Sociocultural Theory

"Community-based? Asian American Students, Parents, and Teachers in the Shifting Chinatowns of New York and Los Angeles"

by Benji Chang

Chang, B., & Lee, J. H. (2012). “Community-Based?” Asian American Youth, Parents and Community in the Shifting Chinatowns of New York and Los Angeles. Asian American Pacific Islander Nexus Journal, 10(2) 99-117.

This article examines the experiences of children, parents, and teachers in the New York and Los Angeles Chinatown... more This article examines the experiences of children, parents, and teachers in the New York and Los Angeles Chinatown public
schools, as observed by two classroom educators, one based in
each city.

The authors document trends among the transnational East and Southeast Asian families that comprise the majority in the local Chinatown schools and discuss some of the key intersections of communities and identities within those schools, as well as the pedagogies that try to build upon these intersections in the name of student empowerment and a more holistic vision of student achievement.

Ultimately, this article seeks to bring forth the unique perspectives of Chinatown community members and explore how
students, families, teachers, school staff and administrators, and
community organizers can collaborate to actualize a more transformative public education experience.

Psychology in ordinary lives

by Sardar Anwaruddin

Making waves with critical literacy: A teacher researcher study around the texts, contexts, and recontextualizations of an upper middle class public high school

by Carolyn Fortuna

Governing by Numbers? Obstacles and opportunities for cultural indicators in policy

by Emma Blomkamp

Presented at Making Culture Count: Rethinking measures of cultural vitality, wellbeing and citizenship, Melbourne, 3rd May 2012

If governance is as much an art as a science, then what role should numerical indicators play in policy making?more If governance is as much an art as a science, then what role should numerical indicators play in policy making?

“What’s measured matters” is a common assumption in the practice and theory of governance.  Following the hegemony of economic measures of progress and the short-lived social indicators movement, numerous frameworks of cultural and community indicators are now emerging. Variously touted as tools for identifying problems, capturing values, monitoring progress and evaluating outcomes, these indicators have a range of potential policy applications. Representing and responding to complex socio-cultural outcomes in numerical form is full of challenges, though.

Just as painting by numbers is hardly considered a form of “high art”, the use of indicators to guide policy-makers may fall short of “good governance”. This presentation explores the potential for cultural indicators to inform and improve evidence-based policy and democratic accountability, while also considering the pitfalls of “governing by numbers”. By giving a broad critical overview of the origins and applications of cultural indicators, the presenter will thus problematise these devices, before considering concrete examples where they have been, or might be, put to good use by policy-makers.

Professional learning and the materiality of social practice

by Åsa Mäkitalo

Published in the Journal of Education and Work in a special issue on Reconceptualising Professional Learning in a Changing Society edited by T. Fenwick, M. Nerland and K Jensen

This article addresses professional learning as intrinsic to social practices. It takes its point of departure in a... more This article addresses professional learning as intrinsic to social practices. It takes its point of departure in a sociocultural notion of mediation and communication in human activity and addresses the constitutive nature of language and artefacts as material-semiotic tools in the social coordination of perspectives and action, meaning-making and gap-bridging
in professional work. The empirical examples are taken from different settings; an IT helpdesk team working in a multinational production company; vocational guidance officers working in a public employment office and from nurses at a rehabilitation ward in a hospital. The theoretical perspective is used when discussing these cases so as to display the
use of the core concepts and the dynamics of change which may be illuminated by the analytical approach. In the conclusion, specific aspects of the materiality of social practice relevant for the study of learning and knowing in professional work are made salient.

Noticing the Past to Manage the Future: On the Organization of Shared Knowing In IT-Support Practices

by Åsa Mäkitalo

Co-authored with Ann-Charlotte Eklund and Roger Säljö.

http://www.ewidgetsonline.com/dxreader/Reader.aspx?token=aa5512e9c8b944149e70154f63e4cc69&rand=1293582439&buyNowLink=&page=&chapter=

Digital technology is a generic element in the transformation of work practices through ways we communicate,... more Digital technology is a generic element in the transformation of work practices through ways we communicate, administrative procedures, the organization of production processes, and so on. IT helpdesk practices are obvious symptoms of this development. The overall aim of this empirical study is to document and analyze how an IT helpdesk team in a multinational company operates in its everyday practice, and how members develop and maintain collective and individual knowing. As collective knowing is established within a team working 24/7, local jargon and modes of communicating emerge which allow participants to take things for granted and smoothly coordinate their activities. Such jargon is, however, difficult to penetrate for outsiders and newbies. Settings characterized by implicit use of local semiotic tools present an interesting challenge to the study of learning and knowing. In this chapter, we also discuss this challenge and give an account of our research strategy to tease out critical elements in the teams ways of making things relevant.

Is Vygotsky relevant? Vygotsky's Marxist psychology

by Martin Packer

Packer, M. J. (2008). Is Vygotsky relevant? Vygotsky's Marxist psychology. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 15(1), 8-31. doi:10.1080/10749030701798607 10.1080/10749030701798607

Towards a social ontology of learning

by Martin Packer

Lave, J., & Packer, M. (2008). Towards a social ontology of learning. In K. Nielsen, S. Brinkmann, C. Elmholdt, L. Tanggaard, P. Musaeus, & G. Kraft (Eds.), A qualitative stance (pp. 17-46). Aarhus: Aarhus University Press.

Cultural work on the kindergarten playground: Articulating the ground of play

by Martin Packer

Creativity and folk art: A study of creative action in traditional craft

by Vlad Glaveanu

Forthcoming in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

The present article aims to explore creativity in craftwork using the case of Easter egg decoration, a folk art chosen... more The present article aims to explore creativity in craftwork using the case of Easter egg decoration, a folk art chosen for its traditional roots and diversity of artistic outcomes. The research presented here contributes to the literature at: a) a theoretical level, by conceptualising a pragmatist-inspired framework of creative activity, b) a methodological level, by using, beside observation and interview, subjective cameras to record activity, and c) at an empirical level, considering the fact that creativity in folk art has often been a neglected topic. The two studies included in the article employed the participation of 20 different egg decorators of various ages from the village of Ciocӑneşti in northern Romania. The first research was concerned with general stages of traditional egg decoration and their characteristics, while the second investigation took a closer look at variations associated with the activity path, the generalities and specificities of work and how they could be accounted for, particularly in terms of expert - novice differences. These studies revealed the many ways in which creativity is intrinsic to Easter egg decoration and the final discussion of the article summarises them with reference to processes of combination and change, copying and translation, personal style and creative identity. In the end, an understanding of “micro” moments of creativity in craft is achieved, one that can help us rethink the relation between tradition and creativity, between folk and fine art.

Keywords: folk art, Easter egg decoration, creative activity, pragmatism, subjective cameras

School as a site for the production of persons

by Martin Packer

Packer, M., & Greco-Brooks, D. (1999). School as a site for the production of persons. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 12, 133-149.

The problem of transfer, and the sociocultural critique of schooling

by Martin Packer

Packer, M. (2001). The problem of transfer, and the sociocultural critique of schooling. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 10, 493-514.

Sociocultural and constructivist theories of learning: Ontology, not just epistemology

by Martin Packer

Packer, M. J., & Goicoechea, J. (2000). Sociocultural and constructivist theories of learning: Ontology, not just epistemology. Educational Psychologist, 35(4), 227-241.

Pierroux, P. (2012) Real Life Meaning in Second Life Art.

by Palmyre Pierroux

In B. Gentikow, E. Skogseth, and Østerud, S. (Eds.) Literacy Practices in Late Modernity. Managing Technological and Cultural Convergencies, ( Chapter 10, pp. 177-198). Hampton Press: Cresskill NJ.

Pierroux, P., Krange, I. and Sem, I. (2011) Bridging Contexts and Interpretations: Mobile Blogging on Art Museum Field Trips

by Palmyre Pierroux

Mediekultur, 50: 25-44

Steier, R. and Pierroux, P. (2011) What is ‘the concept’? Sites of conceptual understanding in a touring architecture workshop

by Palmyre Pierroux

Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 6 (3): 138-156

Pierroux, P. (2010) Guiding Meaning on Guided Tours.

by Palmyre Pierroux

In Morrison, A. (Ed.) Inside Multimodal Composition, (Chapter 14, pp. 417-450). Hampton Press: Cresskill, NJ.

Martin. D. (2012). Learning mathematics while Black. The Journal of Educational Foundations, 26(1-2), 47-66.

by Danny Martin

The nature of creativity in craft: Insights from Easter egg decoration

by Vlad Glaveanu

Forthcoming in International Journal of Creativity & Human Development

The present article explores the nature of creativity in craft and does so with the help of a case study of... more The present article explores the nature of creativity in craft and does so with the help of a case study of traditional Easter egg decoration. It starts by positioning the domain of folk art in relation to fine art and within a larger category of everyday life forms of creative expression. Then a cultural psychology approach to creativity is introduced and its framework used to unpack the actors and processes involved in craftwork. Analysing what is characteristic for folk art uses these particular lenses and requires paying attention to externalisation, integration, internalisation, and social interaction aspects. Findings reveal fundamental features of craft such as its materiality, the presence of a strong traditional background, the importance of continuous learning, and the role of family and community relations. Towards the end connections are made with the existing literature and final reflections offered on whether the characteristics above say something about creativity more generally, beyond the context of craft.

Key words: folk art, Easter eggs, everyday life, cultural psychology.

The two-way language bridge: Co-constructing bilingual language learning opportunities.

by Melinda Martin-Beltran

The Modern Language Journal. 94(2), 254-277, 2010