Yew-Jin Lee

“Vygotsky’s Neglected Legacy”: Cultural-Historical Activity Theory:

The authors describe an evolving theoretical framework that has been called one of the best kept secrets of academia: cultural-historical activity theory, the result of proposals Lev Vygotsky first articulated but that his students and followers substantially developed to constitute much expanded forms in its second and third generations. Besides showing that activity theory transforms how research should proceed regarding language, language learning, and literacy in particular, the authors demonstrate how it is a theory for praxis, thereby offering the potential to overcome some of the most profound problems that have plagued both educational theorizing and practice.

The Individual|Collective Dialectic in the Learning Organization.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to answer two interrelated questions: “Who learns and how in the learning organization?”. By implication, many theories of the learning organization are adressed that are based on a static and erroneous separation of individual and collective. Design/methodology/approach – Four episodes from a larger case study exemplify the theoretical arguments. These were based on a longitudinal ethnographic study of a salmon hatchery and the public‐sector organization to which the former was accountable. Conceptual framework is strongly dialectical: in their actions individuals concretely reproduce the organization and, when actions vary, realize it in novel forms; organizations therefore presuppose individuals that concretely produce them. However, without an organization, there would be no aim or orientation to individual actions to speak of in the first instance. Findings – The paper finds that individuals learn, through the production of socio‐material resources, notions of organizations which are not abstract. These resources increase action possibilities for the collective, whether realized concretely or not. Expansive learning in individuals is co‐constitutive of learning in organizations and decreasing interest in individual learning constitutes decreased levels of action possibilities for the collective. Research limitations/implications – The paper shows that using this framework, it becomes problematic to separate individual and collective learning. Originality/value – The paper shows that access to participation by all members is a key component as are affordances given by the organization for the development of individuals.

A tool for changing the world: possibilities of cultural‐historical activity theory to reinvigorate science education

Cultural‐historical activity theory, an outcrop of socio‐psychological approaches toward human development, has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past two decades but has yet to be appropriated into science education to any large extent. In part, the difficulties Western scholars have had in adopting this framework arise from its ontology, which is materialist dialectical and, hence, does not allow easy absorption into non‐dialectical (classical logical) thinking underlying much of Western scholarship. Cultural‐historical activity theory has tremendous potential because it sublates traditional dichotomies in everyday teaching‐learning situations including individual/collective, body/mind, intra‐/inter‐psychological, cognitive/emotive and psychological/sociological. In this contribution, we not only review the existing literature that uses or develops this non‐dualistic approach, but also articulate an intelligible explication of the theory that is more accessible to Western scholars and describe possible future curriculum work and research in science education as an expression of the fruitfulness of the theory.

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 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.

Identity-Based Research in Science Education

A major leitmotiv in the social sciences, the concept of identity, promises to be rewarding in the hands of science educators concerned with the holistic development of learners of all ages. While its inherent complexity poses obstacles to adoption, urban science educators and those advocating equity and social justice have spearheaded identity-based research, which has clustered around the frameworks of figured worlds, discursive stances, and activity theory. This departure from psychological attributions of identity toward sociocultural perspectives of personhood resonates with the increasing acceptance of interpretative paradigms in science education.

“A prophet never accepted by their own town”: a teacher's learning trajectory when using technology

Although there are some success stories of technology integration in schools, it remains unclear in the literature how teachers become, and take on the identity of, exemplary users of technology in classrooms. Using concepts from cultural sociology, this article examines how an experienced elementary school teacher in Singapore, Cassie, accounted for her difficult learning journey and becoming an expert technology user. From interview data, we highlight the major milestones in Cassies trajectory of learning and explain how structural factors at the policy, district and classroom levels afforded and constrained Cassies learning and how she, in turn, slowly changed her pedagogy incorporating technology. We conclude by discussing issues of teacher learning and identity by way of contrasting against a more traditional view of teacher education and from the case example of Cassie, we further explicate the dialectics of teacher agents vis‐à‐vis the structure of teaching and education.

Not if but when pedagogy collides with culture in Singapore

Recent curricula reforms in Singapore seek to cultivate knowledge workers for the global economy whereby critical and creative thinking are normative capabilities. Because it is believed that these national goals are best served by meaningful and constructivist ways of classroom instruction, student-centered pedagogies are being promoted as valuable strategies for local educators. Drawing on cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT) and the concept of contradictions, I describe, in general, some of the learning difficulties experienced by one fourth-grade girl as she attempted to navigate one of these pedagogies and science instruction over the course of a school year. The findings from this case study underscore some of the tensions in implementing student-centered pedagogies in East Asian contexts such as Singapore and index greater attention to cultural–historical issues during research on curriculum.

The intellectual demands of the intended primary science curriculum in Korea and Singapore: An analysis based on revised Bloom’s taxonomy

While there has been a remarkable worldwide convergence in the emphases of primary science curricula over the last four decades, the cognitive and knowledge demands that they make on learners have not been well-researched. Without knowing what these intellectual or epistemic requirements are when learning science in school, issues concerning curricular alignment and access to abstract disciplinary knowledge are also likely to occur. To highlight the value of such forms of analyses, we examine the intended primary science curricula from Korea and Singapore using revised Blooms taxonomy, as well as describe some of their general features for teaching. The results contribute insights into the complexities of the science curriculum among two similar yet different educational systems that have performed well in international science achievement tests at primary levels.

The Value of Fidelity of Implementation Criteria to Evaluate School-Based Science Curriculum Innovations

School-based curriculum innovations, including those in science education, are usually not adequately evaluated, if at all. Furthermore, current procedures and instruments for programme evaluations are often unable to support evidence-based decision-making. We suggest that adopting fidelity of implementation (FOI) criteria from healthcare research can both characterize and narrow the separation between programme intent and actual implementation, which is a mandatory stage of evaluation before determining overall programme value. We demonstrate how such a process could be applied by science educators using data from a secondary school in Singapore that had devised a new curriculum to promote interest, investigative processes, and knowledge in science. Results showed that there were ambivalent student responses to this programme, while there were high levels of science process skill instruction and close alignment with the intended lesson design. The implementation of this programme appeared to have a satisfactory overall level of FOI, but we also detected tensions between programme intent and everyday classroom teaching. If we want to advance science education, then our argument is that applying FOI criteria is necessary when evaluating all curricular innovations, not just those that originate from schools.

Science Education in a Straightjacket: The Interplay of People, Policies, and Place in an East Asian Developmental State

It is widely agreed that approaches based on inquiry or process skills are desirable in science instruction, but past efforts at their implementation in classrooms have often been problematic. This is because implementation processes confront many challenges and usually map imperfectly from developers’ intentions to actual practice. Using data from a recent school-based science curriculum development in Singapore, I show how this programme for Grade 7 and 8 students was ultimately compromised in its overall aims to teach content and higher-order process skills. Despite the explicit provision of much hands-on experiences here, a high degree of epistemic agency could not be ascertained although students did indicate that they found aspects of it enjoyable and relevant to daily life. I argue that this situation was partly due to internal shortcomings and practical difficulties within the programme as well as tensions with other educational policies and sociocultural norms in the country. In addition, there were interacting levels that influenced—both positively and negatively—the implementation process and thus eventual programme success. This study has important implications for science educators who prioritise the planned or intrinsic aspects of science curricula (e.g., ensuring an appropriate amount of inquiry activities) but neglect programme implementation and understanding educational change as inevitable complex ecologies of people, policies, and place. Finally, I confirm the presence of educational change problems in an internationally recognised high-achieving system that are not inherently different from those in other locations or subject areas.