Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a lens in mixed methods research on self-directed learning

Abstract

Self-directed learning (SDL) has become a sine qua non in a complex twenty-first century, especially in a transformed world during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. In this article, the authors argue that the use of quantitative instruments alone to measure students’ SDL is not rigorous enough to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of an intervention in an educational setting over a short period of less than a year. We suggest supplementing the quantitative data with qualitative data, and then utilizing cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) as a research lens to provide a more nuanced understanding of the intervention and the effect thereof on students’ SDL. We propose a model using third-generation CHAT to provide a thick description of the research findings.

Keywords

• self-directed learning
• mixed methods research
• quantitative instruments
• qualitative research
• cultural-historical activity theory