Using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory to Analyze Social Service Practices Evolving from the Norwegian HUSK Projects

Abstract

The HUSK projects catalyzed innovation in the practices of providing social services that could yield useful insights both within and outside of Norway if analyzed in these two ways: (a) retrospective analysis of the development of individual HUSK projects in light of their cultural-historical contexts, and (b) comparative analysis of the efforts to advance multi-sector collaboration in some of the HUSK projects. Such analyses require a practice-based research approach that takes into account culture and history. In this article the author explains how cultural-historical activity theory provides such an approach, illustrated via several HUSK cases. The author suggests five questions for future analyses of the HUSK projects and argues that insights gleaned from such analyses could contribute significantly to research on—and the provision of—social services.

Keywords::

• Cultural-historical activity theory
• practice theory
• practice research
• professional practices

Notes

^1. See Engeström (1999a, pp. 34–35) for further explanation of his concept of how activity systems assess cultural advancement.