Public Scholarship, Development, and Research With Transformative Agendas: A Vygotskian Approach to Passionate Egalitarianism

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Developmental psychology has enriched society as a form of public scholarship. Within the cultural-historical tradition, scholars have contributed theoretical, pedagogical, and research tools to explain and advocate for social development and transformation. However, the reach of this discipline has been severely limited in education since the passage of NCLB (2002). This symposium presents a call to reignite social activism and advocacy in scholarship aligned with Vygotsky’s passionate egalitarianism, and his thrust to study development as a means to achieve social justice, equality, and equity. The session will highlight examples of research, scholarship, teaching, and service with transformative activist agendas to enact a new model of psychology that establishes development as a democratic right of diverse learners, teachers, scholars, and communities.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Cultural-Historical Research

Chair

• Anna Stetsenko, City University of New York

Papers

• Toward a Social Understanding of Mental Health: An Alternative Perspective for Educators, Psychologists, and Counselors - Peter Smagorinsky, University of Georgia

• Re-Creating Social Futures: The Role of Moral Imagination in Alternative Education - Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur, The University of British Columbia; Renira Elyodi Vellos, The University of British Columbia

• Extending the Vygotskian Project With a Transformative Activist Agenda in a Community College - Eduardo Vianna, LaGuardia Community College - CUNY; Michael Rifino, The City University of New York

• Educational Research and the Transformative Activist Stance: Being, Doing, and Knowing for Social Change - M. Cathrene Connery, Central Washington University; Anna Stetsenko, City University of New York

Discussant

• Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur, The University of British Columbia