Connections between sociocultural learning theories and the political ethic of care

Vivienne BozalekUniversity of the Western Cape

vbozalek@uwc.ac.za

Philosophical roots Background to paper Vygotsky Leont’ev and Engestrom Connectivism

Overview of presentation

The Political Ethics of CareTronto and Sevenhuijsen

Similar political and philosophical roots

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42311564@N00/2924518437/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological), and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formulation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relations between human individuals (Vygotsky, 1978:57)

Relationality - Lev Vygotsky

“… the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers… the actual developmental level characterises mental development retrospectively, while the zone of proximal development characterises mental development prospectively.” (Vygotsky, 1978:86-87)

Zone of Proximal DevelopmentVygotsky

http://www.flickr.com/photos/josemota/

First generation Activity TheoryLev Vygotsky (1978)

Leont’ev and Engestrom

marxists.org

edu.helsinki.fi

Second generation activity theory – Leontiev (1978) & Engeström (1987)

SubjectObject

Outcome

Rules Community Division of labor

Mediating artefacts

Explanation of concepts Subject – individual or group who are involved in the

activity or who you choose to analyse Object – focus/purpose/problem space at which the

activity is directed (acted on and transformed by subject) and which is moulded into outcomes with the help of

Instruments – the mediational means (culture-specific or technological tools, models etc)

Community – group of individuals who participate on acting on the shared object

Division of labour – tasks, responsibilities and power relations

Rules - norms, conventions which drive activity

The connected service user

Human flourishing

Service user

Tools for caregiving – conversations, practices, Websites, blogs, wikis, support groups etc

Norms affecting

the caring process

Division of labour – who is

doing what n the care process

Community – who is contributing to human flourishing?

Relationships & connections

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hikingartist/5726834773/sizes/s/in/photostream

Thanks to Veronica Mitchell for this slide

Connectivism

George Siemens Distributed knowledge Networks of people Nurturing and

maintaining connections to facilitate learning

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_downes

Second Life – 3D immersive environment

Engeström, Y. (1987).Learning by Expanding: an activity-theoretical approach to developmental research.Helsinki:Orienta-Konsultit.

Hardman, J. (2008). Researching pedagogy: Activity Theory Approach. Journal of Education, 45:1-30.

Siemens, G. (2005) ‘Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. www.connectivism.ca (accessed 21 August 2012)

Siemens, G., &Tittenberger, P. (2009). Handbook of Emerging Technology for Learning. University of Manitoba. Available at http://elearnspace.org/Articles/HETL.pdf (accessed 21 August 2012)

Tronto J. (1993) Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care.. New York & London: Routledge.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, E. 2Souberman (Eds.) Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

References