111f. / Submitted by Oliveira Santos Dilzaná (dilznana@yahoo.com.br) on 2013-07-18T12:49:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 (2 CD) (2X) Dissertação Renata Moreira da Silva.pdf: 2278509 bytes, checksum: 15b3860e0c1cd65c5e48ab28fc642afb (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Portela(anapoli@ufba.br) on 2013-07-18T16:46:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 (2 CD) (2X) Dissertação Renata Moreira da Silva.pdf: 2278509 bytes, checksum: 15b3860e0c1cd65c5e48ab28fc642afb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-07-18T16:46:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 (2 CD) (2X) Dissertação Renata Moreira da Silva.pdf: 2278509 bytes, checksum: 15b3860e0c1cd65c5e48ab28fc642afb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / FAPESB / O estudo dos processos afetivos na psicologia é de grande importância e tem sido objeto de atenção crescente, em particular entre os pesquisadores na área da Psicologia Cultural. A maternidade e a soropositividade são contextos nos quais rupturas e transições ocorrem de forma impactante na vida dos indivíduos, contribuindo para a ocorrência de uma importante variedade de reações emocionalmente orientadas. O objetivo geral desse estudo foi analisar o significado da maternidade para mães soropositivas para HIV. Os objetivos específicos, por sua vez, foram (a) analisar os processos envolvidos na garantia de continuidade do self em condições de ruptura de mães soropositivas para HIV, e (b) caracterizar os recursos simbólicos disponíveis ou criados pelas mulheres que experienciam a maternidade sendo soropositivas para HIV. Para atingir os objetivos, foi realizado um estudo de casos, através de narrativas de histórias de vida com dez mães soropositivas para HIV, entrevistadas no CEDAP, na cidade de Salvador/Bahia. As entrevistas realizadas foram transcritas e submetidas à análise de entrevista narrativa. O conceito desenvolvido nesse estudo, o Ciclo de Isolamento, detalhou como ocorre o processo de retirada dos contextos de interação social, que envolve custo emocional e pode estar associado a processos de depressão. A existência de uma rede social de suporte mostrou-se como condição fundamental para uma melhor qualidade de vida na vivência da maternidade. As experiências de enfrentamento perante as dificuldades - seja a dor da descoberta do HIV, da traição, da impossibilidade da amamentação ou dos episódios de discriminação – são bastante diversificadas, a depender da presença ou ausência de outros importantes ao lado dessas mulheres. A participação da família na vida dessas mulheres é imprescindível para o seu bem estar e para seu fortalecimento físico, emocional, mental e social. O Ciclo de Isolamento é relevante enquanto construto teórico capaz de especificar processos em curso quando a pessoa experiência situações socialmente estigmatizadas e tem implicações para a prática profissional em diversas áreas. Destaque-se sua utilidade potencial para o planejamento de ações na promoção de saúde pública. The study of affective processes in psychology is of great importance and has been the subject of increasing attention, particularly among researchers in the field of Cultural Psychology. Motherhood and seropositivity are contexts in which ruptures and transitions are striking in the lives of individuals, contributing to the occurrence of a variety of important reactions emotionally oriented. The general objective of this study was to analyze the meaning of motherhood for mothers infected with HIV. The specific objectives, in turn, were (a) analyze the processes involved in ensuring continuity of the self in terms of disruption to mothers seropositive for HIV, and (b) to characterize the symbolic resources available or created by women who are experiencing motherhood seropositive for HIV. To achieve the goals, we performed a case study, through narratives of life histories with ten HIV seropositive mothers, interviewed in the CEDAP, the city of Salvador / Bahia. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for narrative interview. The concept developed in this study, the Isolation Cycle, detailed process of withdrawal of the contexts of social interaction, which involves emotional cost and can be associated with cases of depression. The existence of a network of social support proved to be a prerequisite for a better quality of life in the experience of motherhood. The experiences of coping with the difficulties - the pain of the discovery of HIV, betrayal, or the impossibility of breastfeeding episodes of discrimination - are quite diverse, depending on the presence or absence of important others alongside these women. Family participation in the lives of these women is essential to their well being and strengthening their physical, emotional, mental and social. The Isolation Cycle is relevant as theoretical construct able to specify processes in progress when the person experiences situations socially stigmatized and has implications for professional practice in various areas. Stand out from its potential usefulness for planning actions to promote public health. / Salvador

La présente thèse examine la capacité des enfants âgés de huit à dix ans à produire des inférences sur l’état émotionnel du protagoniste au moment même où ils découvrent l’histoire (i.e., évaluation en temps réel). Quatre objectifs sont visés. Premièrement, la question de la spécificité des inférences émotionnelles produites est posée et appréhendée à partir de deux types de tâches déjà utilisées et validées chez l’adulte, à savoir une tâche de complètement et une tâche de choix multiples. Pour la tâche de complètement, les enfants sont invités à désigner par écrit l’émotion que pourrait ressentir le personnage à ce moment précis de l’histoire alors que pour la tâche de choix multiples ils doivent sélectionner parmi une liste d’émotions celle qui correspond le mieux à la situation décrite. Deuxièmement, outre les apports méthodologiques retirés de la comparaison de ces deux tâches, cette thèse interroge le développement des connaissances émotionnelles en explorant tant leur maîtrise des émotions de base que des émotions sociales. Troisièmement, s’agissant d’étudier les inférences émotionnelles élaborées en situation d’écoute d’histoires, l’expressivité du narrateur est considérée avec l’idée qu’une prosodie marquée pourrait favoriser l’identification des émotions du personnage. Enfin, dans l’optique d’ouvrir ce travail à une comparaison interculturelle, la capacité des enfants à inférer l’émotion du personnage à partir de textes de littérature jeunesse a été envisagée tant en France qu’à l’Ile Maurice. Au regard de ces différents objectifs, les retombées des études menées sont de deux ordres : méthodologique et théorique. La présente thèse permet ainsi d’alimenter la réflexion tant du point de vue des connaissances scientifiques actuellement disponibles sur ce sujet dans le domaine de la psychologie que du point de vue des pratiques pédagogiques à privilégier dans le domaine de l’éducation. / This thesis examines the ability of children aged eight to ten years to produce inferences about the emotional state of the protagonist while they discover the story (i.e., online evaluation). Four main objectives have to be distinguished. First, the specificity of the emotional inferences children produced is examined through two types of tasks already used and validated in adults, namely a completion task and a multiple-choice task. Regarding the completion task, children are invited to write down the emotion the character is supposed to feel at this moment of the story. For the multiple-choice task, they have to select from a list of emotional labels the one that best fits the situation described. Secondly, this thesis provides a relevant framework to assess the development of children’s emotional knowledge by considering their ability to infer both basic emotions and social emotions. Thirdly, our purpose is to highlight that the expressivity of the narrator can be of help in inferring the character’s emotions. Finally, in order to open this work to an intercultural comparison, children’s ability to infer the emotion of the character has been considered both in France and in Mauritius. In view of these different objectives, the series of studies we carried address both methodological and theoretical issues. Overall, the present thesis provides additional data to the current state of knowledge in psychology about children’s ability to represent the character’s emotional state and underlines related pedagogical contributions to reinforce practices in the field of education.

CABÓ, Leonardo José Freire. Trabalho e atividade na psicologia de A. N. Leotiev: pressupostos ontológicos e contribuições ao processo educativo/formativo da classe trabalhadora. 2012. 180f. – Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-graduação em Educação Brasileira, Fortaleza (CE), 2012 / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-02-20T14:58:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2012-DIS-LJFCABO.pdf: 1193706 bytes, checksum: f89265f7c4064e2e37f77341b31d6576 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo(marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-02-20T15:07:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2012-DIS-LJFCABO.pdf: 1193706 bytes, checksum: f89265f7c4064e2e37f77341b31d6576 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-02-20T15:07:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2012-DIS-LJFCABO.pdf: 1193706 bytes, checksum: f89265f7c4064e2e37f77341b31d6576 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / This research adopted as the object of study the relationship between work and activity in the psychology of A. N. Leontiev. Theoretical and literature, our study aimed at investigating the foundations and structure of the "activity theory", developed initially by Vygotsky and Leontiev and systematized by which, nowadays, is taken up by scholars from various fields of humanities, peering, and specifically its relationship with work in Marx (1984, 2004, 2005) and Lukacs (1978, 1981) and their contributions to the project educational / training in contemporary working class. To achieve the proposed objectives, dwelt us about some of the major works of Leontiev (1978a, 1978b, 1980, 1988, 1999) as well as texts / books published by Vygotsky (1988, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2004), Luria (1979, 1988a; 1992), Elkonin (1987, 1988), Davydov (1988) and Shuare (1990), as well as interpreters of Brazilian research on elaborations of Historical-Cultural Psychology, especially the construct of theoretical and practical Leontiev, like Duarte (2004, 2001), Tuleski (2007, 2009), Do Carmo (2008), Barroco (2007a, 2007b), Pasqualini (2006, 2010), Asbarh (2005, 2011), Gonçalves (2005) among others. At the end, we establish general traits that comprise what the author calls "dominant activity," his contributions to the development process of the psyche of the child and the educational process/formation of the working class on the threshold of the XXI century. / A presente pesquisa adotou como objeto de estudo as relações entre trabalho e atividade na psicologia de A. N. Leontiev. De caráter teórico-bibliográfico, nosso estudo procurou investigar os fundamentos e a estrutura da chamada “teoria da atividade”, elaborada inicialmente por Vigotski e sistematizada por Leontiev e que, na atualidade, é retomada por estudiosos dos mais diversos campos das ciências humanas, perscrutando, de modo específico, suas relações com a categoria trabalho em Marx (1984; 2004; 2005) e Lukács (1978; 1981) e suas contribuições ao projeto educativo/formativo classe trabalhadora na contemporaneidade. Para o alcance dos objetivos propostos, debruçamo-nos sobre algumas das principais obras de Leontiev (1978a; 1978b; 1980; 1988; 1999), bem como textos/livros publicados por Vigotski (1988; 1995; 1999; 2000; 2004), Luria (1979; 1988a; 1992), Elkonin (1987; 1988), Davidov (1988) e Shuare (1990), assim como de interpretes brasileiros que pesquisam sobre as elaborações da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural, especialmente, o constructo teórico-prático de Leontiev, a exemplo de Duarte (2004; 2001), Tuleski (2007; 2009), Do Carmo (2008), Barroco (2007a; 2007b), Pasqualini (2006; 2010), Asbarh (2005; 2011), Gonçalves (2005) dentre outros. Ao final, estabelecemos traços gerais que comportam o que o autor denomina de “atividade dominante”, suas contribuições ao processo de desenvolvimento do psiquismo da criança e ao processo educativo/formativo da classe trabalhadora no limiar do século XXI.

abstract: Why are human societies so psychologically diverse? The discipline of behavioral ecology is rich in both theory and data on how environments shape non-human animal behavior. However, behavioral ecological thinking has not received much attention in the study of human cultural psychological variation. I propose that ecological relatedness—how genetically related individuals are to others in their proximate environment—is one aspect of the environment that shapes human psychology. I present three studies here that examine the influence of ecological relatedness on multiple aspects of psychology. In the first study, I find that higher levels of ecological relatedness at the nation level is associated with a greater willingness to put oneself at risk for others, greater localized trust, and a stronger sense of belonging to one’s community. In the second and third studies, using experimental manipulations of perceived ecological relatedness, I examine the effects of ecological relatedness on helping behavior across situations, monetary sharing on a dictator game, interpersonal judgments, and alloparenting behaviors. I find that individuals led to perceive higher ecological relatedness became more sensitive to need in potential helping situations. The implications of ecological relatedness for thinking about psychological variation across groups are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2016

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T15:09:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1099239 bytes, checksum: 8f5207dad0de51b65f94ba77d5759bd0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-15 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This thesis aims to understand how the appropriation of Vigotski‟s work has been done by Educational Psychology teachers in Pedagogy and Psychology Licentiature courses in the State of Paraíba. The research instruments interviews and syllabus course plans made it possible to analyse the manner of appropriation of Vigotski‟s works. The categories for appreciating the research data, outlined in the philosophical and methodological rationale regarding historical dialectic materialism, contained in Vigotski‟s work, were the following: contradiction, humanization, alienation, labor, objectivation, appropriation, totality and historicity. These categories are essential for understanding teacher education, if we see it as a human constitution process. The data analysis allowed us to identify the different levels of appropriation of Vigotskian theory, and it even showed the existence of a wide diversity of reading done by those who approach his fundamentals. The challenge presented to us, after the investigation, lies in facing the complexity of the articulation process in Historical-cultural Psychology, with teacher education in view. Such challenge means, not only contributing to the development of knowledge available in this area, but also enabling the teacher to give priority to the conceptual insight of Vigotskian‟s theory, unveiling new horizons towards the understanding of the meaning and relevance of human social history, and grasping the dynamic of the objectivating activity process in human beings. This research also points to the necessity of widening the applicability of such theoretical background, so that we can better contribute to the education of teachers and search for new possibilities of intervening in the social practice through education. / A presente tese tem como objetivo compreender como tem se dado a apropriação da obra de Vigotski pelos professores que lecionam os conteúdos de Psicologia Educacional em cursos de Licenciatura em Pedagogia e Psicologia do Estado da Paraíba. Os instrumentos investigativos - entrevistas e planos de curso dos componentes curriculares - possibilitaram a análise do modo de apropriação da obra deste autor. As categorias para a apreciação dos dados da investigação, pautadas nos pressupostos filosóficos e metodológicos do materialismo histórico dialético, presentes na obra de Vigotski, foram as seguintes: contradição, humanização, alienação, trabalho, objetivação, apropriação, totalidade e historicidade. Essas categorias são fundamentais para a compreensão da formação docente, enquanto processo de constituição humana. A análise das informações permitiu identificar os diferentes níveis de apropriação da teoria vigotskiana, demonstrando, ainda, a existência de uma diversidade de leituras que vem sendo feitas, por aqueles que se aproximam de seus fundamentos. O desafio que se apresenta, após esse trabalho de investigação, se situa no enfrentamento e na complexidade do processo de articulação da Psicologia Histórico-cultural com a formação docente. Tal desafio está, não apenas em contribuir com o desenvolvimento dos conhecimentos que essa área disponibiliza, mas, em instrumentalizar o professor, para que ele possa priorizar o aprofundamento conceitual da teoria vigotskiana, descortinando novos horizontes para a compreensão do significado e relevância da história social humana e da dinâmica do processo da atividade objetivadora dos seres humanos. Esta pesquisa aponta, ainda, para a necessidade de ampliação da aplicabilidade de tal aporte teórico de modo que se possa melhor contribuir na formação de professores, buscando novas possibilidades de intervenção na prática social a partir da educação.

A presente pesquisa dedicou-se ao tema da aprendizagem social por meio de uma abordagem psicológica cultural deste fenômeno, agregando ainda contribuições ao tema advindas da Psicologia Moral. Buscou-se identificar diferenças nas representações de crianças pré-escolares quanto às estratégias que utilizam para resolver conflitos interpessoais, em função das diferentes relações por elas vivenciadas em um ambiente mais democrático e cooperativo e em outro com maior orientação autocrática e coercitiva. Assim, foram entrevistadas 27 crianças, com 4 a 5 anos de idade, provenientes de duas creches públicas que apresentavam as características citadas. As professoras responsáveis pelos grupos de crianças pesquisados também participaram respondendo a um questionário acerca de seus valores, representações e atitudes relacionados a sua mediação em situações de conflitos interpessoais vivenciados por seus alunos. O conjunto de relatos foi analisado de forma fundamentalmente qualitativa, tendo por base a técnica de análise de conteúdo e, no caso das crianças, como categorias, a agressão, a submissão e a assertividade, além de outras categorias ambivalentes. Os resultados obtidos indicaram relação entre o ambiente democrático e habilidades mais sofisticadas e apropriadas socialmente de resolução de conflitos reportadas pelas crianças e, inversamente, uma relação entre o ambiente autocrático e habilidades menos desenvolvidas de resolução de conflitos indicadas pelas crianças / The present work was dedicated to the investigation of the theme social learning by means of a cultural psychological approach of the phenomenon, allied to contributions from Moral Psychology. We attempted to identify differences in preschool children\'s representations with respect to the strategies that they utilize to resolve interpersonal conflicts, as a function of the different relations they experience in a more democratic and cooperative environment compared to a more authoritarian and coercive ambient. To attend this purpose, 27 children aged between 4 and 5 years and attending two public day care centers with the abovementioned characteristics were interviewed. The teachers that were in charge of the investigated groups also participated in the study by answering a questionnaire about their values, representations, and attitudes regarding their mediation of the events of interpersonal conflicts experienced by their pupils. The collected data was basically analyzed from a qualitative approach, on the basis of content analysis and, in the case of the children, on the basis of categories such as aggression, submission, and assertiveness, besides other ambivalent categories. The obtained results indicated that there is a relationship between a more democratic environment and more sophisticated and adequate social skills for the resolution of conflicts, as reported by the children. Conversely, an authoritarian ambient resulted in less developed social skills in terms of conflict resolution, as indicated by children\'s reports

This thesis is a report on the results or four psychological tests, applied to two groups or workers in Port Elizabeth factories; the one group consisting of European, the other of Coloured workers. The abilities selected for testing were believed to be necessary, to some extent, in certain Industrial operations.

The current study examined the parenting beliefs and practices of Taiwanese, Chinese immigrant (all first-generation immigrants in the UK) and English mothers, and the compliance of their young children (aged 5–7), in order to elucidate the effects of child temperament, culture and acculturation strategies on reported parenting beliefs and practices, observed parental behaviour, child behaviour, mother–child interaction dynamics and children’s compliance. The data were collected from a total of 90 families with 5- to 7-year-old children in Taiwan and the UK. Child temperament, parenting beliefs and practices and acculturation were assessed using questionnaires, and parental behaviour, child behaviour, dyadic interaction dynamics and child compliance were assessed using observation in two tasks (Etch-A-Sketch and clean-up). Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the Chinese immigrant parents to gather more information regarding their acculturation and parenting. Cultural differences were found between groups in reported as well as observed parenting and children’s compliance. The Taiwanese mothers reported greater use of Chinese-specific parenting and physical coercion and were observed to use more (gentle and assertive) physical intervention than both the Chinese immigrant and English mothers. The Chinese immigrant mothers reported a higher degree of child autonomy than the Taiwanese and English mothers, and also reported cultivation of their children’s independence. The stronger the Chinese immigrant mothers' affiliation with Chinese culture, the more they reported adopting the Chinese-specific parenting style; the longer they had been in the UK, the less they reported authoritarian parenting. The English mothers were rated as more responsive and less negatively controlling than the Chinese immigrant mothers; they also showed more positive affect than both the Chinese immigrant and Taiwanese mothers. There were few cultural differences between groups in the children’s behaviour, although Taiwanese children showed more situational compliance than Chinese immigrant children. Further regression analyses showed that child characteristics, such as child age and temperament, affected the parents’ and children’s behaviour as well as dyadic interactional dynamics. Committed compliance, situational compliance and opposition were associated with different predictors, suggesting that they are qualitatively different and are associated with different developmental processes. Committed compliance may develop as children grow older, mediated by surgency; situational compliance, on the other hand, was associated with authoritarian parenting and mothers’ use of negative control, which varied by culture. Child opposition was predicted by neither child characteristics nor parenting. These findings provide valuable insights into parenting and children’s compliance in different cultural contexts. The results underscore the importance of looking at human development from a holistic perspective. The active role that children play in shaping their developmental process, their parents’ parenting and the culture they live in should all be taken into account when attempting to understand their development.

Partindo da temática central do trabalho camponês, nosso foco neste estudo foi investigar quais os sentidos atribuídos ao trabalho por camponeses que produzem tabaco e diversificam sua produção para a agroecologia. Nos apoiamos no referencial teórico-metodológico da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural. Centrando-nos nas contribuições de Lev Vygotski, compreendemos que os sentidos consistem em uma formação dinâmica, variável e complexa que nos revela o que um dado conteúdo ou aspecto da realidade significa para o sujeito, variando, portanto, de acordo com a interpretação de mundo e a estrutura interna da personalidade. As estratégias metodológicas adotadas na investigação foram a realização de observações participantes e de entrevistas semiestruturadas com três famílias camponesas que participaram do Projeto de Diversificação de Áreas Cultivadas com Tabaco, no município de Rio Azul, Paraná. O projeto tinha por objetivo oferecer assistência técnica para as famílias que buscavam diversificar a produção do tabaco para outras atividades. Além das famílias, também foram entrevistados a técnica de referência das famílias no âmbito do projeto e o ex-secretário de agricultura do município. Nossa imersão em campo foi realizada em dois momentos distintos, sendo que, em ambos, acompanhamos, através da observação participante, o cotidiano de trabalho das famílias e realizamos entrevistas semiestruturadas. A análise dos dados obtidos nos revela que, frente ao contexto de mudanças vivenciadas pelos camponeses no processo de diversificação agroecológica, os sentidos atribuídos ao trabalho também passaram por mudanças, apontando para uma ressignificação da experiência de trabalho para os camponeses. Um conjunto de transformações objetivas e subjetivas possibilitaram o arrefecimento dos processos de alienação do trabalho vividos na produção de tabaco, em direção a um trabalho mais autêntico e integralizador no contexto da agricultura agroecológica, aproximando os sentidos atribuídos ao trabalho de seu significado social: a satisfação das necessidades humanas e o próprio desenvolvimento do ser social. Verificamos, ainda, que o processo de atribuição de sentidos aparece ligado às vivências do sujeito, conceito que designa a unidade entre a personalidade e o meio social. Os sentidos nos revelam a dimensão ativa da apropriação do mundo pelos sujeitos e aparecem como aspecto fundamental na constituição do psiquismo humano / Starting from the central theme of peasant work, our focus in this study was to investigate the senses attributed to work by peasants who produce tobacco and diversify their production to agroecology. We rely on the theoretical-methodological framework of Historical-Cultural Psychology. Focusing on the contributions of Lev Vygotsky, we understand that the senses consist of a dynamic, variable and complex formation that reveal to us what a determined content or aspect of reality means for the subject, thus varying according to a world interpretation and internal structure of the personality. The methodological strategies adopted in the research are participant observation and semi-structured interviews with three families that participated in the Projeto de Diversificação de Áreas Cultivadas com Tabaco, in the municipality of Rio Azul, Paraná. The project was developed for the purpose of offering technical assistance for families seeking to diversify tobacco production to other activities. In addition to the families, the reference technician of the families in the project plan and the former secretary of agriculture of the municipality were also interviewed. Our immersion in the field was carried out in two different moments. In both, we followed the families\' daily routine through participatory observation and conducted semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the data reveals that, on the context of the changes experienced by the peasants in the process of agroecological diversification, the senses attributed to the work also underwent changes, pointing to a re-signification of the work experience for the peasants. A set of objective and subjective transformations allowed the decreasing of the processes of alienation of the work lived in tobacco production towards a more authentic and integrative work relating to agroecological agriculture. That brings the senses attributed to the work to its social meaning: the satisfaction of human needs and the development of the social being. We also verified that the process of attribution of senses appeared linked to the experiences of the subject, a concept that designates a unity between the personality and the social environment. The senses reveal to us the active dimension of the appropriation of the world by the subjects and appear as a fundamental aspect in the constitution of the human psyche

This dissertation is an investigation of 13-14 year-old learners in Grade Five and Grade Six being taught and learning moral sociocultural values. The specific variables investigated are children’s perspective of values, their beliefs, goals and motives implicit or explicit in the learning of sociocultural values. The investigation uses the theoretical framework of Cultural Psychology in which Activity Theory is used to analyse and explain the school as an activity system. The working hypothesis is that activities are embedded into each other if they share a common object and envision a common outcome. The notion of embedded activities is developed based on the Engeströmian third generation Activity Theory model. The assumption is that if the school is the central activity system in a formal teaching and learning milieu, then other activities systems that support the teaching-learning processes constitute embedded activities. For instance, the classroom, a lesson, a morning assembly and any other project that contributes to the teaching-learning processes of sociocultural values. The method used for this investigation was ethnography. Data were collected using participant observation, interviews, still photographs, videography, school records, documents, and children’s artefacts. The data were analysed by Atlas.ti version 5.2 computer based qualitative data analysis software using strategies from Strauss and Corbin’s ‘microanalyses’ and Maykut and Morehouse’s ‘interpretive-descriptive’ strategy. The results showed that children at first learn sociocultural values from the culturally more able; in this way, values are taught through co-construction of knowledge. Children learn sociocultural values through what they do. This constitutes their activities: mental and practices as derived from their home ethos through to their school ethos. If this is missing, children will learn other values presuming these to be the best for their welfare, which may have undesirable outcomes and undesirable implications. Sociocultural theory provides the way out that initially children need to be taught the art of living by the culturally more able as the necessary thing to do.