travel becomes easier, and companies expand globally.

The Challenges of the Schooling from Cultural Psychology of Education

Education is in the core of societal change in all its different forms—from kindergartens to vocational schools and lifelong learning. Education—understood as goal-oriented personal movement—re-structures personal lives both inside school and outside the school. This special issue stems from the Cultural Psychology of Education (Marsico Culture & Psychology, 21(4), 445–454, 2015a, b, Journal for the Study of Education and Development, 40(4), 754–781, 2017)—a new approach to the field of education that examines how educational experience is culturally organized. This special issue is focused on the work of schooling as a crucial scientific arena to investigate. It is the follow up of an international workshop host by the Centre for Cultural Psychology (at Aalborg University, Demark) that was very thought provoking and from where several outcomes came out. Some of them are the papers here presented that tried to illuminate the different dimensions of the educational context in the East and West society with specific attention to the Chinese and Scandinavian educational practices. The dialogue between Chinese, European and North American scholars offered a complex view of the current educational challenges in the age of globalization. In this paper I try to focus on some of the most debated and challenging aspects in educational psychology worldwide: diversity, values and practical usability of psychology at school. I re-read these “hot topics” with the help of the themes developed by the authors of this special issue and in light of Cultural Psychology of Education. Then, I conclude by proposing a new agenda for the education of the future.

Maintaining borders: From border guards to diplomats

Abstract The article aims at integrating the cultural psychology perspective of into the multidisciplinary field of border studies. It analyses the border phenomenon as a co-genetic system. The authors investigate the psychological side of people who relate to the border out of different motives. Then, it expands some of the theoretical concepts current in border studies by introducing psychological dimensions such as intentionality and directionality. Finally, the framework is applied to two case-studies representing the northern and southern European Union frontiers: the case of Estonian officer Eston Kohver in the Setumaa region on the Estonian–Russian border; and the experiences of border guards in the re-bordering process on the Spanish–Moroccan border. It offers an innovative conceptual resource based on a triadic co-genetic epistemological approach, which allows us to overcome the binary oppositions still very present in the contemporary debates in borders studies.

Resistance Serves the Transformation: An Introduction to Section III

Resistance has been frequently treated in psychology in its negative meaning of opposing, clashing, confronting and blocking. I claim, instead, that resistance serves life transformation and life regulation. In this paper, I will show the essential role played by resistance, providing examples from theoretical biology and physics. Then, I will introduce the third section of this volume. It is composed of six chapters written by Indian and European authors who showed the transformational and regulating role of resistance in everyday life. I will outline some of the issues raised by the authors in the light of my proposal of resistance as a developing force which serves transformation and regulation of our existence.