From ‘activity’ to ‘labour’: commodification, labourpower and contradiction in Engeström’s activity theory

Engeström’s (1987, 1999) innovations in cultural-historical activity theory emphasise the role of contradictions in analysing and transforming learning in practice. This paper considers some of the problems and possibilities contained in his analytical understanding of contradictions, in relation to activity and to what he terms ‘expansive learning’ (Engeström, 2001, 2004, 2007). In doing so, it builds upon Engeström’s stated concern with theorising activities ‘in capitalism’. Its goal is to problematise the underlying practical definition of contradictions and the claims made for his ‘contradiction-driven’ analysis of work practices as a platform for transformation. This paper suggests that the definition of contradictions that underpins Engeström’s notions of ‘expansive’ learning and his ‘developmental work research’ methodology is restrictive because it underplays the wider social contradictions and antagonisms inherent in the commodification of labour-power. As such, while Engeström’s take on activity theory offers a valuable approach to reforming configurations of labour within the bounds of capitalist efficiency, its engagement with capitalism’s internal contradictions is uneven and, therefore, its claims to produce transformative, expansive learning are heavily qualified. The framework of this argument is provided by Postone’s (1996) reading of Marx’s Capital and Grundrisse as social theories of labour within capitalism and the extensive analyses of the social reproduction of labourpower developed by Rikowski (1999, 2000a, 2000b, 2002a, 2002b), Allman et al. (2000) and Dinerstein and Neary (2002). The paper ends with a consideration of the practical research possibilities emanating from its call to ground activity theory and its concern with contradictions in a sophisticated understanding of labourpower theory. It draws upon the UK-based Learning in and for Interagency Working Project’s (2004‑2008) intervention research in multiprofessional children’s service settings. It discusses the project’s rethinking of the notion of contradictions, the need to understand the division of labour as a tool in the social production of labour-power and the sense in which historical shifts in the ways that institutions organise  collective labourpower make visible the social production of labourpower as an object of activity

‘A tradition in ceaseless motion’ : critical race theory and black British intellectual spaces

In the USA, where Critical Race Theory (CRT) first emerged, black public intellectuals are a longstanding, if embattled, feature of national life. However, while often marginalized in public debate, the UK has its own robust tradition of black intellectual creation. The field of education, both as a site of intellectual production and as the site of political struggle for black communities, is one of the significant fields in which black British intellectual positions have been defined and differentiated. This article argues that the transfer of CRT to the UK context should be understood within this broader context of black British intellectual production. Through a critical examination of race conscious scholarship and the diverse literature produced in the UK since the 1960s, this article identifies some of the dimensions of education that have been scrutinized by black British intellectuals. In doing so, it directs attention to questions being generated by the transfer of CRT to the UK and to the local materials on which those using CRT might draw, in order to build a historically grounded base for the development of CRT in the UK

Race and vocational education and training in England

Black and minority ethnic students (BME) are a significant constituency in VET and FE in England. Despite this recent research on race and VET has become a marginal concern. Insofar as current VET research addresses social justice, race appears to be a supplementary concern. Although there is a substantial literature addressing race and education, this focuses primarily on schools and higher education. This paper examines why there is a need to develop a research agenda that analyses participation, outcomes and experiences of BME VET students, particularly those on ‘non-advanced’ programmes (equivalent to European Qualification Framework Level 1-3) with uncertain labour market outcomes and who are arguably being ‘warehoused’ in low status courses. The paper reflects on the historically specific reasons for the dearth of research on race and VET, drawing on a scoping exercise of the literature to evidence this. We conclude by offering a provisional analysis that identifies recent shifts in participation among BME groups, locating this in its socio-economic and historical context. Our analysis reaffirms that VET remains a significant educational site for BME groups, but it is a complex racialised site which makes the current neglect of race and VET in academic research deeply problematic

The Fringe is the Centre: racism, pseudoscience and authoritarianism in the dominant English education policy network

The term ‘chumocracy’ has been used to describe a tendency within the UK’s Conservative government to appoint friends and allies to key public positions; this image seriously underestimates the scale and influence of networks that shape policy and supply individuals to key roles. This paper maps networks that converge around conservative and sometimes extreme views on race and education. These networks include media figures, academics, public officials and campaigning organisations. They are characterized by an authoritarian ideology, including hereditarian and pseudoscientific beliefs, that views Black and working-class populations as unstable and threatening. They shape policies that seek to silence critical debate about structural racism, while promoting an education characterised by intensified testing, selection, curricular control and strict discipline

The status of race and racism in policy : an analysis of project interviews

At the June 2015 Advisory Board meeting for the SES Race, Racism and Education study the project team identified several themes recurring in project interviews. These included: • The landscape of race (whether talking about race is now seen as ‘racist’; policy and the ‘white working class’) • The significance of the Lawrence case (stakeholders v policymakers) • The extent to which current political figures understand race/racism critically? • Did policy ever really take racism seriously? • Hindsight, memory and reconstructing the past Subsequently, individual team members have taken the lead in developing analysis of the interview data and exploring emerging themes. The particular focus of this working paper is on interviewees’ perceptions of the shifting status of race and racism within education and within the wider public space, c.1993-2013. It encompasses discussion of the significance of the Lawrence murder case; the extent to which politicians and policy makers understand race and racism critically; and the availability of a public language for discussing race. The period 1993-2013 saw the murder of Stephen Lawrence; the Macpherson Inquiry; the Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000); London/ City Challenge; the growth of ethnic performance data; and debates on the black/ white gap in UK schools. In form, it comprises a type of oral history, using of interview data to reconstruct multiple viewpoints of a historical period. By shifting the focus of inquiry to foreground ‘hidden’ narratives, this approach enables accounts that might otherwise be trivialised as complaints or as anecdotes to stand as legitimate historical narratives