Most educators are familiar with Lev Vygotsky's concept of the "zone of proximal development," yet the bulk of Vygotsky's pioneering theory of cognitive development largely remains unknown. This unique volume provides a systematic, authoritative overview of Vygotsky's work and its implications for educational research and practice. Major topics include how children develop higher-order thinking; the influences on cognitive development of teacher-student interactions, the family, and culture; and critical and stable periods in development from infancy through adolescence. Key concepts and research methods are explained in detail, and classroom examples and instructional suggestions are provided.

This book draws upon Vygotsky’s idea of perezhivanie, emotions and imagination, and introduces the concepts of subjective sense and subjective configuration. These concepts are crucial for explaining and understanding children’s development from a cultural-historical perspective. A book which theorises the relations between the social and the individual through a study of a child’s perezhivanie, which analyses emotions more holistically, and advances the concepts of subjective sense and subjective configuration, is much needed. This book examines the complexity of human development through a comprehensive elaboration of these concepts, allowing for new insights to be put forward. It doesn’t always follow the chronological order of Vygotsky’s publications, as many of his works remained in the family archives until the 1980s, when his Selected Works were first published in Russian. There has long been a need for a contemporary book on the scholarly treatment of perezhevanie, emotions, and subjectivity, and as such this book revisits dominant representations of these concepts and then puts forward new ways of conceptualising and using them in empirical research. The chapters cover a broad range of case studies where the concepts of perezhivanie, emotions and imagination and subjective sense and subjective configuration are used to give new empirical and theoretical insights into the study of human development.

This accessible collection of essays critically examines Vygotsky’s scientific legacy. The book is solidly grounded in the "revisionist revolution" context and encourages constructive questioning of Vygotsky’s theory of human development. It tackles thought-provoking issues such as the true value of his scholarship, the possible falsification of his scientific legacy, and the role of political factors and the Communist parties in the worldwide dissemination of his work. It is essential reading on Vygotskian psychology and of interest to students and researchers in developmental psychology, history of psychology, history of science, Soviet/Russian history, philosophical science and education.

The Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky (1896â "1934) has been one of the central figures in the recent shift from the cognitive to the social and the cultural in educational and psychological research. A. N. Leontievâ (TM)s (1903â "1979) activity theory has had a similar impact in the West. A. A. Leontievâ (TM)s (1936â "2004) psycholinguistic theories have also started to attract increasing attention. The ideas of these scholars have also made their mark on second and foreign language learning research outside Russia. However, there is no one widely accepted, monolithic Vygotskian or Leontievian theory. Furthermore, the nature and role of language in action and activity remain open for debate. This edited volume presents 19 chapters bringing together different views from a number of disciplines for a critical analysis and reappraisal of the relationship between language and action. The topics range from theoretical and methodological issues related to sociocultural and activity theoretical views of language to empirical research reports on classroom interaction, identity, language assessment, teacher education and second and foreign language learning. The overall aim of Language in Action: Vygotsky and Leontievian Legacy Today is to shed light on the nature of human action and activity and the role that language has in mediating and shaping what we think, do, and learn. At the same time, the book serves as a showcase of different socially oriented approaches to the study of what we as human beings are and what we do with language.

– The most famous Russian psychologist, whose life and ideas are least known? – A pioneer of psychology who said virtually nothing new? – A simple man who became a genius after he died? This fundamentally novel intellectual biography offers a 21st-century account of the life and times of Lev Vygotsky, who has long been considered a pioneer in the field of learning and human development. The diverse Vygotskian literature has created many distinct images of this influential scientist, which has led many researchers to attempt to unearth ‘the real Vygotsky’. Rather than join this quest to over-simplify Vygotsky’s legacy, this book attempts to understand the development of ‘the multiple Vygotskies’ by exploring a number of personae that Vygotsky assumed at different periods of his life. Based on the most recent archival, textological and historical investigations in original, uncensored Russian, the author presents a ground-breaking account that is far from the shiny success story that is typically associated with ‘the cult of Vygotsky’. This book will be an essential contribution to Vygotskian scholarship and of interest to advanced students and researchers in history of psychology, history of science, Soviet/Russian history, philosophical psychology, and philosophy of science.

This 2003 book comprehensively covers all major topics of Vygotskian educational theory and its classroom applications. Particular attention is paid to the Vygotskian idea of child development as a consequence rather than premise of learning experiences. Such a reversal allows for new interpretations of the relationships between cognitive development and education at different junctions of the human life span. It also opens new perspectives on atypical development, learning disabilities, and assessment of children's learning potential. Classroom applications of Vygotskian theory are discussed in the book. Teacher training and the changing role of a teacher in a sociocultural classroom is discussed in addition to the issues of teaching and learning activities and peer interactions. Relevant research findings from the US, Western Europe, and Russia are brought together to clarify the possible new applications of Vygotskian ideas in different disciplinary areas.

Vygotsky’s legacy in education is enduring and prolific, influencing educational research and scholarship in areas as far ranging child development, language and literacy development, bilingual education, and learning disabilities to name but a few. In this accessible, introductory volume, renowned Vygtosky authority Luis C. Moll presents a summary of Vygtoskian core concepts, constituting a cultural-historical approach to the study of thinking and development. Moll emphasizes what he considers central tenets of Vygotsky’s scholarship --- the sociocultural genesis of human thinking, the consideration of active and dynamic individuals, a developmental approach to studying human thinking, and the power of cultural mediation in understanding and transforming educational practices, broadly considered. After an introduction to Vygotsky’s life, the historical context for his work, and his ideas, Moll provides examples from his educational research inspired by Vygotsky’s work. With both critical scrutiny of current interpretations of Vygotksian theory and clear deference for the theorist known as "The Mozart of Psychology," Moll stresses the many ways Vygotksy’s theory can offer a theory of possibilities for positive pedagogical change.

Vygotsky in Twenty-first Century Society is an ensemble of novel perspectives about the legacy of Lev Vygotsky and Alexander Luria. The book illustrates how well the legacy of their work is being applied and continued in contemporary research, and how cultural historical theory has been constructed and re-constructed. Together, these collected essays inform a broader discussion of how a developmentally-oriented cultural paradigm can guide learning and teaching in social and educational policy and in group or individual counseling. Readers will find discussions of issues in human development that have previously been overlooked. This book is important and timely in addressing these issues and fault-lines, particularly for advancing both equity and scientific understandings.

L. S. Vygotsky was an early-twentieth-century Russian social theorist whose writing exerts a significant influence on the development of social theory in the early-twenty-first century. His non-deterministic, non-reductionist account of the formation of mind provides current theoretical developments with a broadly drawn yet very powerful sketch of the ways in which humans shape and are shaped by social, cultural, and historical conditions. This dialectical conception of development insists on the importance of genetic or developmental analysis at several levels. The Cambridge Companion to Vygotsky is a comprehensive text that provides students, academics, and practitioners with a critical perspective on Vygotsky and his work.

This book is an exploration of science in the making. It offers readers the opportunity to critically reflect on the process of development of Vygotsky's research program from the perspective of dialectics, focusing on the dramatic process of building and rebuilding cultural historical theory. Vygotsky's creative and dramatic journey is no less important than the concrete results of his research. An epistemological and historical investigation of the formulation of cultural historical theory sheds light on the process of knowledge production and reveals hidden dimensions of creativity in science.