Transitioning to Open Classrooms: Analysing Discursive Manifestations of Contradictions Prior to a Change Laboratory in a Kindergarten

Daniele Morselli () and Beate Christine Weyland
Additional contact information
Daniele Morselli: Faculty of Education, Free University of Bolzano, 39100 Bolzano-Bozen, Italy
Beate Christine Weyland: Faculty of Education, Free University of Bolzano, 39100 Bolzano-Bozen, Italy

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: This study addresses the challenge of promoting sustainable organizational change in educational settings by focusing on the early identification of systemic contradictions within a kindergarten prior to a Change Laboratory intervention. Grounded in cultural historical activity theory, the research aims to develop and test an interview-based approach for surfacing discursive manifestations of contradictions among diverse staff members. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers, special teachers, janitors, and cooks and analyzed using the framework of Engeström and Sannino to identify and categorize the types of contradictions present. Results reveal a range of discursive manifestations, particularly dilemmas (5), conflicts (56), and critical conflicts (18), especially among teachers and special teachers, highlighting two secondary contradictions between different elements of the activity system. The first contradiction relates to the instruments and the object, while the other is between the rules and the object. By reconstructing these contradictions and representing them graphically, the study provides a foundation for the Change Laboratory, enabling participants to engage more effectively with the most pressing issues. The findings suggest that this preparatory analysis not only supports the facilitation of collective problem-solving but also enhances the sustainability of organizational change by addressing root causes and fostering shared ownership among staff.

Keywords: cultural historical activity theory; discursive manifestations of contradictions; interviews; kindergarten; change laboratory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8413/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8413/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:18:p:8413-:d:1753317

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().