Agency, common knowledge and motive orientation: Working with insights from Hedegaard in research on provision for vulnerable children and young people

Publication date: Available online 17 April 2018Source: Learning, Culture and Social InteractionAuthor(s): Anne EdwardsAbstractThe starting point for the discussion in this article is Hedegaard's extension of the work of Leont'ev on the recursive interplay of person and society. Hedegaard locates the salient aspects of the social conditions in the dialectic of mind and society in institutional practices, with recurrent demands that participants find they need to orient towards. This insight places a strong focus on the challenges of entering new practices or moving between practices. Edwards' concept of common knowledge is introduced as a resource that can mediate such transitions. Links between the idea of common knowledge, comprising the motives of actors in different practices, and Hedegaard's work on institutional demands and personal motive orientation are drawn. The explanation is given through the discussion of key ideas in two research studies: an examination of new forms of inter-professional working in schools in Chile; and a UK study of young people with autistic spectrum conditions who are making the transition into the workplace. Attention is also paid to Hedegaard's methodological contributions to the field, in particular, her focus on following the action of key informants in order to gauge their motive orientation and the how they orient themselves to the recurrent demands of the practices they are entering.
Source: Learning, Culture and Social Interaction - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research