Lev Semenovich Vygotsky

Vygotksy's legacy is an exciting but often confusing fusion of ideas. An Introduction to Vygotsky provides students with an accessible overview of his work combining reprints of key journal and text articles with editorial commentary and suggested further reading. Harry Daniels explores Vygotsky's work against a backdrop of political turmoil in the developing USSR. Major elements include use of the "culture" concept in social development theory and implications for teaching, learning and assessment. Academics and students at all levels will find this an essential key source of information.

The theories of Vygotsky are central to any serious discussion of children's learning processes. Vygotsky argues that children do not develop in isolation, rather learning takes place when the child is interacting with their social environment. It is the responsibility of the teacher to establish an interactive instructional situation in the classroom, where the child is an active learner and the teacher uses their knowledge to guide learning. This has many implications for those in the educational field. This book explores the growing interest in Vygotsky and the pedagogic implications of the body of work that is developing under the influence of his theories. It provides an overview of the ways in which the original writing has been extended and identifies areas for future development. The author considers how these developments are creating new and important possibilities for the practices of teaching and learning in school and beyond, and illustrates how Vygotskian theory can be applied in the classroom. The book is intended for students and academics in education and the social sciences. It will be of interest to all those who wish to develop an analysis of pedagogic practice within and beyond the field of education.

Wertsch argues against reductionist accounts of human cognition and proposes a sociocultural perspective, which moves beyond the isolated individual. He suggests that "mediated action" and cultural tools shape cognitive processes and can explain how they are organized.