Systemic Suitability in Processes of Knowledge Production and Dissemination: An Extension of Didactic Suitability and the Ontosemiotic Approach
Keywords:
Onto-semiotic Approach. Systemic Suitability. Transdisciplinarity. Water Management
Abstract
This study aims to assess the relevance of the Ontosemiotic Approach (OSA) for analyzing the emergence and diffusion of knowledge in disciplines beyond mathematics. The theoretical framework introduces the notion of an activity system, within which three processes are distinguished for analytical purposes: the production, dissemination, and control of knowledge. In order to evaluate the quality of activity systems, the analytical tool of systemic suitability is proposed as an extension of the concept of didactic suitability. Methodologically, the study adopts a transdisciplinary case study focused on water management in the Albufera of Valencia, examining five interdependent activity systems. The findings reveal semiotic conflicts among technical, scientific, and local forms of knowledge, showing that management effectiveness depends on coherence across the six facets proposed within the framework of systemic suitability. The study concludes that the OSA provides analytical tools that complement other frameworks for epistemic integration and normative evaluation in contexts of high socio-ecological complexity. It also demonstrates the potential of the analyzed context for the design of problem situations in mathematics education, including mathematical modelling, ethnomathematics, and transdisciplinary STEM projects.
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Referencias
AGGARWAL, R. M.; ANDERIES, J. M. Understanding how governance emerges in social-ecological systems: insights from archetype analysis. Ecology and Society, Saskatoon, v. 28, n. 2, p. 2, 2023. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-14061-280202.
BLOMHØJ, M. Mathematical modelling: A theory for practice. In: CLARKE, B. et al. (ed.). International perspectives on learning and teaching mathematics. Göteborg: National Center for Mathematics Education, 2004. p. 145-159.
BOELENS, R.; CLAUDÍN, V. Rooted Rights Systems in Turbulent Water: The Dynamics of Collective Fishing Rights in La Albufera, Valencia, Spain. Society & Natural Resources, Londres, v. 28, n. 10, p. 1059-1074, 2015. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2015.1024370.
D'AMBROSIO, U. Etnomatemática. São Paulo: Editora Ática, 1990.
ENGESTRÖM, Y. Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit, 1987.
ENGESTRÖM, Y.; SANNINO, A. From mediated actions to heterogeneous coalitions: four generations of activity-theoretical studies of work and learning. Mind, Culture, and Activity, Filadelfia, v. 28, n. 1, p. 4-23, 2021. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2020.1806328.
FOLKE, C. Resilience (republished). Ecology and Society, Saskatoon, v. 21, n. 4, p. 44, 2016. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-09088-210444.
FONT, V.; GODINO, J. D.; GALLARDO, J. The emergence of objects from mathematical practices. Educational Studies in Mathematics, Dordrecht, v. 82, p. 97-124, 2013. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10649-012-9411-0.
GARCÍA ÁLVAREZ-COQUE, J. M.; BIGNÉ, G. El regadío histórico de la huerta de València (España) como Sistema Importante del Patrimonio Agrícola Mundial (SIPAM). Agroalimentaria Journal-Revista Agroalimentaria, Mérida, v. 26, n. 50, p. 281-301, 2020.
GODINO, J. D. Ontosemiotic approach in mathematics education: Foundations, tools, and applications. Granada: DIGIBUG Author edition, 2024. Disponible en: https://hdl.handle.net/10481/93738.
GODINO, J. D. Enfoque ontosemiótico en didáctica de las ciencias experimentales. Ponencia invitada en el Congreso Internacional Sobre Educación y Tecnología en Ciencias, CISETC, 2025a. Disponible en: https://www.ugr.es/local/fqm126/documentos/ponencia_CISETC.pdf.
GODINO, J. D. The molecule as an epistemic object: An ontosemiotic perspective on its historical emergence. [S. l.]: Manuscript submitted for publication, 2025b. Disponible en: https://www.ugr.es/local/fqm126/documentos/OSA_chemistry.pdf.
GODINO, J. D. An ontosemiotic framework for biosemiotic analysis of living systems. [S. l.]: Manuscript submitted for publication, 2025c. Disponible en: https://www.ugr.es/local/fqm126/documentos/OSA_biology.pdf.
GODINO, J. D.; BATANERO, C. Significado institucional y personal de los objetos matemáticos. Recherches en Didactique des Mathématiques, Grenoble, v. 14, n. 3, p. 325-355, 1994.
GODINO, J. D.; BATANERO, C.; FONT, V. The onto-semiotic approach to research in mathematics education. ZDM – The International Journal on Mathematics Education, Berlín, v. 39, n. 1-2, p. 127-135, 2007. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11858-006-0004-1.
GODINO, J. D.; BATANERO, C.; FONT, V. The onto-semiotic approach: implications for the prescriptive character of didactics. For the Learning of Mathematics, Montréal, v. 39, n. 1, p. 37-42, 2019. Disponible en: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26742011.
GODINO, J. D.; BURGOS, M.; GEA, M. M. Analysing theories of meaning in mathematics education from the onto-semiotic approach. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, Londres, v. 53, n. 10, p. 2609-2636, 2022. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1896042.
JASANOFF, S. States of knowledge: The co-production of science and social order. Londres: Routledge, 2004.
JÉGOU, A.; SANCHIS-IBOR, C. The opaque lagoon. Water management and governance in l’Albufera de València wetland (Spain). Limnetica, Mislata, v. 38, n. 1, p. 503-515, 2019. Disponible en: https://hal.science/hal-02157893v1.
JORGE-GARCÍA, D.; ESTRUCH-GUITART, V.; ARAGONÉS-BELTRÁN, P. How geographical factors and decision-makers' perceptions influence the prioritization of ecosystem services: Analysis in the Spanish rice field areas in RAMSAR Mediterranean wetlands. Science of The Total Environment, Ámsterdam, v. 869, 161823, 2023. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161823.
KLEIN, J. T. Evaluation of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research: A literature review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Ámsterdam, v. 35, n. 2, p. 116–123, 2008. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.01.
LATOUR, B. Reassembling the social: An introduction to actor-network-theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
MALET, O.; GIACOMONE, B.; REPETTO, A. M. La Idoneidad didáctica como herramienta metodológica: desarrollo y contextos de uso. Revemop, Itatiba, v. 3, e202110, p. 1-23, 2021. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.33532/revemop.e202110.
MARTINEZ-SANCHIS, I.; VIÑALS, M. J. Enhancing the traditional Mediterranean irrigation agroecosystems: A case study of the rivers Túria and Júcar (Valencia, Spain). Ecosystems and Sustainable Development X, Southampton, v. 192, p. 45, 2015. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.2495/ECO150051.
MICHAELS, T. K. et al. Transformative capacity of social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society, Saskatoon, v. 31, n. 1, p. 10, 2026. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-16701-310110.
NEWELL, W. H. The state of the field: Interdisciplinary theory. Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies, Lubbock, v. 31, p. 22-43, 2013.
OSTROM, E. A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems. Science, Washington, DC, v. 325, n. 5939, p. 419-422, 2009. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1172133.
PALOP GUILLEM, S. F. Procesos ecológicos, agronómicos y ambientales en el humedal de L'Albufera de València: Construcción de escenarios de futuro. 2016. Tesis (Doctorado en Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente) – Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, 2016.
PEIRCE, C. S. Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce. Editado por C. Hartshorne, P. Weiss y A. W. Burks. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1931-58. 8 v.
PERIS-ALBENTOSA, T. Las huertas valencianas: la necesaria actualización de los postulados de Maass, Glick y Ostrom. Agricultura, sociedad y desarrollo, Texcoco, v. 12, n. 3, p. 349-383, 2015. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.22231/asyd.v12i3.2.
RODRIGO-ILARRI, J. et al. Temporal and Spatial Analysis of the Environmental State of the Valencia Plain Aquifer Area Using the Weighted Environmental Index (WEI). Sustainability, Basilea, v. 17, n. 13, 5921, 2025. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su17135921.
SECORD, J. A. Knowledge in transit. Isis, Chicago, v. 95, n. 4, p. 654-672, 2004. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1086/430657.
SKOVSMOSE, O. Towards a philosophy of critical mathematics education. Berlín: Springer Science & Business Media, 2013.
SPADARO, C.; VALLERANI, F. Re-imagining urban wetlands: Watery heritage and food policies in the Albufera de València. Shima, Sydney, v. 17, n. 2, p. 10-32, 2023. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.21463/shima.205.
STAR, S. L.; GRIESEMER, J. Institutional ecology, ‘translations’ and boundary objects: Amateurs and professionals in Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Social Studies of Science, Londres, v. 19, n. 3, p. 387-420, 1989.
VYGOTSKY, L. S. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978.
WENGER, E. Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
WITTGENSTEIN, L. Philosophical investigations. Nueva York: The MacMillan Company, 1953.
AGGARWAL, R. M.; ANDERIES, J. M. Understanding how governance emerges in social-ecological systems: insights from archetype analysis. Ecology and Society, Saskatoon, v. 28, n. 2, p. 2, 2023. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-14061-280202.
BLOMHØJ, M. Mathematical modelling: A theory for practice. In: CLARKE, B. et al. (ed.). International perspectives on learning and teaching mathematics. Göteborg: National Center for Mathematics Education, 2004. p. 145-159.
BOELENS, R.; CLAUDÍN, V. Rooted Rights Systems in Turbulent Water: The Dynamics of Collective Fishing Rights in La Albufera, Valencia, Spain. Society & Natural Resources, Londres, v. 28, n. 10, p. 1059-1074, 2015. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2015.1024370.
D'AMBROSIO, U. Etnomatemática. São Paulo: Editora Ática, 1990.
ENGESTRÖM, Y. Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit, 1987.
ENGESTRÖM, Y.; SANNINO, A. From mediated actions to heterogeneous coalitions: four generations of activity-theoretical studies of work and learning. Mind, Culture, and Activity, Filadelfia, v. 28, n. 1, p. 4-23, 2021. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2020.1806328.
FOLKE, C. Resilience (republished). Ecology and Society, Saskatoon, v. 21, n. 4, p. 44, 2016. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-09088-210444.
FONT, V.; GODINO, J. D.; GALLARDO, J. The emergence of objects from mathematical practices. Educational Studies in Mathematics, Dordrecht, v. 82, p. 97-124, 2013. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10649-012-9411-0.
GARCÍA ÁLVAREZ-COQUE, J. M.; BIGNÉ, G. El regadío histórico de la huerta de València (España) como Sistema Importante del Patrimonio Agrícola Mundial (SIPAM). Agroalimentaria Journal-Revista Agroalimentaria, Mérida, v. 26, n. 50, p. 281-301, 2020.
GODINO, J. D. Ontosemiotic approach in mathematics education: Foundations, tools, and applications. Granada: DIGIBUG Author edition, 2024. Disponible en: https://hdl.handle.net/10481/93738.
GODINO, J. D. Enfoque ontosemiótico en didáctica de las ciencias experimentales. Ponencia invitada en el Congreso Internacional Sobre Educación y Tecnología en Ciencias, CISETC, 2025a. Disponible en: https://www.ugr.es/local/fqm126/documentos/ponencia_CISETC.pdf.
GODINO, J. D. The molecule as an epistemic object: An ontosemiotic perspective on its historical emergence. [S. l.]: Manuscript submitted for publication, 2025b. Disponible en: https://www.ugr.es/local/fqm126/documentos/OSA_chemistry.pdf.
GODINO, J. D. An ontosemiotic framework for biosemiotic analysis of living systems. [S. l.]: Manuscript submitted for publication, 2025c. Disponible en: https://www.ugr.es/local/fqm126/documentos/OSA_biology.pdf.
GODINO, J. D.; BATANERO, C. Significado institucional y personal de los objetos matemáticos. Recherches en Didactique des Mathématiques, Grenoble, v. 14, n. 3, p. 325-355, 1994.
GODINO, J. D.; BATANERO, C.; FONT, V. The onto-semiotic approach to research in mathematics education. ZDM – The International Journal on Mathematics Education, Berlín, v. 39, n. 1-2, p. 127-135, 2007. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11858-006-0004-1.
GODINO, J. D.; BATANERO, C.; FONT, V. The onto-semiotic approach: implications for the prescriptive character of didactics. For the Learning of Mathematics, Montréal, v. 39, n. 1, p. 37-42, 2019. Disponible en: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26742011.
GODINO, J. D.; BURGOS, M.; GEA, M. M. Analysing theories of meaning in mathematics education from the onto-semiotic approach. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, Londres, v. 53, n. 10, p. 2609-2636, 2022. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1896042.
JASANOFF, S. States of knowledge: The co-production of science and social order. Londres: Routledge, 2004.
JÉGOU, A.; SANCHIS-IBOR, C. The opaque lagoon. Water management and governance in l’Albufera de València wetland (Spain). Limnetica, Mislata, v. 38, n. 1, p. 503-515, 2019. Disponible en: https://hal.science/hal-02157893v1.
JORGE-GARCÍA, D.; ESTRUCH-GUITART, V.; ARAGONÉS-BELTRÁN, P. How geographical factors and decision-makers' perceptions influence the prioritization of ecosystem services: Analysis in the Spanish rice field areas in RAMSAR Mediterranean wetlands. Science of The Total Environment, Ámsterdam, v. 869, 161823, 2023. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161823.
KLEIN, J. T. Evaluation of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research: A literature review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Ámsterdam, v. 35, n. 2, p. 116–123, 2008. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.01.
LATOUR, B. Reassembling the social: An introduction to actor-network-theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
MALET, O.; GIACOMONE, B.; REPETTO, A. M. La Idoneidad didáctica como herramienta metodológica: desarrollo y contextos de uso. Revemop, Itatiba, v. 3, e202110, p. 1-23, 2021. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.33532/revemop.e202110.
MARTINEZ-SANCHIS, I.; VIÑALS, M. J. Enhancing the traditional Mediterranean irrigation agroecosystems: A case study of the rivers Túria and Júcar (Valencia, Spain). Ecosystems and Sustainable Development X, Southampton, v. 192, p. 45, 2015. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.2495/ECO150051.
MICHAELS, T. K. et al. Transformative capacity of social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society, Saskatoon, v. 31, n. 1, p. 10, 2026. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-16701-310110.
NEWELL, W. H. The state of the field: Interdisciplinary theory. Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies, Lubbock, v. 31, p. 22-43, 2013.
OSTROM, E. A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems. Science, Washington, DC, v. 325, n. 5939, p. 419-422, 2009. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1172133.
PALOP GUILLEM, S. F. Procesos ecológicos, agronómicos y ambientales en el humedal de L'Albufera de València: Construcción de escenarios de futuro. 2016. Tesis (Doctorado en Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente) – Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, 2016.
PEIRCE, C. S. Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce. Editado por C. Hartshorne, P. Weiss y A. W. Burks. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1931-58. 8 v.
PERIS-ALBENTOSA, T. Las huertas valencianas: la necesaria actualización de los postulados de Maass, Glick y Ostrom. Agricultura, sociedad y desarrollo, Texcoco, v. 12, n. 3, p. 349-383, 2015. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.22231/asyd.v12i3.2.
RODRIGO-ILARRI, J. et al. Temporal and Spatial Analysis of the Environmental State of the Valencia Plain Aquifer Area Using the Weighted Environmental Index (WEI). Sustainability, Basilea, v. 17, n. 13, 5921, 2025. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su17135921.
SECORD, J. A. Knowledge in transit. Isis, Chicago, v. 95, n. 4, p. 654-672, 2004. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1086/430657.
SKOVSMOSE, O. Towards a philosophy of critical mathematics education. Berlín: Springer Science & Business Media, 2013.
SPADARO, C.; VALLERANI, F. Re-imagining urban wetlands: Watery heritage and food policies in the Albufera de València. Shima, Sydney, v. 17, n. 2, p. 10-32, 2023. Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.21463/shima.205.
STAR, S. L.; GRIESEMER, J. Institutional ecology, ‘translations’ and boundary objects: Amateurs and professionals in Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Social Studies of Science, Londres, v. 19, n. 3, p. 387-420, 1989.
VYGOTSKY, L. S. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978.
WENGER, E. Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
WITTGENSTEIN, L. Philosophical investigations. Nueva York: The MacMillan Company, 1953.
Published
2026-03-05
How to Cite
GODINO, J. D. Systemic Suitability in Processes of Knowledge Production and Dissemination: An Extension of Didactic Suitability and the Ontosemiotic Approach. Revemop, v. 8, p. e2026005, 5 Mar. 2026.
Section
Didactic Suitability: theoretical, methodological and practical approaches
Copyright (c) 2026 Juan D. Godino
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
