SYMP 174 - Dialogical approaches within the cultural-historical standpoint: epistemological and methodological challenges addressing education and human development

In raising epistemological and methodological issues of relations between research participants in different practices, we hope to foster further discussions, advancing reflexive ways to address challenges within cultural-historical standpoint. A one-sided understanding of the relationship between activity and objects has been argued to have prevailed in cultural-historical perspective that has omitted the fact that human activity occurs within complex relational contexts (González Rey, 2015). In this sense, communication and dialogue have been traditionally overlooked by this theoretical tradition, at least, until Lomov, who first considered communication not as an instrumental dimension, but as a dialogical one (González Rey, 2014). This brought several epistemological and methodological consequences to research within cultural-historical theory, such as individualistic, instrumental and natural approaches to study human processes. In this context, this symposium aims to discuss different approaches within a cultural-historical standpoint, addressing epistemological and methodological challenges to research education and human development as part of different practices. Special emphasis is given to Gonzalez Rey`s concept of subjectivity, including qualitative epistemology and constructive-interpretative methodology. We argue that participants are not mere informants, but protagonists partaking in the research process. In this sense, the quality of the relationship between the researcher and participants are fundamental and part of the creative dimension of the research. Further, we argue that such dialogical approaches foster high-quality information and relational processes contexts that address learning processes and human development. Following the presentations, Professor Anne Edwards will lead a panel discussion with comments and questions from the audience.