Blending activity theory and critical realism to theorise the relationship between the individual and society and the implications for pedagogy

Abstract

This paper draws on Margaret Archer's morphogenetic realist social theory, the philosophy of critical realism upon which it is based, and activity theory to analyse the relationship between the individual and society, and the implications this relationship has for the way we understand learning. It is important that we theorise this relationship, because our ontological assumptions shape our understandings of the nature of learning, and have implications for the way we construct learning environments and develop policy, qualifications, and curriculum. In particular, I argue that conceptions that downplay individual agency tend to privilege workplace learning at the expense of the broader dev..