A Systematic Review of Investigating Professional Learning Community from the Perspective of Cultural-historical Activity Theory: What Key Issues Have Been Raised in Two Decades of Research

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jhet.202415609

Author(s)

Shaohui Zhang1,2

Affiliation(s)

1PhD Candidate, School of English and International Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China 2Senior Teacher, New Century Senior High School, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China

Abstract

This article systematically reviews 18 studies on PLC within the theoretical framework of CHAT and detects the categories of the key issues raised by the eligible documents pertinent to the subject matter and the specific research questions raised thereby from the ontological, epistemological and methodological perspective as well as the rationales for setting CHAT as the theoretical underpinning. The study of PLC from the perspective of CHAT is interdisciplinary research, involving educational psychology, organizational behaviorism and educational policy. CHAT is particularly concerned with social interaction and the use of tools at work, and how these elements form structure and drive change in practice. This review also provides implications for future research for conducting research on TPD based on PLC within the framework of CHAT. It is a trial to provide another perspective to investigate the extant studies in related fields and shed light on potential directions for future studies.

Keywords

Professional Learning Community; Cultural-historical Activity Theory; the Ontological, Epistemological and Methodological Perspective

References

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