Copyright © The Center for Human Activity Theory, Kansai University Current Situation and Future Development of Activity Theory

Abstract. The cultural-historical activity theory was developed by the Russian psycholo-gist Vygotsky and his colleagues in the 1920s and 1930s. Since then, it has been expand-ed globally and rapidly, particularly during the past 15 years. However, there has been little interaction between the broader international community and China with respect to the development of the theory and its applications in China, which has taken place along a path of its own. This paper aims to examine this development, focusing on 1) the gen-eral situation and background of the research, 2) the basic understanding, theoretical construction and unique features of development; 3) the focal areas in and limitations of the application; and 4) idea evolution in terms of different generation theories. At the end of the paper, emerging trends and future prospects of activity theoretical research in China will be suggested and discussed