Dialectical critical realism and cultural historical activity theory (CHAT): Exploring and expanding learning processes in sustainable agriculture workplace contexts
- Authors: Mukute, Mutizwa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436996 , vital:73322 , ISBN 9781315660899 , https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Realism-Environmental-Learning-and-Social-Ecological-Change/Price-Lotz-Sistka/p/book/9780367597689
- Description: Sustainable agriculture (its learning, practice and development) is becoming increasingly important in Africa and globally be-cause of its potential to reduce social ecological risks while simultaneously enhancing related sustainability and resilience. Against this background, the objectives of the study forming the basis of this chapter were to explore and expand the learn-ing and practice of sustainable agriculture in three research sites in southern Africa. This paper focuses on how the author worked with critical realism to underlabour Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to address the research objectives. Us-ing a multiple case study approach, the author worked with 80 farmers, extension workers, sustainable agriculture facilitators and researchers and organic marketers to explore and expand their learning and practice of three kinds of sustainable agricul-ture: permaculture, organic farming and the Machobane Farm-ing System (MFS). In particular the author made use of critical realism’s dialectics, multiple layers of reality and causal expla-nation, double hermeneutics, and modes of inference to deep-en data generation, analysis and use. Working with critical real-ism enabled the study to: (a) pay attention to causal mecha-nisms and power relations; (b) provide explanatory critique; (c) achieve in-depth ‘exploration’ through inductive, abductive and retroductive analysis; and (d) overcome the constructivist limi-tations of CHAT. Critical realism also enabled the mobilization of research participants’ agency and reflexivity to respond to the socio-ecological issues and risks that they were facing. The author concluded that critical realism can be effectively used to underlabour constructivist and epistemological theo-ries for ontological depth; and to help understand and tackle contemporary social ecological issues.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mukute, Mutizwa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436996 , vital:73322 , ISBN 9781315660899 , https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Realism-Environmental-Learning-and-Social-Ecological-Change/Price-Lotz-Sistka/p/book/9780367597689
- Description: Sustainable agriculture (its learning, practice and development) is becoming increasingly important in Africa and globally be-cause of its potential to reduce social ecological risks while simultaneously enhancing related sustainability and resilience. Against this background, the objectives of the study forming the basis of this chapter were to explore and expand the learn-ing and practice of sustainable agriculture in three research sites in southern Africa. This paper focuses on how the author worked with critical realism to underlabour Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to address the research objectives. Us-ing a multiple case study approach, the author worked with 80 farmers, extension workers, sustainable agriculture facilitators and researchers and organic marketers to explore and expand their learning and practice of three kinds of sustainable agricul-ture: permaculture, organic farming and the Machobane Farm-ing System (MFS). In particular the author made use of critical realism’s dialectics, multiple layers of reality and causal expla-nation, double hermeneutics, and modes of inference to deep-en data generation, analysis and use. Working with critical real-ism enabled the study to: (a) pay attention to causal mecha-nisms and power relations; (b) provide explanatory critique; (c) achieve in-depth ‘exploration’ through inductive, abductive and retroductive analysis; and (d) overcome the constructivist limi-tations of CHAT. Critical realism also enabled the mobilization of research participants’ agency and reflexivity to respond to the socio-ecological issues and risks that they were facing. The author concluded that critical realism can be effectively used to underlabour constructivist and epistemological theo-ries for ontological depth; and to help understand and tackle contemporary social ecological issues.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
A reflection on the use of case studies as a methodology for social learning research in sub Saharan Africa
- Cundill, Georgina, Lotz-Sisitka, Heila, Mukute, Mutizwa, Belay, Million, Shackleton, Sheona E, Kulundu, Iinjairu
- Authors: Cundill, Georgina , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Mukute, Mutizwa , Belay, Million , Shackleton, Sheona E , Kulundu, Iinjairu
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436636 , vital:73288 , ISBN 1573-5214 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2013.04.001
- Description: A recent review has highlighted that the methodology most commonly employed to research social learning has been the individual case study. We draw on four examples of social learning research in the environmental and sustainability sci-ences from sub-Saharan Africa to reflect on possible reasons behind the preponderance of case study research in this field, and to identify common elements that may be significant for social learning research more generally. We find that a com-mon interest in change oriented social learning, and therefore processes of change, makes case studies a necessary ap-proach because long term process analyses are required that are sensitive to social-ecological contexts. Common elements of the examples reflected upon included: a focus on initiating, tracking and/or understanding a process of change toward sustainability; long term research; an action research agenda that involves reflecting on data with research participants; and temporal, process based analysis of data coupled with in-depth theoretical analysis. This paper highlights that there is significant scope for exploratory research that compares case studies of social learning research to generate a deeper un-derstanding of social learning processes, and their relationship to human agency and societal change.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Cundill, Georgina , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Mukute, Mutizwa , Belay, Million , Shackleton, Sheona E , Kulundu, Iinjairu
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436636 , vital:73288 , ISBN 1573-5214 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2013.04.001
- Description: A recent review has highlighted that the methodology most commonly employed to research social learning has been the individual case study. We draw on four examples of social learning research in the environmental and sustainability sci-ences from sub-Saharan Africa to reflect on possible reasons behind the preponderance of case study research in this field, and to identify common elements that may be significant for social learning research more generally. We find that a com-mon interest in change oriented social learning, and therefore processes of change, makes case studies a necessary ap-proach because long term process analyses are required that are sensitive to social-ecological contexts. Common elements of the examples reflected upon included: a focus on initiating, tracking and/or understanding a process of change toward sustainability; long term research; an action research agenda that involves reflecting on data with research participants; and temporal, process based analysis of data coupled with in-depth theoretical analysis. This paper highlights that there is significant scope for exploratory research that compares case studies of social learning research to generate a deeper un-derstanding of social learning processes, and their relationship to human agency and societal change.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
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