Chapter 3: Provoking Social Changes in a Family–School Space of Activity

The aim of this chapter is to show how family–school inter-contextual relationships can be analyzed in terms of dynamic systems of interaction. By assuming the psychological notion of “activity space,” we intend to advance possible new theoretical and empirical reflections concerning the home– school relationships. Our goal is to provide useful ideas for promoting positive changes in the inter-contextual balance between school and family. By discussing some theoretical assumptions of sociocultural approaches in psychology, we account for a presentation of an action-research project designed to show how a particular space of joint activities, namely a socio-material workshop (atelier), produces relevant changes in relationships between children (pupils) and adults (parents and teachers). Implications and possible avenues are presented as further opportunities for provoking social changes in the family–school space of activity.