Engeström's (1987) activity system model depicts the relationship between a subject and object being mediated by tools, occurring in collaboration with others within a community. This activity is shaped by socio-cultural rules and the division of labor. Mwanza's (2001) 8-step model operationalizes Engeström's activity system through a series of questions about the activity, objective, subjects, tools, rules, division of labor, community, and outcomes. The document provides an example of a school project aiming to increase environmental awareness through a presentation, with identified project roles and an intended outcome of measuring increased awareness through surveys.

1. Engeström (1987) Activity System
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2. Engeström (1987) Activity System
The relationship between the subject and the object of
activity is, as in Vygotsky’s model, mediated by tools, yet
occurs in collaboration with others (the community). The
structure of the activity is also shaped and constrained
by the socio-cultural factors of the rules and the division
of labor which exist within the context of the activity.
As a means of operationalizing Engeström’s Activity
System, Mwanza’s (2001) Eight-Step Model
incorporates a series of open-ended questions based on
the individual components
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3. Engeström (1987) Activity System
Mwanza’s (2001) Eight-Step-Model
Activity
What sort of activity am I interested in?
Increasing Environmental Awareness
Object-ive
Why is this activity taking place?
Reduce Energy implications on Environment
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4. Engeström (1987) Activity System
Mwanza’s (2001) Eight-Step-Model
Subjects
Who is involved in carrying out this activity?
School Children 5th – 6th Grade
Tools
By what means are the subjects carrying out this activity?
PowerPoint Presentation
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5. Engeström (1987) Activity System
Mwanza’s (2001) Eight-Step-Model
Rules and Regulations
Are there any cultural norms, rules and regulations governing the
performance of this activity?
Scholastic Pedagogic Behaviors
Reliable Facts presented in an Age Convenient manner
Division of Labour
Who is responsible for what, when carrying out this activity and how
are the roles organised?
Project Manager – Muna
Content Manager – Ahmed
Delivery Manager – Ibrahim
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6. Engeström (1987) Activity System
Mwanza’s (2001) Eight-Step-Model
Community
What is the environment in which activity is carried out? Scholastic
Environment
Outcome
What is the desired outcome from this activity?
Generating or Increasing Awareness will not lead to direct actions by
the students, hence no measurable tangible result for the society. As
with other material they learn at school, It is expected to affect their
behavior and attitude, which could result in long term benefit to the
society. (ref diagram next page)
We will therefore run a survey questionnaire to measure the level of
awareness attained as a result of this exercise and consider it the
measurable outcome of this activity
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8. Engeström (1987) Activity System
Another Diagram by Iskra Núñez
The activity system offers educational researchers a methodological
perspective in which the micro could be included within broader macro
educational contexts levels, as recognized by Jaworski and Potari (2009). In
order to visualize the micro-macro nested nature of educational contexts
levels, I have categorized them as three concentric circles .
The first level is the micro context, which refers to the “immediate
interactional setting” (de Abreu, 2000, p 2). The micro context is nested within
non-immediate second and third levels, which I denote as the institutional
context and the broader cultural-historical contexts, respectively.
Critical Review
Activity Theory and the Utilisation of the Activity System according to the Mathematics Educational Community
by Iskra Núñez (inunez@ioe.ac.uk)
Educate~ Special Issue, December 2009, pp 7-20, http://www.educatejournal.org/ 7
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9. Engeström – Change Philosophy?
Engeström (1987) Activity System , its time dependent perspective depicted in
his third model (1999) where he sees joint activity or practice as the unit of
analysis for activity theory, not individual activity. His interest in the process of
social transformation includes the
structure of the social world in analysis, taking into account the nature of
social practice. If we combine it with the three Circles of influence as depicted
by Nunez, complete in my mind the 3 dimensional image of strategy and
Change Management perspectives as agents of social change, more so in
quantum leaps than in steady evolutionary models, a perspective I would love
to investigate further in this course.
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