Activity System Analysis of Learners Enrolled in a Contract-based Graduate Course: A Qualitative Case Study

The purpose of this study was to analyze activity system and to elicit contradiction of learners who participated in the contract-based graduate course established through cooperation with a university and a public institution in order to explore the learning experiences and perceptions of learners. After conducting an in-depth interview with 12 research participants and analyzing related documents, we found that the learners possessed both personal and organizational identity. Dual identity of subject also appeared to influence their perception of the purpose pursued in the context of contract-based graduate course. The learners used personal, collective learning strategies and online tools that correspond to the characteristics of contract-based graduate course as well as mediated their learning process. In the community of learners, they shared collective perception and tacit rules related to their learning experiences such as curriculum revision. The division of labor for learning tasks was based on horizontal distribution principle, however, sometimes the hierarchy of rank in the institution or age of learners was taken into account. The hierarchical analysis between micro level activity system and meso level activity system revealed a number of contradiction that requires the improvement of the institutional personnel system or a change of perspective on the contract-based graduate course. These findings show that activity system analysis can be used to explore the context, complexity, and history of human activities, including learning, and can be used for policy development and practical implementation to achieve the purpose of the contract-based university courses.