Search results for "Sociocultural approach"

A Sociocultural Approach to Children’s Visual Creations

2021

AbstractThis chapter locates the book within the research on children’s art. It explores interpretations of children’s visual creations throughout the twentieth century and situates the approach of the book within the research landscape. The authors take developmental psychological, educational, and aesthetic approaches to form a sociocultural view of children’s art, challenging many of the previous research assumptions. Through adopting the paradigm of the sociocultural approach, the authors embrace its view of children as competent cultural actors and active participants in cultural production. Thus, the discussion focuses on meaning-making: the authors analyze visual artifacts made by st…

Writing as a Learning Tool

2001

How learning is understood in everyday schooling and conceptualized in research varies a great deal, as does the way in which writing is used for enhancing learning. This paper reviews recent research conducted mainly in Europe, North Arrierica, and Australia to outline what kind of challenges research is facing at the moment. The paper begins with examining how the concept of learning is defined in everyday use and in research. It considers the analysis of learning conceptions important because the way that learning is understood greatly determines how writing is used as a tool for learning. Second, it analyzes the theoretical basis for using writing as a learning tool--theories are divide…

Professional identity in changing workplaces : Why it matters, when it becomes emotionally imbued, and how to support its agentic negotiations

2022

This chapter addresses professional identity in the workplace. The relevance of the topic derives from current trends in working life, in which constant changes require continuous professional identity negotiations. In addition, employees are increasingly obliged to recognise and make visible their professional identity in order to navigate and survive in the complexities of working life. This chapter provides an overview of the conceptual frameworks, topics, and empirical evidence pertaining to professional identity, as presented in workplace learning literature. From this, it provides suggestions for researching and elaborating professional identity, with particular attention to relationa…

A Sociocultural Approach to Young Language Learners' Belief about Language Learning

2003

EFL Teacher Education in Finland : Manifestations of Professional Agency in Teacher Educators’ Work

2020

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher educators play a key role in the development of university-based teacher education and the preparation of preservice EFL teachers. However, the professional agency of EFL teacher educators in developing their work remains understudied. Employing a Vygotskian sociocultural theoretical perspective, this research considers the individual and collective professional agency of eight EFL teacher educators at two Finnish universities. Findings demonstrate that individual professional agency is enacted in the expression of professional identity and the development of professional relationships, and in offering and receiving professional assistance. Findin…

Theoretical and pedagogical perspectives on orchestrating creativity and collaborative learning

2011

The role of teacher is increasingly related to designing and arranging collaborative learning situations in which fruitful and creative group work may occur. This thematic review presents recent studies on creativity and collaborative learning from the perspective of the teacher as conductor of learning processes. The precondition for the design and orchestration of these kinds of learning situations is analysing and understanding of creative and collaborative processes and their contextual adaption. Thus, the first section of this review focuses on the theoretical vantage points of creativity and collaborative learning mainly from socio-cultural perspective. Based on this theoretical groun…

How do novice teachers in Finland perceive their professional agency?

2015

This study investigated novice teachers’ perceptions of their professional agency during the initial years of their work in schools. The research questions were: (i) How do novice teachers perceive their professional agency within their work, and what do they see as the main restrictions and resources affecting that agency? (ii) How do novice teachers perceive their professional agency in the construction and renegotiation of their professional identities, and what do they see as the main restrictions and resources affecting their sense of agency? In theoretical terms, we adhere to a subject-centered sociocultural approach. This implies understanding subjects as active agents from a develop…

It’s Beyond Our Group ZPD

2021

This study is a replication of Upper (1974). Our results are identical. We too have been unable to focus and accomplish our writing goals since the beginning of the global pandemic. We are certainly not alone, and we would like to recognize all of our colleagues who have also had to take on additional responsibilities at work and at home over the past year that have made writing nearly impossible.

Emotional competence at work

2020

PurposeThe study investigated emotional competence at work and elaborated emotional competence in relation to sociocultural aspects of emotions at work.Design/methodology/approachEmotional competence at work was explored via interviews, surveys and observations. The study was conducted over one year, during which an emotion-training intervention was conducted within a medium-sized company, operating in the healthcare sector.FindingsThe study shed light on emotional competence at work, identifying three domains: individual emotional competence, emotional competence within interactions and emotional competence embedded in workplace practices.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was con…