Cultural-historical activity theory: Vygotsky’s forgotten and suppressed legacy and its implication for mathematics education

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Author(s)
Roth, Michael
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2012
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Cultural-historical activity theory-with historical roots in dialectical materialism and the social psychology to which it has given rise-has experienced exponential growth in its acceptance by scholars interested in understanding knowing and learning writ large. In education, this theory has constituted something like a well kept secret that is only in the process of gaining larger levels of acceptance. Mathematics educators are only beginning to realise the tremendous advantages that the theory provides over other theories. In this review essay, I articulate the theory as it may relate to the issues that concern mathematics ...
View more >Cultural-historical activity theory-with historical roots in dialectical materialism and the social psychology to which it has given rise-has experienced exponential growth in its acceptance by scholars interested in understanding knowing and learning writ large. In education, this theory has constituted something like a well kept secret that is only in the process of gaining larger levels of acceptance. Mathematics educators are only beginning to realise the tremendous advantages that the theory provides over other theories. In this review essay, I articulate the theory as it may relate to the issues that concern mathematics education and educators with a particular focus on the way in which it addresses logical contradictions in existing theories.
View less >
View more >Cultural-historical activity theory-with historical roots in dialectical materialism and the social psychology to which it has given rise-has experienced exponential growth in its acceptance by scholars interested in understanding knowing and learning writ large. In education, this theory has constituted something like a well kept secret that is only in the process of gaining larger levels of acceptance. Mathematics educators are only beginning to realise the tremendous advantages that the theory provides over other theories. In this review essay, I articulate the theory as it may relate to the issues that concern mathematics education and educators with a particular focus on the way in which it addresses logical contradictions in existing theories.
View less >
Journal Title
Mathematics Education Research Journal
Volume
24
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2013 Springer Netherlands. This is an electronic version of an article published in Mathematics Education Research Journal (MERJ), Volume 24, Issue 1, pp 87–104, 2012. Mathematics Education Research Journal (MERJ) is available online at: http://link.springer.com/ with the open URL of your article.
Subject
Cultural Theory
Mathematics and Numeracy Curriculum and Pedagogy
Curriculum and Pedagogy