Quality of Life in Educational Institutions: Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a Transformative Framework

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Transforming Systems: Reclaiming Knowledge and Practice for Collective Well-Being

Abstract

This paper aims to conceptualize quality of life (QoL) in education through the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). Despite various definitions, measurements, and subjective-objective debates in the current literature, I use CHAT’s principles and elements to reframe QoL as a sociocultural activity within specific educational contexts. Grounded in dialectical philosophy and social constructivism, CHAT offers a powerful framework to analyze both individual and collective actions, as well as cultural-historical practices related to QoL. Reframing QoL as an activity system provides a visual analysis of past contradictions that create tensions, as well as opportunities for future change that foster expansive learning and transformation. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Author

• Mohammed Alzahrani, King Abdulaziz University