Rights statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Tertiary Education and Management on 02/02/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13583883.2017.1284258
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Activity Theory in empirical higher education research
T2 - choices, uses, and values
AU - Bligh, Brett
AU - Flood, Michelle
N1 - This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Tertiary Education and Management on 02/02/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13583883.2017.1284258
PY - 2017/4/1
Y1 - 2017/4/1
N2 - This paper contributes to discussion of theory-application in higher education research. We examine 59 empirical research papers from specialist journals that use a particular theory: activity theory. We scrutinise stated reasons for choosing the theory, functions played by the theory, and how the theory is valorised. We find that the theory is usually chosen for its direct empirical applicability; used for abstraction, explanation and contextualisation; and valorised for apprehending complex situational dynamics. It is rarely chosen to challenge conceptualisation of the research object; used to establish investigative paradigms; or valorised in ways that implicate wider bodies of knowledge or potential theory development. We argue that higher education researchers should reconsider how their application of activity theory is interwoven with interpretative processes, how the theory might frame research design rather than simply data analysis, and how they account for the range of roles that the theory actually plays across research endeavours.
AB - This paper contributes to discussion of theory-application in higher education research. We examine 59 empirical research papers from specialist journals that use a particular theory: activity theory. We scrutinise stated reasons for choosing the theory, functions played by the theory, and how the theory is valorised. We find that the theory is usually chosen for its direct empirical applicability; used for abstraction, explanation and contextualisation; and valorised for apprehending complex situational dynamics. It is rarely chosen to challenge conceptualisation of the research object; used to establish investigative paradigms; or valorised in ways that implicate wider bodies of knowledge or potential theory development. We argue that higher education researchers should reconsider how their application of activity theory is interwoven with interpretative processes, how the theory might frame research design rather than simply data analysis, and how they account for the range of roles that the theory actually plays across research endeavours.
KW - theory
KW - theory application
KW - higher education research
KW - activity theory
U2 - 10.1080/13583883.2017.1284258
DO - 10.1080/13583883.2017.1284258
M3 - Journal article
VL - 23
SP - 125
EP - 152
JO - Tertiary Education and Management
JF - Tertiary Education and Management
SN - 1358-3883
IS - 2
ER -