Reflections on CHAT and Freire's Participatory Action Research From the West of Scotland
Praxis , Politics, and the “Struggle For Meaningful Life”
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18972143 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chik Collins (0000-0003-3906-0695, University of the West of Scotland, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 98-114 |
| Publication date | 2011-04-11 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Mind Culture and Activity (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1074-9039 • E-ISSN: 1532-7884 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10749039.2010.484098 |
| OpenAlex | W2000434809 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 12 |
This article offers a perspective on the relationship between cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) and one particular strand of action research—Freirean participatory action research (PAR). It reflects on a research collaboration conducted two decades ago with a community organisation and seeks to "show" the interaction of CHAT and Freirean PAR in ongoing reflection on that collaboration. It argues that the two are strongly compatible and complementary and suggests that Freirean PAR offers an orientation toward politics, ideology, and social justice that can help in connecting CHAT's underlying emancipatory intent more fully to the problems confronting people in today's troubled world. It was included in the symposium, "Lessons from Vygotsky's Project for Sociocultural Practices Today: Issues of History, Ideology and Social Justice." My sincere thanks to Anna Stetsenko, as the symposium organiser; to my co-presenters, Eduardo Vianna and Edward Muthivhi; and to all who attended and participated in the discussions. Further thanks to the anonymous reviewers of MCA who provided welcome and useful feedback, and to Bridget Somekh and Morten Nissen, who as co-editors of this special issue provided very welcome guidance. Notes 1This "parallel accounts" approach has been used in action research previously with some success (CitationSomekh, 2006, p. 48), and I seek to build upon it here. 2Perhaps this is why, at a later stage, FLAG instigated a collaboration that in key respects closely resembled a critical form of action research. 3This is not to say that CHAT research systematically lacks such a focus on context. Some of the earliest contributions to the tradition very clearly did exemplify it (e.g., CitationLuria, 1976), and some more contemporary work also engages critically with broader historical, political, and ideological contexts. However, the latter kind of orientation is not characteristic of contemporary CHAT. 4For one very useful example of an attempt to provide such guidelines, see Action Research: A Methodology for Change and Development (CitationSomekh, 2006)
Economic Justice · Ideology · Media studies · Participatory action research · Political science · Politics · Praxis · Sociology · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Innovative Education and Learning Practices · Law · Social Work Education and Practice
Connecting Learning and Identity Development through a Transformative Activist Stance
Participating to transform
Promoting change through a formative intervention
Assembling social enterprise
Les interactions entre la pédagogie critique et la théorie socioculturelle de l'activité comme cadre d'analyse de l'innovation des pratiques enseignantes
Differentiating Participation
The role of local leaders in cultural transformation and development
Social theory and health inequalities
| Citations per year | 0.53 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2011 - 2026 (16) |
| Highly cited | No |