This volume presents articles important to contemporary studies of the cultural and contextual foundations of human development. It address es the need to create a Psychology which focuses upon the actions of people participating in routine, culturally organized activities. The discussion includes: the nature of context; experiments as contexts; culture-historical theories of culture, context and development; the analysis of classroom settings as a social important context of development, the psychological analysis of activity in situ, and questions of power and discourse.

Based on three unifying ideas, this landmark volume defines an approach to sociocultural psychology which the authors hope will continue to be debated and redefined. It addresses the question of how mental functioning is related to its cultural, historical and institutional settings.

First Published in 1985, Currently, two streams of endeavor offer promise for improving school effectiveness in developing students’ higher cognitive capacities. One of these is represented by the increased interest of school districts, colleges, and universities in identifying ways to help their students build the cognitive skills that enable them to learn and think effectively. What can be done, they ask, beyond teaching the fundamentals of reading, writing, arithmetic, and subject-matter knowledge, to enable students to use their skills and knowledge for effective problem solving, reasoning, and comprehension? The second stream is apparent in recent scientific advances in the study of intelligence, human development, problem solving, the structure of acquired knowledge, and the skills of learning. This is volume two of a collection of conference papers based on this topic.

With a specially written introduction from the editors, providing a much needed context to the current education climate, students of educational psychology will find this reader an important route map to further reading & understanding.

Highly regarded experts review the state of the art in cognitive strategy research with an emphasis on the transition from laboratory to educational contexts. Basic research on models of competent learning are discussed, as well as specific instructional applications in educational domains such as reading, writing, mathematics and science. Fresh perspectives and innovative suggestions for teacher training and educational reform are proffered. Researchers in psychology and education as well as teacher educators and educational practitioners interested in becoming well-versed in current cognitive strategy research will benefit from the interdisciplinary nature and comprehensiveness of Cognitive Strategy Research: From Basic Issues to Educational Applications.

In this study the essence of literacy is observed in the Portillo Community when working-class Mexican-American parents empowered each other by sharing their experiences to help their children in school.