Recent reports by the Swedish School Inspectorate have shown preschool teachers’ understanding of their teaching mission to be complex and the responsibility of teaching in preschool, multifaceted.  While the school law places responsibility for goal-directed teaching on preschool teachers, the current Swedish preschool curriculum makes no mention of the concept of teaching, defined in Swedish as undervisning. This study examines contradictions between the domains of Swedish preschool education research, policy, and practice as visible in pre-service and in-service preschool teachers’ conceptions of teaching, as it is delineated in the steering documents, and as it is evident in the classroom. The research questions are how do pre-service and in-service preschool teachers conceptualize teaching, as it is defined in government steering documents? What do pre-service and in-service preschool teachers see as evidence of teaching in their classrooms, and how do they determine their role in teaching? Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was used to formulate and analyze semi-structured individual interviews of pre-service and in-service preschool teachers to consider the teachers’ conceptions of teaching as a product of the historical and cultural mediated activity system of preschool. Analysis of interview transcripts highlighted how complex not only the practice of teaching is for preschool teachers, but also how there is no consensus around the definition of teaching in Swedish preschools. If preschool teachers are to abide by steering documents and undertake teaching in their practice, there needs to be a new inclusive definition that imparts some clarity to preschool teaching. The new working definition, theorized using Leontiev’s hierarchy of activity, action, and operation, may help researchers, policy makers, and preschool teachers negotiate some of the confusion surrounding how to adopt and adapt teaching into Swedish preschool.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de NÃvel Superior / A presente pesquisa adotou como objeto de estudo as relaÃÃes entre trabalho e atividade na psicologia de A. N. Leontiev. De carÃter teÃrico-bibliogrÃfico, nosso estudo procurou investigar os fundamentos e a estrutura da chamada âteoria da atividadeâ, elaborada inicialmente por Vigotski e sistematizada por Leontiev e que, na atualidade, Ã retomada por estudiosos dos mais diversos campos das ciÃncias humanas, perscrutando, de modo especÃfico, suas relaÃÃes com a categoria trabalho em Marx (1984; 2004; 2005) e LukÃcs (1978; 1981) e suas contribuiÃÃes ao projeto educativo/formativo classe trabalhadora na contemporaneidade. Para o alcance dos objetivos propostos, debruÃamo-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 elaboraÃÃes da Psicologia HistÃrico-Cultural, especialmente, o constructo teÃrico-prÃtico de Leontiev, a exemplo de Duarte (2004; 2001), Tuleski (2007; 2009), Do Carmo (2008), Barroco (2007a; 2007b), Pasqualini (2006; 2010), Asbarh (2005; 2011), GonÃalves (2005) dentre outros. Ao final, estabelecemos traÃos gerais que comportam o que o autor denomina de âatividade dominanteâ, suas contribuiÃÃes ao processo de desenvolvimento do psiquismo da crianÃa e ao processo educativo/formativo da classe trabalhadora no limiar do sÃculo XXI. / 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), GonÃalves (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.

Submitted by Jean Medeiros (jeanletras@uepb.edu.br) on 2017-10-20T15:33:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - José Márcio da Silva Ramos Diniz.pdf: 28476357 bytes, checksum: a9c34fcc72517266fa3a81fd81563291 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Secta BC (secta.csu.bc@uepb.edu.br) on 2017-10-26T16:53:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - José Márcio da Silva Ramos Diniz.pdf: 28476357 bytes, checksum: a9c34fcc72517266fa3a81fd81563291 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-26T16:53:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - José Márcio da Silva Ramos Diniz.pdf: 28476357 bytes, checksum: a9c34fcc72517266fa3a81fd81563291 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-03 / This research aims, through the Activity Theory, to present reflections on the application of activities through the constitution of a Mathematic Club in a public basic school, discussing the potentialities and limitations that surround it. For this purpose, we used a didactic experiment in the perspective of qualitative research, developed together with students of the 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th grades of elementary in municipal public school in João Pessoa, the capital city of the state of Paraíba. This research was guided by the question: "How can Activity Theory contribute to the process of constitution and subsequent consolidation of a Mathematic Club in a public basic school?" In order to answer this question, we developed 11 meetings in the Mathematic Club, now in formation at the school, focusing on activities involving games and problem solving as the guiding principle. The data collection was done through the log journals of the meetings, aided by the records used by club members, as well as photographic records. The meetings were analyzed based on the Activity Theory proposed by Leontiev, which constitutes a methodological resource of great importance for the planning of teaching strategies and, consequently, learning. As an important result, we verified the concrete possibility of implementing and consolidating of differentiated learning spaces in our public schools, such as our Mathematic Club. / Esta pesquisa objetiva, por meio da Teoria da Atividade, apresentar reflexões sobre a aplicação de atividades durante a constituição de um Clube de Matemática em uma escola básica pública, discutindo as potencialidades e limitações que a cercam. Para isto, utilizamos um experimento didático na perspectiva da pesquisa qualitativa, desenvolvida junto a educandos dos 5º, 6º, 7º e 9º anos do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública municipal de João Pessoa, capital da Paraíba. A referida pesquisa foi norteada pela questão: “Como a Teoria da Atividade pode contribuir no processo de constituição e posterior consolidação de um Clube de Matemática em uma escola básica pública?” Para respondê-la, desenvolvemos, junto aos sujeitos da pesquisa, 11 encontros em um Clube de Matemática, ora em constituição na escola, enfocando atividades envolvendo jogos e resolução de problemas como eixo norteador. A coleta dos dados ocorreu por meio dos diários de bordo dos encontros, auxiliados pelas folhas de registros utilizadas pelos integrantes do Clube, além de registros fotográficos. Os encontros foram analisados com base na Teoria da Atividade proposta por Leontiev, que se constitui em um recurso metodológico de suma importância para o planejamento de estratégias de ensino e, consequentemente, de aprendizagem. Como importante resultado, verificamos a possibilidade concreta de implementação e consolidação de espaços diferenciados de aprendizagem em nossas escolas da rede pública de ensino, como nosso Clube de Matemática.

Den här uppsatsen handlar om de sovjetiska psykologerna Vygotskij och Leontjevs teoretiska perspektiv på lek, så som Vygotkji presenterar sin teori i förläsningen Lekens roll i barnets psykiska utveckling 1933 (1981) och så som Leontjev presenterar sin teori i artikeln Lekens psykologiska grundvalar i förskoleåldern 1944 (1982). Den här uppsatsen bygger på en kvalitativ hermeneutisk textanalys av dessa två källor, och ställer sig frågan vad Vygotskijs och Leontjevs teorier betyder? Analysen anlägger dels ett hermeneutiskt historiskt perspektiv och dels ett nutids historiskt pedagogiskt perspektiv. För det nutidspedagogiska perspektivet använder jag mig av det skandinaviska forskningsfältet lekpedagogik, framför allt Birgitta Knutsdotter Olofsson, Fredrik Ole Lillemyr och Gunilla Lindqvist. För det hermeneutiskt historiska perspektivet använder jag mig av en kvalitativ textanalys där jag har systematiserat de två texterna i vardera tre analysteman. Vygotskijs föreläsning har jag sammanfattat och tolkat utifrån följande analysteman: förändrade handlingsmotiv, separationen mellan det visuella fältet och betydelsefältet och sambandet mellan rollek och regellek. Leontjevs artikel har jag sammanfattat och tolkat utifrån analystemana förändrade handlingsmotiv, leken som reproduktion och sambandet mellan rollek och regellek. Samtliga av analystemana är hermeneutiska delar av respektive texters helheter. Temana har jag analyserat dels som bryt- och beröringspunkter mellan Vygotskij och Leontjev och dels utifrån de begrepp som ligger till grund för den kulturhistoriska teorin.I analysen kommer jag fram till att förändrade handlingsmotiv ligger till grund för både Vygotskij och Leontjevs teorier, även om de skiljer sig åt något i sina respektive definitioner. Vidare kommer jag fram till att både Vygotskij och Leontjev baserar sin syn på utvecklingen av barns lek från rollek till regellek på en liknande historiegenetisk analys. Den stora skillnaden, som jag har funnit i min analys, är att Leontjev behandlar leken som ett yttre fenomen, som en verksamhet, medan Vygotskij behandlar leken som ett inre-yttre fenomen. Alltså som en verksamhet men också som en inre process där barnets idéer, emotioner och fantasi driver leken. / This essay discusses the theories on children’s play of two sovjetic psychologists: Lev S. Vygotsky and Aleksei N. Leontiev. It focuses specifically on Vygotsky’s lecture Play and its role in the Mental Development of the Child from 1933, and on Leontiev’s article The Psychological Principles of Preschool Play from 1944. Through a qualitative hermeneutic textual analysis of these two sources, the essay explores the meaning of Vygotsky’s and Leontiev’s theories, both from a hermeneutical, historical perspective, and a contemporary historical, educational perspective. The contemporary pedagogical perspective is based primarily on the Scandinavian research field of “play pedagogy”, and the research of Birgitta Knutsdotter Olofsson, Fredrik Ole Lillemyr and Gunilla Lindqvist. The hermeneutical, historical perspective is present through a qualitative text analysis. In this analysis, the contents of the two texts are systematized and interpreted with the use of three analytical themes. In Vygotsky’s lecture, the following themes are identified: changing motives of action, the separation between the visual field and the meaning field and the relationship between role play and rule play. In Leontiev’s article, these three themes are found: changing motives of action, play as reproduction, and the relationship between role play and rule play. All of the analytical themes are hermeneutic parts of the texts as a whole. The themes are analyzed both as differences and similarities between Vygotsky and Leontiev, and also as concepts that form the basis for the cultural-historical theory. The analysis show that the theme of changing action motives is at the base of both Vygotsky’s and Leontiev’s theories, although their definitions of this theme differ somewhat. The study also found that both Vygotsky and Leontiev based their theories on the development of children's play from role play to rule play on a similar historical genetic analysis. The major difference found between Vygotsky and Leontiev is that Leontjev treats play primarily as an external phenomenon and as an external activity, whereas Vygotsky treats play both as an external activity, like Leontiev, and as an internal process, in which the child's ideas, emotions and imagination drives play forward.

This dissertation presents a study of the scientific practices of the circle of Vygotsky’s closest collaborators and students during the decade of the 1930s-and including the early 1940s (until Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in 1941). The notion of Vygotsky Circle is introduced in this work and is explicitly distinguished from a traditional—yet frequently criticised—notion of “the school of Vygotsky-Leontiev-Luria”. The scientific practices of the Vygotsky Circle are discussed here as the unity of a) social and interpersonal relations, b) the practices of empirical scientific research, and c) discursive practices of the Soviet science—more specifically, the “Stalinist Science” of the 1930s. Thus, this study analyzes the social and interpersonal relations between the members of the Vygotsky Circle and the evolution of this circle in the social context of Soviet science during the decade of 1930s; various practices of empirical scientific research conducted by the members of the Vygotsky Circle were also overviewed. Finally, discursive practices of the Soviet scientific “doublespeak” were discussed and illustrated with several examples borrowed from publications of the time.

This dissertation presents a study of the scientific practices of the circle of Vygotsky’s closest collaborators and students during the decade of the 1930s-and including the early 1940s (until Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in 1941). The notion of Vygotsky Circle is introduced in this work and is explicitly distinguished from a traditional—yet frequently criticised—notion of “the school of Vygotsky-Leontiev-Luria”. The scientific practices of the Vygotsky Circle are discussed here as the unity of a) social and interpersonal relations, b) the practices of empirical scientific research, and c) discursive practices of the Soviet science—more specifically, the “Stalinist Science” of the 1930s. Thus, this study analyzes the social and interpersonal relations between the members of the Vygotsky Circle and the evolution of this circle in the social context of Soviet science during the decade of 1930s; various practices of empirical scientific research conducted by the members of the Vygotsky Circle were also overviewed. Finally, discursive practices of the Soviet scientific “doublespeak” were discussed and illustrated with several examples borrowed from publications of the time.

User Experience Engineering (UxE) incorporates subject areas like usability, HCI, interaction experience, interaction design, "human factors", ergonomics", cognitive psychology", behavioral psychology and psychometrics", systems engineering", [and] "computer science," (Hartson, 1998). It has been suggested that UxE will be the main success factor in organizations as we enter the "loyalty decade" of software development, where the repeat usage of a product by a single customer will be the metric of product success (Alghamdi, 2010; Law & van Schaik, 2010, p. 313; Nielsen, 2008; Van Schaik & Ling, 2011). What is relatively unknown in the current academic literature is whether existing UxE methodologies are effective or not when placed in a longitudinal research context (Law & van Schaik, 2010). There is room for the exploration of the effects of long-term UxE practices in a real-world case study scenario. The problem, addressed in this study, is that a lack of the application of UxE-related processes and practices with an industrial partner had resulted in customer dissatisfaction and a loss of market share. A three-year case study was performed during which 10 UxE-related metrics were gathered and analyzed to measure the improvements in the design of the customer's experience that long-term UxE practices could bring to a small corporate enterprise. The changes that occurred from the corporate and customer's point of view were analyzed as the customer's experience evolved throughout this long-term UxE study. Finally, an analysis of the problems and issues that arose in the implementation of UxE principles during the application of long-term UxE processes was performed. First-hand training between the research team and company employees proved essential to the success of this project. Although a long-term UxE process was difficult to implement within the existing development practices of the industrial partner, a dramatic increase in customer satisfaction and customer engagement with the company system was found. UxE processes led to increased sales rates and decreased development costs in the long-term. All 10 metrics gathered throughout this study showed measurable improvements after long-term UxE processes and practices were adopted by the industrial partner.