Marxist and non-Marxist aspects of the cultural-historical psychology of L.S. Vygotsky

It was not only Marxism which influenced Vygotsky. He was a child of the Silver Age of Russian culture and philosophy and the influence of this should not be underestimated. Some traits in Vygotsky’s theory, traditionally considered as Marxist – such as the concept of the social origins of mind or sign as psychological tool have deeper and wider roots in works of Shpet, Blonsky, Sorokin and Meierhold. As for Marxism as such, it must be mentioned that during all three periods of his creative evolution Vygotsky had different approaches to what was true Marxist psychology and how it should be built. These are items this paper is focused on

The Group as a Source of Development: Rethinking Professional Development in a Collaborative Perspective

Since the later decades of the 20th century, Brazilian psychologists have been questioning a theoretical and interventional model in educational contexts, which consider psychological phenomena apart from their cultural contexts, in order to develop an approach based on a contextualized viewpoint. Despite progress having been made in educational psychology, as a result of this critical paradigm, this area still has problems to overcome: Psychologists are becoming increasingly separate from schools, and it is now common to find psychologists who are professionally unprepared to perform in this context and furthermore, school principals do not always understand the role of psychologists in educational settings. However, educational demands exist in psychologists’ daily work in a range of contexts, indicating the relevance of this field and the urgency to improve psychologists' qualifications. Considering that Brazilian professional development programs for educators and psychologists are usually restricted to technical learning, often ignoring professionals’ real needs and claims, this research aimed to develop a special type of professional development program looking at the group as a source of development, in order to rethink professional development process from within a collaborative perspective. Research data was generated from a professional development program offered for psychologists and professionals who work within educational settings. This programme involved collaborative group work and was organized and conducted in such a way as to create conditions for change. Concepts of cultural-historical theory – social situation of development, crisis and perezhivanie – were used as analytic tools for data analysis. Analysis indicated the importance of the group as a source of development through dialogue and the co-construction of new ideas and possibilities.

The Importance of the Cultural-Historical Theory for Education. Some Meditations on Learning, Development, Activity, and Creativity

“What are the main items showing the importance of cultural-historical psychology for education?” It is much easier to put such a question than to give an appropriate answer. Different experts in this area definitely propose different answers to it. In this article I would try to present my answer from my perspective. It seems that our understanding of Vygotsky’s theory is so deep and complete that any question of missed links or hidden messages does not make any sense. What essentially new could be found in this area after more than 40 years of discovering of the cultural-historical theory by generations of researchers? However, I will try to show that there are missed links in our understanding of Vygotsky’s theoretical approach. Even more, I will try to show that there is a hidden message from Vygotsky which remains unclaimed. I will try to show then that both items (the missed link and the hidden message) are connected with the idea of development in terms of drama

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This paper explores two main topics. First, it presents main concepts and principles of cultural historical theory (CHT) in relation to development. Second, it describes principles of the genetic research methodology, which are derived from the CHT framework. In other words, I will try to provide a systemic overview of Vygotsky's psychological theory in order to answer two questions

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This paper explores two main topics. First, it presents main concepts and principles of cultural historical theory (CHT) in relation to development. Second, it describes principles of the genetic research methodology, which are derived from the CHT framework. In other words, I will try to provide a systemic overview of Vygotsky's psychological theory in order to answer two questions

Examining teacher-researcher collaboration through the cultural interface

Sharada Gade, in drawing on her long association with a mathematics teacher in Sweden, theorises the complexities of the teacher-researcher collaboration as an expansive learning activity that has developed over time. In this paper, an alternate reading of the teacher-researcher collaboration is offered, one that adds to the analysis provided by Gade, but which draws on the conceptual lens of the cultural interface. We build on Gade’s theorising by further explicating the relational space that emerges when teachers and researchers come together. We argue that it is the emergence of this space that can restrain or facilitate the trajectory of collaboration

Playworlds and executive functions in children: Theorising with the cultural-historical analytical lenses

This paper provides a theorisation of developmental conditions to support executive functions (working memory, inhibition and shifting) in children in playworlds settings, where children and teachers play together in collectively created imaginary situations. Vygotsky’s general law of development of psychological functions constitutes the general frame for the analysis of the process of development of executive functions (EF) in playworlds, and the theoretical concepts of drama, social situation of development and perezhivanie are used as analytical tools to examine opportunities of playworlds to support children executive functions

Re-conceptualizing executive functions as social activity in children's playworlds

This paper presents the outcomes of a study into how some early childhood teachers conceptualized the process of creating the conditions for the development of higher forms of cultural activity, often referred to in the general literature as Executive Functions (EF). EF are usually defined as those interrelated processes or functions that manage and control thoughts and behaviors. The underpinning experimental studies feature interventions that early childhood teachers are asked to implement, which we argue is problematic. The research reported in this paper takes a different approach. First, EF is theorized as a cultural activity, where the environment acts as the source of development of specifically human characteristics. Second, the teachers used playworlds to frame EF activities. Conceptualizing EF activities through play, rather than focusing on functions in the brain, oriented the teachers to creating dramatic events and social practices for supporting higher mental functioning as part of everyday preschool activities. We argue that a conception of EF as a social practice is a more pedagogically productive way of creating the conditions to support children’s development because it speaks directly to teachers’ practice