25 - The dialogical self and educational research: a fruitful relationship

Summary

This chapter discusses the reciprocal enrichment of the encounter between dialogical self theory (DST) and recent trends in educational research. It describes the distributed cognition which underlines that cognitive processes are not individual but are strongly dependent upon others and upon the tools available in the context. The chapter explains the so-called cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), which entails the reconceptualizing of learning as a process of knowledge building rooted in the cultural-historical dimension. It also explains the social-constructivism, focused on the idea that students are actively building knowledge. The chapter discusses the ways in which DST and these three developments can profit from each other in giving shape to the learning process in educational settings. It applies these approaches in three areas of educational research: student identity, teachers' professional identity and student-teacher relationship. The chapter draws three conclusions which refer to the cross-fertilization of DST and educational research.