Abstract:
This paper presents a model for understanding student learning in
undergraduate education in the social sciences in Sri Lanka. The model is
based on Cultural Historical Activity Theory and a longitudinal qualitative
study conducted in a Sri Lankan University. The experiences of a group of
undergraduates following a four year degree course in Psychology were
studied over a 3-4 year time period using classroom observations, semi structured interviews, reflective accounts and documentary review
techniques. Student learning in the undergraduate course was
conceptualized as a network of interacting activity systems which weaves
together people and cultural tools. In the analysis of individual differences in
achieving expansive learning there emerged five interacting factors which
included: a student’s past history of education; goal setting; motivation for
transforming identity; mobilizing resources and views on the object and
tools used in the course. These factors do not operate in isolation and they
interact within an individual’s socio-cultural context of learning, which
simultaneously operates with the collaborative activity of student learning in
the undergraduate course. The above findings are synthesized into a model
for understanding student learning in undergraduate education and the
implications for practice are discussed.
