Contradictions as Sources of Change: A literature review on Activity Theory and the Utilisation of the Activity System in Mathematics Education

Abstract

The activity system is the unit of analysis, the analytic lens at which learning is perceived, in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT, hereafter AT). Pictorially, the activity system is represented as a triangular structure of interconnected relationships formed between its six components (subject, object, community, instruments, rules, and division of labour). The significance of the activity system hinges on its capacity to define and analyse contradictions. Contradictions is a hallmark concept within AT defined as “sources of change and development” driving the activity system (Engeström, 2001, p 137). With an aim to understand the activity system, I first give a brief overview of its historical development, followed by an analysis of the ways in which the mathematics educational community has operationalised this unit of analysis. I argue that the activity system ought to be methodologically used in ways that allow researchers to broaden the exploration of contradictions. In particular, I suggest that nesting the activity system within broader institutional and cultural-historical contexts provides an innovative view adept for the analysis of contradictions.