Undergraduate essay production as cultural practice: technological, social and institutional mediation

Coursework essay production plays central roles in the learning and assessment of many undergraduates. This investigation is concerned with how students accomplish essay production through engagements with documents and other resources. Unlike more traditional psychological approaches, 'cultural psychology' (Cole, 1996) sees such resources as intrinsic to cognition and action. Cultural psychology is adopted as the theoretical framework for this investigation. Three empirical studies are conducted. They comprise a set of complementary lenses, focusing upon different 'levels' of activity and different aspects of context. [Continues.]