Thinking About Theory School of Education, university of sheffield
Contents
- Introduction to the Thinking about Theory project (Dr Jessica Bradley)
- Socio-cultural theory (Dr Christina Tatham)
- The use of theory in Childhood Studies (Dr Aneesh Barai)
- Posthumanism and socio-materiality (Professor Jennifer Rowsell)
- Feeling the fear of theory (and doing it anyway) (Professor David Hyatt)
- Theories of a 'usable past' (Dr Heather Ellis & Dr Isabelle Carter)
- Theory and its journey through the educational context (Dr Penny Fogg)
- Statistical Thinking (Jamal Lahmar)
- Self-determination Theory (Dr Abigail Parrish)
- Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (Dr Louise Kay)
- Next steps
Please click on the YouTube subtitle icon for captions
Introduction to the Thinking about Theory project
We started this project by asking colleagues, doctoral researchers and students via an anonymous online survey some questions about theory - what they understood by theory, how they have engaged with theory and what questions they had about it. The responses were really illuminating, mirroring the experiences we had had in our teaching and research supervision: a clearer idea of what is meant by theory in educational research; how to ‘choose’ a theory
With these films we want to provide a starting point for a comprehensive and inclusive approach to understanding theory - and we hope it will be useful for students and doctoral researchers - and colleagues - at all levels of study, in the School of Education and beyond.
Socio-cultural theory
Dr Christina Tatham describes her engagement with socio-cultural theory, using her doctoral research with young children’s communication in a super-diverse school environment.
Links to articles
The use of theory in Childhood Studies
Dr Aneesh Barai from the Childhood and Youth Cluster explains how his area of research, childhood studies, intersects with a diverse range of theoretical perspectives of race, gender, class and disability.
Link to articles
Gubar, M. (2011). On Not Defining Children's Literature. PMLA, 126(1), 209-216. doi:10.1632/pmla.2011.126.1.209
Kehily, M. J. (2002). Sexuality, Gender and Schooling: Shifting Agendas in Social Learning. London: Routledge.
Nikolajeva, M. (2009). Theory, post-theory, and aetonormative theory. Neohelicon 36, 13–24
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11059-009-1002-4
Skelton, C., Francis, B. and Smulyan, L. (eds). (2006) The Sage handbook of gender and education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/the-sage-handbook-of-gender-and-education/book227393
Posthumanism and Socio-materiality
Professor Jennifer Rowsell talks about how posthumanism and sociomateriality inform her research in digital literacies and human relationships with machines.
Links to articles
Braidotti, R. (2014) Comparative Critical Studies, volume 11, issue 2-3, pp. 163 - 184
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/314535
Harwood, D., & Collier, D. R. (2017). The matter of the stick: Storying/(re)storying children’s literacies in the forest. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 17(3), 336-352
https://journals-sagepub-com.sheffield.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1177/1468798417712340
Lafton, T. (2015). Digital literacy practices and pedagogical moments: Human and non-human intertwining in early childhood education. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 16(2), 142-152.
Feeling the fear of theory (and doing it anyway)
Professor David Hyatt talks about theory as critical self appraisal and describes not only why we need to engage with theory but how we might do this, in practical steps. He gives a 9-step framework for how we can think about theory as we carry out research.
Links to articles
Ville Isomöttönen (2023) Demolishing the fear of theory to liberate higher education discourse and practice, Teaching in Higher Education, 28:7, 1583-1599
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13562517.2021.1918660?needAccess=true
Theories of a 'usable past'
Dr Heather Ellis & Dr Isabelle Carter
Dr Heather Ellis and Dr Isabelle Carter describe how theories of a ‘usable past’ and the ‘history of experience’ underpin her research into the School Meals Service in the UK.
The School Meals Service Past (SMS), Present – and Future?
Links to articles
Hoegaerts, J., Olsen, S. (2021). The History of Experience: Afterword. In: Kivimäki, V., Suodenjoki, S., Vahtikari, T. (eds) Lived Nation as the History of Experiences and Emotions in Finland, 1800-2000. Palgrave Studies in the History of Experience. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69882-9_15
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-69882-9_15
Harjula, M., & Kokko, H. (2022). The Scene of Experience. Digital Handbook of the History of Experience.
https://sites.tuni.fi/hexhandbook/theory/the-scene-of-experience/
Gary McCulloch, « History of education in Britain since 1960 », Histoire de l’éducation, 154 | 2020, 119-141.
Theory and its journey through the educational context
Dr Penny Fogg talks about how applied psychologists are expected to understand the value of theory and its impact in the world of experience. She focuses on how psychological theory makes it way through the world.
Statistical Thinking
Jamal Lahmar discusses his own teaching practice which includes teaching students how to use quantitative research methods. He explains how statistical thinking in empirical inquiry frames his research and teaching.
Links to articles
Wild, C. J., & Pfannkuch, M. (1999). Statistical thinking in empirical enquiry. International statistical review, 67(3), 223-248.
https://iase-web.org/documents/intstatreview/99.Wild.Pfannkuch.pdf
Lee, H., Mojica, G., Thrasher, E., & Baumgartner, P. (2022). Investigating data like a data scientist: Key practices and processes. Statistics Education Research Journal, 21(2), 3-3.
Self-determination Theory
Dr Abigail Parrish describes Self Determination Theory in the context of language learning motivation. This allows researchers to capture a range of aspects of classroom experience and presents a continuum of motivation.
Links to articles
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
Parrish, A., & Vernon, J. (2022). Measuring motivation in English schools: the appeal of self-determination theory. Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 4(1), 1-17.
https://www.jpll.org/index.php/journal/article/view/112
Vansteenkiste, M., Ryan, R. M., & Soenens, B. (2020). Basic psychological need theory: Advancements, critical themes, and future directions. Motivation and Emotion, 44(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09818-1
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-019-09818-1
Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT)
Dr Louise Kay introduces Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). CHAT is a lens which allows us to explore how cultural, historical and institutional contexts shape our actions and thoughts.
Links to articles
Kirsten A. Foot (2014) Cultural-Historical Activity Theory: Exploring a Theory to Inform Practice and Research, Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 24:3, 329-347, DOI: 10.1080/10911359.2013.831011
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10911359.2013.831011
Roth, W.-M., & Lee, Y.-J. (2007). “Vygotsky’s Neglected Legacy”: Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. Review of Educational Research, 77(2), 186–232. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654306298273
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0034654306298273
May Britt Postholm (2015) Methodologies in Cultural–Historical Activity Theory: The example of school-based development, Educational Research, 57:1, 43-58, DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2014.983723
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131881.2014.983723