A Cultural-Historical Study of How Children from Hong Kong Immigrant Families Develop a Learning Motive within Everyday Family Practices in Australia

Wong, Pui Ling; Fleer, Marilyn

doi:10.1080/10749039.2011.634941

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…By contrast, Asian-American parents in Parmar et al’s study held little value for play, instead taking on the role of educator and directing their children to structured academic learning. Wong and Fleer (2012) support these findings in their study of Hong Kong families with children growing up in Australia. These studies provide commentary on the importance of play for some families, and the different values afforded to play and learning in homes across cultures.…”

Section: Separating Home and School Play And Pedagogysupporting

confidence: 67%

“…The parents’ changes in their home practices were initiated and reinforced by the changing intentions of their child, combined with meeting the demands of the school curriculum, as seen in Figure 1. New possibilities are created for children as they meet with contradictions between the demands of the institution and the motives and competencies they have (Wong and Fleer, 2012). These new possibilities change the child and the parent in relation to play.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The relations between a ‘push-down’ and ‘push-up’ curriculum: A cultural-historical study of home-play pedagogy in the context of structured learning in international schools in Malaysia

Adams

Fleer

2016

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood

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Historically, ‘free play’ in many European heritage communities has been a valued practice. However, political imperatives have challenged these beliefs and necessitated a more academic curriculum to raise standards, resulting in a ‘push-down’ curriculum. By contrast, many Asia-Pacific communities have increasingly included play in their curricula and discussed the benefits of imagination and creativity. Contradictions and tensions associated with the differing perspectives on the value of play present themselves when families move countries. This is evident in some international schools, where a diversity of families and differing play and academic practices interact. In order to understand this complex problem, cultural-historical theory was drawn on to investigate three expatriate families as the children transitioned into a Malaysian international school context. An analysis of digital video recordings (90 hours) of everyday life of the children at home and in school, and interview data of parents and teachers, found that an increase in a child’s academic competence was associated with a change in motive orientation in the family home from play to learning. Unexpectedly, play practices in the home turned into academic learning activities, which the authors have termed a ‘push-up’ curriculum, supporting the learning agenda of the international schools.

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Section: Separating Home and School Play And Pedagogysupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relations between a ‘push-down’ and ‘push-up’ curriculum: A cultural-historical study of home-play pedagogy in the context of structured learning in international schools in Malaysia

Adams

Fleer

2016

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood

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“…Activity without an orienting object (defined below) makes no sense. But this activity--orienting object is not individual, as it may appear in some studies (e.g., Wong & Fleer, 2012). Individuals do not develop activity--orienting objects on their own but, because these are specific to society, these are an integral part of what is appropriated in societal relations with others.…”

Section: Irreducible Unitmentioning

confidence: 93%

ReadingActivity, Consciousness, PersonalityDialectically: Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and the Centrality of Society

Roth

2013

Mind, Culture, and Activity

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Cultural-historical activity theory, as A. N. Leont'ev articulated it, has received an exponentially growing interest over the past several decades, especially in the version in which the theory has been taken up in the Anglo-Saxon literature through the work of Y. Engeström. Whereas the theory has proven to be fruitful, providing a framework to those scholars interested in understanding human knowing and learning from a more holistic perspective, essential aspects of the original theory have either not been taken up or have been transformed in the take up. In part, the problems arise from the difficulties of translating Leont'ev-as the work of Marx on which the theory is builtinto English, where several originally distinct pairs of (Russian, German) categories and concepts are conflated into one (English). As a result, the full potential of the theory has not been achieved. The purpose of this article is to bring into the foreground some of the fundamental aspects of cultural-historical activity theory that have disappeared during translation and uptake into Anglo-Saxon scholarship. Cultural-historical activity theory-as A. N. Leont'ev (1983) originally framed it and as subsequently taken up in the Anglo-Saxon scholarship through the work of Y. Engeström (e.g., 1987)-has received exponentially increasing interest over the past 25 years (Roth, 2004; Roth & Lee, 2007). Explicitly grounded in dialectical materialism (Marx/Engels, 1962), cultural-historical activity theory is a process theory for understanding the human life form generally, and its concrete manifestations in human activity more specifically. In the translation from Marx's German and Leont'ev's Russian, some of the most interesting, key aspects have disappeared and are unavailable to Anglo-Saxon scholars who read Activity, Consciousness, Personality (A. N. Leont'ev, 1978). Leont'ev summarizes the core message of this book as an effort "to psychologically comprehend those categories that are essential for the construction of a consistent system of psychology as a concrete science of the emergence, functioning, and structure of the psychological reflection of reality, which mediates the life of individuals" (A. N. Leont'ev, 1983, p. 99). These fundamental categories, minimum units that retain the characteristics of the whole-i.e., society as a self-moving, internally contradictory entity mediating all of its parts-include "the category of object-oriented activity, the category of human consciousness, and the category of personality" (p. 99). The purpose of this article is to bring into the foreground some of the fundamental aspects of cultural-historical activity theory that have disappeared during translation and uptake into Anglo-Saxon scholarship. I begin with a concrete example of multi-leveled developmental change, which I subsequently use in the theoretically oriented parts of this paper. I conclude with a call for a re/orientation on the fundamental, currently underused aspects of cultural-historical activity theory.

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“…The Chan parents regarded learning and enjoying learning as paramount for their children's development. Flora believed that enjoying reading was especially important and was highly concerned with fostering this in Jessica and Vincent as a key life skill and in helping them to develop a learning motive (Wong & Fleer, 2012). Flora and Ivan often taught their children new skills and encouraged them to explore new things.…”

Section: Different Values and Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parents' Perspectives of the Home–School Interrelationship: A Study of Two Hong Kong–Australian Families

Wong¹

2012

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

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FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS NEED to gain a mutual understanding in order to provide a favourable learning environment for the school child, especially in a culturally diverse society. This paper explores the interrelationships between the family and school practices of two Hong Kong–Australian families from the parents' perspectives. The data presented is from a qualitative case study involving video observation and interviews to capture the family practices of the two families and the practices of their children's schools as perceived by the parents. The analysis of the data reveals three types of relationship between home and school; Concordance leads to harmonious continuity; constant dissonance breaks relations, and dialectical relations make positive changes. The outcomes of the study suggest the importance of the synergy between home and school values and practices, and the roles of effective communication and mutual accommodation of home–school practices to optimise children's development.

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A Cultural-Historical Study of How Children from Hong Kong Immigrant Families Develop a Learning Motive within Everyday Family Practices in Australia

Cited by 10 publications

References 22 publications

The relations between a ‘push-down’ and ‘push-up’ curriculum: A cultural-historical study of home-play pedagogy in the context of structured learning in international schools in Malaysia

The relations between a ‘push-down’ and ‘push-up’ curriculum: A cultural-historical study of home-play pedagogy in the context of structured learning in international schools in Malaysia

ReadingActivity, Consciousness, PersonalityDialectically: Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and the Centrality of Society

Parents' Perspectives of the Home–School Interrelationship: A Study of Two Hong Kong–Australian Families

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