Vygotsky and Education: Instructional Implications and Applications of Sociohistorical Psychology

Book Overview

The seminal work of Russian theorist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) has exerted a deep influence on psychology over the past 30 years. Vygotsky was an educator turned psychologist, and his writings clearly reflected his pedagogical concerns. For Vygotsky, schools and other informal educational situations represent the best cultural laboratories to study thinking. He emphasized the social organization of instruction, writing about the unique form of cooperation between the child and the adult that is the central element of the educational process. Vygotsky's emphasis on the social context of thinking represents the reorganization of a key social system and associated modes of discourse, with potential consequences for developing new forms of thinking. This volume is devoted to analyzing Vygotsky's ideas as a means of bringing to light the relevance of his concepts to education. What does Vygotsky's approach have to offer education? Distinguished scholars from various countries and representing several disciplines discuss the essence and significance of Vygotsky's work, analyze the educational implications of his thoughts, and present applications in practice, addressing educational issues such as school organization, teacher training, educational achievement, literacy learning and development, uses of technology, community-based education, and special education.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521385792
• ISBN13: 9780521385794
• Release Date: May 1992
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 452 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Specializated information about the sociohistoric paradigm

This work, which features Luis Moll as compilator and also as writer of a well planned introduction (and as co - author of one of the chapters) , includes the works of several investigators in education which have the common view of the sociocultural (or sociohistoric) paradigm. Divided into three parts, the book tryes (and indeed does so) to give a complete view of the advances in Vygotsky's theory. Featuring authors like Michael Cole and James Wertsch this work places itself as a very useful and specializated source of information for the public interested in this innovative educational paradigm. I recommend to read the other publications of Cole and Wertsch, but also the books and articles of Barbara Rogoff to get a complete view and to realize the importance of the research in this field and also the educational practices that this research suggest.