An interview with Yrjö Engeström and Annalisa Sannino on activity theory

Abstract

More and more researchers in the teaching and learning of language and literature are turning to activity theory as a theoretical framework. The Center for Activity, Development and Learning (CRADLE, see: http://www.helsinki.fi/cradle/info.htm), earlier called Center for Research on Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research, at the University of Helsinki, is a center of reference for theoretical and methodological development of activity theory, and has pursued ground-breaking research based on culturalhistorical activity theory (CHAT) since 1994. This multi-disciplinary research unit, under the guidance of Yrjö Engeström, has significantly contributed to the development of CHAT-based research as a globally highly regarded paradigm. CRADLE is oriented toward the creation of a strong research community with high international impact, forming both a national and international hub of activity-theoretical and socio-cultural research. Research in CRADLE is focused on reciprocal interaction between theory and practice, and much of its investigation includes formative interventions that use, among others, the Change Laboratory method, also developed in CRADLE. CRADLE works in close collaboration with work organizations, educational institutions, and social movements pursuing investigative developmental efforts aimed at transforming dysfunctional activities. Yrjö Engeström, Professor and founder of the CRADLE research center, has developed cultural-historical activity theory as a framework to study transformations and learning processes in work activities and organizations, and is known for his theory of expansive learning and for the interventionist method of the Change Laboratory. Annalisa Sannino is Academy Research Fellow at CRADLE. Her research is focused on communication, cognition and learning in educational institutions and work organizations. Her previous work deals with the connection between discourse and activity, and with the interventionist nature of cultural-historical activity theory, exploring how specific emerging forms of agency can be discursively identified, supported and enhanced in transformation efforts within educational and work activities. Her current work focuses on developing building blocks of a theory of transformative agency based on Vygotsky’s principle of double stimulation. Joan Ploettner and Eva Tresseras, PhD candidates in the departments of Education at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Universitat de Barcelona, both participated in research stays at CRADLE as part of their doctoral training. They have collaborated in preparing this interview with Yrjö Engeström and Annalisa Sannino. The interview published in this issue was conducted in March, 2016. In this interview, current applications of activity theory in education are discussed and future directions for activity theory based research are presented.