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Identity in Education and Education in Identities: Connecting Curriculum and School Practice to Students’ Lives and Identities

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Culture in Education and Education in Culture

Part of the book series: Cultural Psychology of Education ((CPED,volume 10))

Abstract

The main thesis we intend to defend in this chapter of the book is that deep learning (meaningful, significant learning) is based on the recognition and transformation of learners’ identities. This assertion, which shall become our working hypothesis, assumes three theoretical principles: (1) that human identities are culturally situated and distributed; (2) that there is a constitutive link between learning and identity; and (3) that sense (significant experience) plays an important role as a learning generator. We shall illustrate these theoretical principles by describing some educational experiences that epitomize what our main thesis entails. The link between learning and identity supposes an incorporation of the learning processes and the educational–curricular activities—which become vehicles of identity mobilization—within the identities of the students (i.e., within the significant experiences they have of themselves and of that which surrounds them).

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO), the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) and The European Regional Development Fund (European Union) [grant number EDU2017-83363-R].

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Esteban-Guitart, M. (2019). Identity in Education and Education in Identities: Connecting Curriculum and School Practice to Students’ Lives and Identities. In: Hviid, P., Märtsin, M. (eds) Culture in Education and Education in Culture. Cultural Psychology of Education, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28412-1_10

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