The Influence of L. S.

Vygotsky on Education Theory, Research, and Practice

Author(s): Vasily V. Davydov and Stephen T. Kerr
Source: Educational Researcher, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Apr., 1995), pp. 12-21
Published by: American Educational Research Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1176020
Accessed: 08/09/2010 02:50
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aera.
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
American Educational Research Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to Educational Researcher.
http://www.jstor.org
T h e Influe nce o f L . S .
Vygo tsky
o n Educatio n
T h e o r y, Re se ar ch ,
and Pr actice
VAS IL YV. DAVYDOV
T RANS L AT EDBY
S T EPHENT . KERR
Educatio nal
Re se ar ch e r , Vo l. 24, No . 3,
pp.
12-21
r ie nds and
co lle ague s,
I wo uld like to th ank
yo u
sin-
ce r e ly
fo r th e
o ppo r tunity
o f
appe ar ing
be fo r e
yo u
to
talk abo ut th e wo r k o f
Vygo tsky. 1
Wh e n I came h e r e I
was unde r th e
impr e ssio n
th at I wo uld be
spe aking
to a
gr o up
o f abo ut 30
pe o ple .
I
th o ugh t
I wo uld be able to sit
quie tly up
h e r e and h ave a
cup
o f co ffe e wh ile we h ad a
ple asant
co nve r satio n,
and no w h e r e I am in fr o nt o f th is
h uge
audito r ium,
and I am
simply
o ve r wh e lme d. But I will
tr y
to tackle th e
assignme nt
th at I was
give n!
T h e name o f L e v S e me no vich
Vygo tsky2
is we ll
kno wn
to day amo ng
sch o lar s in th e so cial
scie nce s,
e spe cially
to
psych o lo gists
and e ducato r s and to te ach e r s in a numbe r o f
co untr ie s.
Alth o ugh Vygo tsky
die d almo st 60
ye ar s ago ,
th e r e is a
gr e at
de al o f inte r e st
to day
in h is th e o r e tical
vie ws and in h o w th e se vie ws can affe ct th e
impr o ve me nt
and r e fo r m o f
co nte mpo r ar y
e ducatio n,
fo r
e xample
in
Russia and
pe r h aps
e ve n in th e Unite d S tate s o f Ame r ica.
Wh at ar e th e r e aso ns fo r th is
par ado xical
situatio n? I
pr o po se
th at th e r e aso ns
ar e ,
fir st th at th e
de e p h ypo th e ti-
cal natur e o f
Vygo tsky's
vie ws h as
r e quir e d
a
lo ng
time fo r
th e m to be
actually
co nfir me d and
gr o unde d,
and
se co nd,
th at th e se vie ws h ave be e n inco nsiste nt with th e de mands
o f e ducatio n in
pr e vio us
de cade s. It h as
o nly
be e n in th e
last 10
ye ar s
th at Russian e ducatio n h as
actually
fe lt th e ne -
ce ssity
o f e sse ntial
r e fo r m,
and th e vie ws o f
Vygo tsky
be -
came o ne o f th e base s fo r th is ne e de d
r e fo r m,
vie ws in
wh ich we r e co nce ntr ate d th e ide as o f
many
o th e r o ut-
standing
e ducato r s o f th e fir st th ir d o f th is
ce ntur y
(fo r e x-
ample
th e ide as o f P. P.
Blo nsky,
1929, 1936; S .
T .
S h atsky,
1935;
and o th e r s).
But
wh y Vygo tsky's
ide as? T o answe r th is
que stio n
we
ne e d to lo o k at th e
po sitio n
o f S o vie t e ducatio n in th e mid-
dle o f th e 1980s. In th e so cial and
pe dago gical r e latio nsh ips
o f o ur e ducatio n
syste m
we r e all th e
faults,
all th e ble m-
ish e s o f to talitar ian Co mmunist
so cie ty, including
full sub-
jugatio n
o f th e e ducatio n o f
yo ung pe o ple
to th e inte r e sts o f
a militar ize d state th at ne e de d citize ns
o nly
as de vo te d
"co gs. "
Include d also was th e
de ciding
and
o ve r wh e lming
r o le o f th e co lle ctive in th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f e ach
pe r so n,
wh ich
igno r e d
individual
pe culiar itie s.
T h is also include d a
vie w o f le ar ne r s
o nly
as
o bje cts
o f th e
pr o ce ss
o f e ducatio n.
T h is kind o f e ducatio n was
maximally
unifo r m; te ach e r s
and
vo spitate li (upbr inge r s)3
wo r ke d
o nly
as bur e aucr ats
car r ying
o ut Co mmunist
Par ty
and
go ve r nme nt
dictate s,
but basic h uman
mo r al, ae sth e tic,
and
r e ligio us
value s
we r e
fo r e ign
to th e se dictate s. Educatio n o f th is so r t co uld
be
pr o vide d o nly th r o ugh
unifo r m me th o ds o f
upbr inging
and
te ach ing/le ar ning
th at we r e aime d in fact
o nly
at
tr aining
ch ildr e n, ado le sce nts,
and
yo ung pe o ple .
S uch an
e ducatio n was also alie n to ide as o f th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f a
fr e e
pe r so nality
and an individual wh o co uld r e late cr e -
ative ly
to all h is o r h e r affair s.
Go r bach e v's
pe r e str o ika (r e str uctur ing)
was
par ticular ly
ne ce ssitate d
by
th e fact th at S o vie t
so cie ty
co uld no t e xist
anymo r e
with
citize n-co gs. Co nte mpo r ar y
so cial
life ,
co n-
te mpo r ar y
mate r ial,
and
spir itual
co nditio ns de mand cr e -
ative
r e latio nsh ips
be twe e n
pe o ple
and th e ir
wo r k,
and
de mand also an
e co no mically
fr e e
pe r so nality.
Go r -
bach e v's
pe r e str o ika
was th e
be ginning
o f de mo cr atic so -
cial, e co no mic,
and
po litical
r e fo r ms th at
to ge th e r
also
de mande d th at e ducatio n be
r e fo r me d;
it
r e quir e d de e p
de mo cr atizatio n and
significant ch ange s
in th e inte r nal
and e xte r nal fo r ms o f e ducatio n.
T h e de mo cr atizatio n o f S o vie t
e ducatio n,
be gun
in
1988-1989,
pr o ce e de d
o n th e basis o f a numbe r o f
pr inci-
ple s,
but th e mo st
significant
o f th e se we r e th e
fo llo wing-
e ducatio n must fir st o f all
pr o vide
fo r th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f
h uman
pe r so nality;
e ducatio n must be car r ie d o ut o n th e
basis o f th e individual
activity
o f e ach stude nt and take
into acco unt th e
par ticular itie s
o f h is o r h e r
inte r e sts;
and
e ducatio n must cr e ate in e ach stude nt th e
co mple te var ie ty
o f
ge ne r al
h uman value s.
T h e se ,
and
many
o th e r
pr inciple s,
we r e fo r mulate d and
th e n
be gan
to be
applie d
in th e r e fo r m o f o ur e ducatio n
syste m th r o ugh
th e e ffo r ts o f a
co mpar ative ly
small
gr o up
VAS IL Y
V. DAVYDOV
is
Vice Pr e side nt
o f
th e Russian
Acade my o f
Educatio n and a me mbe r
o f
th e
Acade my's
Pr e sidium,
Pr e sid-
ium,
Russian
Acade my o f
Educatio n,
ulitsa
Po go dinskaia,
8,
Mo sco w
119905,
Russia. He is
wide ly
kno wn
fo r
h is wo r k o n
psych o lo gy o f
instr uctio n and in
par ticular
h is wo r k o n
activity
th e o r y.
S T EPHENT . KERR is a
Pr o fe sso r o f
Educatio n at th e
Co lle ge o f
Educatio n
o f
th e
Unive r sity o f Wash ingto n,
122 Mille r
Hall,
DQ-12, S e attle ,
WA98195. His ar e as
o f
inte r e st ar e e ducatio nal
te ch no lo gy
and
co mpar ative
wo r k o n Russian e ducatio n.
12 EDUCAT IONAL RES EARCHER
o f e ducato r s and
psych o lo gists,
and th e backbo ne o f th is
gr o up
was made
up
o f
r e pr e se ntative s
o f th e scie ntific
sch o o l o f
Vygo tsky.
T h is sch o o l was fo unde d in o ur co un-
tr y
be twe e n th e 1930s and th e 1980s o n th e basis o f
Vygo t-
sky's
vie ws and
ide as,
and
th r o ugh
th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f
th e se vie ws o ve r
many ye ar s
o f scie ntific
inve stigatio n.
Fo r th e
co nte mpo r ar y
r e fo r m o f Russian e ducatio n,
th e
fo llo wing ge ne r al
ide as o f
Vygo tsky
ar e
basic,
ide as th at
h ave be e n se t fo r th and made mo r e
pr e cise by
h is stude nts
and fo llo we r s. T h e
fir st
ide a is th at e ducatio n,
wh ich in-
clude s bo th h uman
te ach ing/le ar ning
and
upbr inging,
is
inte nde d fir st o f all to
de ve lo p
th e ir
pe r so nalitie s.
T h e se co nd
ide a is th at th e h uman
pe r so nality
is linke d to its cr e ative
po te ntials;
th e r e fo r e ,
th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e
pe r so nality
in
th e e ducatio n
syste m
de mands fir st o f all th e cr e atio n o f
co nditio ns fo r
disco ve r ing
and
making
manife st th e cr e -
ative
po te ntials
o f stude nts. T h e th ir d ide a is th at te ach -
ing/le ar ning
and
upbr inging
assume
pe r so nal activity by
stude nts as
th e y
maste r a
var ie ty
o f inne r
value s;
th e stu-
de nt be co me s a tr ue
subje ct
in th e
pr o ce ss
o f
te ach ing
and
upbr inging.
T h e
fo ur th
ide a is th at th e te ach e r and th e
up-
br inge r
dir e ct and
guide
th e individual
activity
o f th e stu-
de nts,
but
th e y
do no t fo r ce o r dictate th e ir o wn will to
th e m. Auth e ntic
te ach ing/le ar ning
and
upbr inging
co me
th r o ugh
co llabo r atio n
by
adults with ch ildr e n and ado le s-
ce nts. T h e
fifth
ide a is th at th e mo st valuable me th o ds fo r
stude nts'
te ach ing/le ar ning
and
upbr inging co r r e spo nd
to
th e ir
de ve lo pme ntal
and individual
par ticular itie s,
and
th e r e fo r e th e se me th o ds canno t be unifo r m.
T h e se ide as (and
th e y
we r e
pr e se nte d
h e r e in a so me -
wh at
simplifie d
fo r m) h ave be co me th e co r e o f th e basic
pr o po sal
fo r
r e fo r ming
o ur e ducatio nal
syste m,
a
pr o po sal
th at was fir st se t fo r th in 1988 and th at is in o ne
way
o r an-
o th e r
be ing
r e alize d
to day. 4
And so in th is
way
th e vie ws and ide as o f th e sch o o l o f
Vygo tsky
h ave
h ad,
in
my
vie w,
a
significant
influe nce o n
th e r e fo r m o f Russian e ducatio n. Ho we ve r ,
we ne e d to ac-
kno wle dge
th at th is cir cumstance is
o nly vague ly r e co g-
nize d
by
th o se e ducato r s wh o ar e
actually car r ying
o ut th e
r e fo r ms
(and,
by
th e
way,
no t
always succe ssfully).
T h e r e
ar e se ve r al r e aso ns fo r th is.
Fir st,
th e ide as no te d
pr e vio usly
h ave
many
so ur ce s in
th e
h isto r y
o f e ducatio n and
psych o lo gy-th e
fo llo we r s o f
Vygo tsky just e xpr e sse d
th e m in a fo cuse d
way
in
ligh t
o f
h is main scie ntific
co nce pts,
wh ich so me wh at r e duce s th e ir
significance .
Fur th e r ,
th e auth o r s o f th e e ducatio n r e fo r m
pr o po sal
h ave tr ie d to
give
th e se ide as a
sh ape
th at wo uld
be
maximally
acce ssible to th e
pr actitio ne r s car r ying
o ut
th e r e fo r ms. T h is, o f co ur se , e ve ne d o ut so me o f th e scie n-
tific
subtle ty
o f th e vie ws o f
Vygo tsky
h imse lf.
And, finally,
th e auth o r s o f th is
pr o po sal,
and I include
myse lf
in th e ir numbe r , spe cifically
did no t se t th e mse lve s
th e task o f
po inting
o ut th e scie ntific and h isto r ical r o o ts o f
th e
pr o po sal-I th o ugh t spe cially
abo ut th is
que stio n o nly
wh e n I sat do wn to wr ite th is
spe e ch
fo r an Ame r ican au-
die nce . We Russian sch o lar s ar e o fte n late in
th inking
abo ut such issue s. I
tr uly e nvy
(in th e be st se nse ) Ame r ican
spe cialists
fo r
be ing
able to
publish
a
lar ge
and
inte r e sting
co lle ctio n o f ar ticle s in 1990 unde r th e title
Vygo tsky
and
Educatio n (Mo ll, 1990).
Unfo r tunate ly,
th e r e still is no such bo o k in Russia. But
we
ve r y
much ne e d o ne , be cause , as I h ave said, I am co n-
vince d th at o ne o f th e
ge nuine
th e o r e tical base s fo r th e
r e fo r m o f o ur e ducatio n
syste m
is th e vie ws and ide as o f
Vygo tsky.
We
se r io usly
ne e d to
r e co gnize
th is so th at we
can in th e futur e
car r y
o ut th e se r e fo r ms in a mo r e inte n-
tio nal
way
and with fe we r mistake s.
And so it is cle ar to us
wh y Vygo tsky's ge ne r al
ide as
co uld no t be use d fo r such a
lo ng
time in th e e ducatio n
sys-
te m o f a to talitar ian
so cie ty-th e y simply
co ntr adict all o f
its
pr inciple s.
And at th e same
time ,
it be co me s unde r -
standable
wh y
th e se
ide as,
wh ich h ave be co me mo r e co n-
cr e te in
co nte mpo r ar y
th e o r ie s,
ar e so
ne ce ssar y
fo r us as
we cr e ate an e ducatio nal
syste m
o r ie nte d to war d de mo c-
r atic and h umanistic
pr inciple s.
I h ave said a bit abo ut th e r o le o f so me o f
Vygo tsky's
ide as fo r th e r e fo r m o f e ducatio n in Russia. But I also ne e d
to e xamine th e
que stio n
o f th e influe nce o f h is ide as o n r e -
se ar ch in th e
ge ne r al sph e r e
o f
e ducatio n,
o n th e influe nce
o f th is r e se ar ch o n th e cr e atio n o f a
psych o lo gical
and
pe d-
ago gical th e o r y
th at h as
impo r tant significance
fo r th e im-
pr o ve me nt
o f e ducatio n in
many
o th e r
co untr ie s,
and in
par ticular
o n e ducatio n in th e Unite d S tate s.
Of
co ur se ,
I canno t avo id
to uch ing upo n
th e
par ticular
scie ntific
pr o ble ms
o f
Vygo tsky's co nce ptio n,
th e
pr o ble ms
o f
inte r r e latio nsh ip
with ce r tain o th e r
co nce ptio ns,
and
also th e
pr o ble ms
o f th e fur th e r
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e co n-
ce ptio ns
o f h is stude nts and fo llo we r s bo th in o ur
co untr y
and o th e r co untr ie s.
T h e liste ne r s in th is audie nce
pr o bably alr e ady
kno w a
gr e at
de al abo ut th e life and vie ws o f
Vygo tsky.
I will no te
th at th e
pr o mine nt
Ame r ican
ph ilo so ph e r
and h isto r ian o f
scie nce
S te ph e n
T o ulmin,
in o ne o f h is ar ticle s
(T o ulmin,
1981),
calle d
Vygo tsky
"th e Mo zar t o f
Psych o lo gy, "
its
ge -
nius. But all th e same I want to
br ie fly
r e call th e basic
ste ps
o f
Vygo tsky's
life ,
and
by do ing
th is sh o w th at
Vygo tsky's
scie ntific
ge nius appe ar e d
as a natur al
synth e sis
o f
many
scie ntific and cultur al ach ie ve me nts o f Russian
so cie ty
o f
h is time .
Vygo tsky
did no t h ave a
lo ng
life as a
scie ntist,
but h e
live d
inte nsive ly, br illiantly,
and
cr e ative ly.
He wo r ke d in
th e mo st var ie d
psych o lo gical
fie lds-h e was th e tale nte d
auth o r o f wo r ks o n th e me th o d and
h isto r y
o f
psych o lo gy,
o n
ge ne r al, de ve lo pme ntal,
and e ducatio nal
psych o lo gy,
o n th e
psych o lo gy
o f
ar t,
o n me ntal
r e tar datio n,
and clini-
cal
ne ur o lo gy.
And e ach o f th e se fie lds fe lt th e
salutar y
in-
flue nce o f h is
bo ld,
o r iginal
ide as. At th e same
time ,
th e r e
was o ne fie ld in wh ich h is tr ue inte r e sts we r e co nce n-
tr ate d-th e fie ld o f th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f co nscio usne ss and
h uman
pe r so nality.
Vygo tsky
was bo r n in No ve mbe r o f 1896 in th e
city
o f
Or sh a to th e
family
o f a bank wo r ke r . He
gr aduate d
in 1917
fr o m th e law
faculty
o f Mo sco w
Unive r sity,
and at th e
same time , fr o m th e h isto r ical and
ph ilo so ph ical faculty
o f
S h anyavsky's Po pular Unive r sity.
Afte r th at h e wo r ke d as
a te ach e r in th e
Bye lo r ussian city
o f Go me l.
Fr o m 1924, Vygo tsky
live d in Mo sco w and wo r ke d at th e
Institute o f
Psych o lo gy
and also at th e Institute o f De fe c-
to lo gy [Me ntal Re tar datio n and
S pe cial
Educatio n]. L ate r ,
h e
gave
co ur se s at a numbe r o f institute s in Mo sco w, in
L e ningr ad,
and in Kh ar ko v. He die d in Mo sco w at th e
age
o f 38 in June , 1934.
In th e se
ye ar s
o f h is scie ntific
activity Vygo tsky br o ugh t
to ge th e r
ar o und h im a cir cle o f
yo ung
sch o lar s wh o subse -
que ntly
cr e ate d an
o utstanding
sch o o l o f S o vie t
psych o l-
o gy.
T h is sch o o l include d such
psych o lo gists
as A. R.
APRIL 1995 13
L ur iia
(1973, 1993),
A. N. L e o nt'e v (1977),
L . I. Bo zh o vich ,
P. Ia.
Gal'pe r in
(1974),
E.
V. Il'e nko v (1984, 1991),
A.
V.
Za-
par o zh e ts,
V.
P.
Zinch e nko ,
D. B. Elko nin
(1971),
and o th -
e r s. T h e se sch o lar s wo r ke d o ut th e ir o wn
psych o lo gical
th e o r ie s,
no w
wide ly
kno wn;
take n
to ge th e r ,
th e se h ave a
single
fo undatio n,
a fo undatio n th at
Vygo tsky
h imse lf e s-
tablish e d.
No w,
in a numbe r o f
co untr ie s,
including
th e Unite d
S tate s,
Vygo tsky's
fo llo we r s ar e at wo r k.
T h e y
ar e
tr ying
to
de e pe n
and
mo dify
th e main ide as o f th e fo unde r o f th e ir
scie ntific sch o o l in acco r dance with
co nte mpo r ar y
de -
mands.
Vygo tsky
h imse lf,
and h is
stude nts,
we r e no t
subje cte d
to
po litical
ar r e sts in th e
ye ar s
o f S talin's
r e gime , alth o ugh
in th e mid-1930s th e scie nce o f
pe do lo gy
was
pr o h ibite d
in
o ur
co untr y. 5
T h e S talinist
Par ty
bo sse s de cr e e d it to be r e -
actio nar y bo ur ge o is pse udo scie nce .
And be cause
Vygo tsky
h ad co nne cte d so me o f h is wo r k with
pr o ble ms
o f
pe do l-
o gy,
afte r h is de ath and until th e
mid-1950s,
it was fo r bid-
de n to
discuss,
to
disse minate ,
o r to
r e pr int any
o f h is
wo r k. Par t o f h is mo st se r io us wo r k did no t se e th e
ligh t
o f
day
until th e 1980s.
In
fact,
Vygo tsky's
wo r k was
ide o lo gically r e pr e sse d
and
fo r
lo ng ye ar s
was almo st unkno wn to o ur o wn
yo ung
sch o lar s. T h is inflicte d
gr e at
h ar m o n o ur
psych o lo gy
and
pe dago gy,
and o n o ur e ducatio nal
syste m.
And
by
th e
way,
be cause o f th is
r e pr e ssio n,
ce r tain o f
Vygo tsky's
wo r ks be -
came kno wn in th e We st
o nly ve r y late ly,
in th e 1960s.
T h e situatio n be came a matte r o f
cur io sity. Vygo tsky's
o utstanding
bo o k,
Pe dago gical Psych o lo gy,
wh ich is
dir e ctly
r e late d to th e
co nte mpo r ar y
r e fo r m o f Russian
e ducatio n,
was fo r
ide o lo gical
r e aso ns no t
publish e d
in o ur
co untr y
until 1991. T h is bo o k fir st
appe ar e d
in 1926. It was fo r bid-
de n in th e
mid-1930s,
and until 1988 o ne co uld
o nly
r e ad it
in a
single
ce ntr al
libr ar y
in Mo sco w
by spe cial pe r missio n
o f th e se cr e t
po lice (Vygo tsky,
1926/1991).
T h is
bo o k,
unfo r tunate ly,
h as no t be e n
publish e d
in th e
Unite d S tate s and is
e sse ntially
no t kno wn to
anyo ne ,
but I
th ink it
pr e se nts
se r io us scie ntific and
pr actical
inte r e st in
th e se
time s,
and I am
go ing
to intr o duce ce r tain th e se s
fr o m th is bo o k in th e latte r
par t
o f
my
talk.
It h as be co me usual fo r h isto r ians o f
psych o lo gy
to th ink
th at
Vygo tsky's
wo r k is a
spe cial "ph e no me no n";
h e was a
yo ung pe r so n
wh o h ad
just
e nte r e d th e
fie ld,
but wh o im-
me diate ly
made a substantive
cr itique
o f its basic te ne ts
wh ile
pr o po sing
a
co unte r vailing
se t o f se r io us th e o r e tical
ide as,
th e
e xpe r ime ntal de ve lo pme nt
o f wh ich
o pe ne d
ne w
h o r izo ns in
psych o lo gy.
I th ink th at th e
"ph e no me no n
o f
Vygo tsky"
h ad th e
fo llo wing
cause s.
Vygo tsky's
vie ws we r e fo r me d in Russia's
r e vo lutio nar y
ye ar s
and r e fle cte d scie ntific and so cial ide as o f th at time ,
ide as co nne cte d with a we ll-de fine d
unde r standing
o f th e
r e gular ity
o f h uman h isto r ical
de ve lo pme nt.
T h is kind o f
unde r standing
was
pr e se nte d,
in
par ticular ,
in Mar xist
ph i-
lo so ph y. Vygo tsky
made it th e basis o f h is wo r ld vie w. T h is
impo r tant
cir cumstance can be
e xpr e sse d
in T o ulmin's
wo r ds, wh o wr o te :
Vygo tsky
was
h appy
to call h imse lf a Mar xist. T h e h isto r -
ical-mate r ialist
appr o ach
e nsur e d th e succe ss o f h is scie n-
tific
inve stigatio ns;
th is was th e
ph ilo so ph y
th at ar me d
h im, gave
h im th e basis fo r
inte gr ating
th e scie nce s o f de -
ve lo pme ntal psych o lo gy,
clinical
ne ur o lo gy,
cultur al an-
th r o po lo gy,
th e
psych o lo gy
o f ar t. T h is is wh at we ,
psych o lo gists
o f th e
We st,
must no w
study se r io usly.
(T o ulmin, 1981)
Eve n wh e n h e was still a
stude nt,
Vygo tsky se r io usly
studie d th e
h isto r y
o f
ph ilo so ph y
(and so h e kne w we ll
bo th classical
ph ilo so ph y
and th e
ph ilo so ph y
o f Mar xism).
Be cause h e was a
pe r so n
o f
e xce ptio nal
abilitie s,
h e
wo r ke d fr o m th e
ve r y
star t
simultane o usly
in se ve r al fie lds
o f th e h umanitie s-in th e
study
o f
lite r atur e ,
o f
th e ate r ,
th e
psych o lo gy
o f
ar t,
and e ducatio nal
psych o lo gy.
At th e
same
time ,
dur ing
th e
pe r io d
o f h is life
spe nt
in
Go me l,
h e
studie d wo r ks o n th e
ph ysio lo gy
and th e
psych o lo gy
o f
be h avio r ,
wo r ks o n th e
ph ysio lo gy
o f th e ne r vo us
syste m.
T h e n,
tur ning
to r e se ar ch o n th e
pr o ble ms
o f
psych o lo gy,
h e fo und h imse lf at th e same le ve l as h is
pe e r s
in th e h u-
manitie s and natur al scie nce s.
It was
just
th is
many-side dne ss
o f
Vygo tsky's
kno wl-
e dge
th at allo we d h im to cr e ate a
psych o lo gical th e o r y
th at
was co nne cte d in its
ve r y
r o o ts to Russian cultur e and sci-
e nce o f th e fir st de cade s o f th e 20th
ce ntur y. Vygo tsky
was
a
le gitimate r e pr e se ntative
o f wh at was in
many r e spe cts
th e mo st
impo r tant pe r io d
in th e
h isto r y
o f Russian cultur e
and scie nce .
Fo r
e xample ,
th e
co nce ptio n
o f th e
sign-symbo l
basis o f
mind th at
Vygo tsky de ve lo pe d
is co nne cte d with th e th e -
o r y
and
pr actice
o f Russian
symbo lism,
a mo ve me nt th at
manife ste d itse lf
br igh tly
in
po e tr y,
in
ar t,
in
th e ate r ,
and in
cine ma.
S ymbo lism
sto o d in
o ppo sitio n
to natur alism in
ar t,
so me th ing
th at is
distinctly
visible in th e wo r ks and
ve r se o f
Be lyi,
Blo k, Mande lsh tam, Paste r nak,
and
many
o th e r s,
in th e
pe r fo r mance s
o f
Me ye r h o ld,
th e films o f
Eise nste in. Fo r
Vygo tsky,
a
gr e at
co nno isse ur o f
ar t,
th is
o ppo sitio n
to o k th e fo r m o f scie ntific
pr o te st against
natu-
r alism in
psych o lo gy.
T h e
pr o ble ms
o f
th o ugh t
and
language ,
as we ll as th e
pr o ble ms
o f th e
o r igins
and functio ns o f
co nscio usne ss,
o c-
cupie d
a
lar ge place
in
Vygo tsky's
scie ntific
inve stigatio ns
S uch we ll-kno wn Russian sch o lar s as G. G.
S h pe t,
N. Ia.
Mar r ,
and M. M. Bakh tin (1975) also wo r ke d in th e se ar e as.
T h e y
we r e all co nce r ne d with th e
pr o ble m
o f th e
pr o duc-
tio n o f
language , pr o pe r ly co nside r ing
it th e basis o f co n-
scio usne ss.
S h pe t
was o ne o f th e fir st to
de ve lo p
th e no tio n
o f th e functio nal str uctur e o f th e
wo r d,
distinguish ing
in it
an inte r nal and e xte r nal
fo r m,
and unde r line d th e r o le o f
mutual tr ansitio ns be twe e n th e se . Mar r tr ace d th e
ge ne sis
o f
language
and co nne cte d its
pr o ductio n
with th e r e aliza-
tio n o f
o bje ct-o r ie nte d pr actical
actio ns,
and also with
sym-
bo lic
(ge stur al-kine tic)
fo r ms o f
r e pr e se ntatio n
and
e xpr e ssio n
o f th e se activitie s. M. M. Bakh tin
de ve lo pe d
ide as o f
dialo gic
and
po lyph o nic
natur e o f co nscio usne ss.
T h e se r e se ar ch e r s
unque stio nably
e xe r te d
significant
in-
flue nce o n th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f
Vygo tsky's
ide as o n th e fo r -
matio n o f h uman co nscio usne ss. Fo r in h is wo r ks we find
th e
pr o ble m
o f th e inte r nal and e xte r nal, th e ide a o f th e
co nne ctio n be twe e n actio ns and co nscio us
signs.
Vygo tsky
was
pe r so nally acquainte d
with
many
o f th e se
cultur al and scie ntific
figur e s
(h e was
fr ie ndly
with so me
o f th e m), and kne w o th e r s fr o m th e ir
publicatio ns.
But
by
intr o ducing
th is cultur al
backgr o und
o f h is life , I do no t at
all want to
sugge st
th at h e
me r e ly
bo r r o we d a se t o f h is
pr e de ce sso r s'
and
co nte mpo r ar ie s'
ide as. Of co ur se , h e did
so me o f th is. In scie nce , it do e s no t
h appe n any
o th e r
way.
But it was
impo r tant
fo r us to sh o w th e
spir it
o f th e time
14 EDUCAT IONAL RES EARCHER
and th e
atmo sph e r e
o f th e se ar ch e s o f th at
time ,
and to
sh o w th at th e
pr o ble ms
o f
activity
and h uman co nscio us-
ne ss
o ccupie d many o utstanding r e pr e se ntative s
o f Russ-
ian scie nce and cultur e wh o we r e
wo r king
in th o se
ye ar s.
Each o f th e se was
de e ply o r iginal
in
e stablish ing
h is o wn
sch o lar ly
dir e ctio n. And so fo r all th e ir
clo se ne ss,
Bakh tin
r e mains
Bakh tin,
and
Vygo tsky, Vygo tsky.
And fo r h isto r i-
ans o f
scie nce ,
it is a mo st
inte r e sting
task to th ink abo ut
and unde r stand th e ir co nne ctio ns and th e
po ssibilitie s
o f
synth e sizing
ide as o f
activity
and th e cr e atio n o f h uman
co nscio usne ss,
ide as
de ve lo pe d by o utstanding r e pr e se nta-
tive s o f
ar t,
ph ilo so ph y, linguistics,
lite r atur e ,
ph ysio lo gy,
e vo lutio nar y bio lo gy,
and
psych o lo gy.
We h ave sh o wn th e
ge ne r al
cultur al and
ge ne r al
scie n-
tific r o o ts o f
Vygo tsky's psych o lo gical
th e o r ie s,
and h o w
th e y
ar e co nne cte d with o ur Russian tr aditio ns. But in o ld
Russia,
psych o lo gy
was
significantly
le ss
de ve lo pe d
th an
in th e We st. T h is was
e spe cially
tr ue as
r e gar ds e xpe r ime n-
tal
psych o lo gy.
Wh e n
Vygo tsky
tur ne d h is atte ntio n to
psy-
ch o lo gy,
h e
be gan
to maste r
e ne r ge tically
th e
e xpe r ie nce
o f
wo r ld
psych o lo gical
scie nce .
T h is
maste r y
was tr ansfo r me d into a cr e ative
r e wo r king
o f th e
th e o r y
o f
be h avio r ism,
ge stalt psych o lo gy,
func-
tio nal and
de scr iptive psych o lo gy, ge ne tic psych o lo gy,
th e
Fr e nch sch o o l o f
so cio lo gy,
and Fr e udianism.
Vygo tsky
publish e d
th e r e sults o f th is wo r k in nume r o us fo r e wo r ds
to Russian e ditio ns o f th e bo o ks o f We ste r n
psych o lo gists,
and in cr itical h isto r ical
e ssays.
His cr iticism o f var io us th e o r ie s was
always
co nstr uc-
tive .
Vygo tsky atte ntive ly
and
car e fully
tr e ate d
factual,
e x-
pe r ime ntal
mate r ial,
gath e r e d by
th e var io us tr e nds and
sch o o ls o f We ste r n and Russian
psych o lo gy.
But
Vygo tsky
was no t a
gath e r e r
o f facts. He
r e gar de d
facts
th r o ugh
th e
pr ism
o f h is o wn
co nce ptio n,
wh ich ,
in
fact,
h e ne ve r co nside r e d finish e d. T h anks to th is
appr o ach
to facts h e succe e de d in
inte r pr e ting
a
h uge
amo unt o f ma-
te r ial and
pr e se nte d
it in a str uctur e d
syste m
in h is le c-
tur e s, ar ticle s,
and bo o ks.
Vygo tsky's pr incipal
scie ntific ach ie ve me nt is h is we ll-
kno wn cultur al h isto r ical
th e o r y
o f
psych o lo gical de ve lo p-
me nt,
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e
pe r so nality.
L e t's
lay
o ut th e
main th e se s o f th is
th e o r y,
th e basis fo r
Vygo tsky's spe cial
ide as th at we ar e
active ly using
no w in th e r e fo r m o f o ur
e ducatio n
syste m
(I want to no te th at I fo r mulate d th e se
ide as a wh ile
ago ).
Fir st,
acco r ding
to
Vygo tsky's
cultur al-h isto r ical
th e o r y,
th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f h uman
pe r so nality
take s
place dur ing
its
upbr inging
and
te ach ing,
and h as a
spe cifically
h isto r i-
cal ch ar acte r , co nte nt, and fo r m; th e r e fo r e , in diffe r e nt
h isto r ical e r as, we se e diffe r e nt
type s
o f individual
psy-
ch o lo gical de ve lo pme nt. S e co nd, th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f a
pe r so nality
take s
place dur ing ch ange s
in th e so cial situa-
tio ns o f a
pe r so n's life , o r
dur ing ch ange s
in th e
type s
and
kinds o f h is
pe r so nal activity. T h ir d, th e basic fo r m o f car -
r ying
o ut
activity
is in
jo int-co lle ctive
e nactme nt
by
a
gr o up
o f
pe o ple th r o ugh
th e ir so cial inte r actio n. Fo ur th ,
th e individual
way
o f
car r ying
o ut
activity
is th e r e sult o f
inte r nalizing
its basic fo r m. Fifth , an e sse ntial r o le in th is
pr o ce ss
o f inte r io r izatio n is
playe d by syste ms
o f
signs
and
symbo ls,
cr e ate d
th r o ugh
th e
h isto r y
o f h uman cultur e .
S ixth , th e assimilatio n
by
a
pe r so n
o f h isto r ical value s o f
mate r ial and
spir itual
cultur e in th e
pr o ce ss
o f th at
pe r -
so n's
te ach ing
and
upbr inging
take s
place th r o ugh
th at
pe r so n's car r ying
o ut o f
pe r so nal activity
in co llabo r atio n
with o th e r
pe o ple .
T h e
ge nuine
se nse o f th is
th e o r y
o f
Vygo tsky's
is,
in
my
vie w,
th at th e
ge nuine , de e p
de te r minants o f h uman activ-
ity, co nscio usne ss,
and
pe r so nality
lie in th e
h isto r ically
de -
ve lo ping
cultur e ,
e mbo die d in var io us
sign
and
symbo l
syste ms.
T h is
th e o r y,
o f
co ur se ,
is co nne cte d with th e "cultur al-
h isto r ical" line th at e xiste d in th e h umanitie s in th e 19th
ce ntur y.
But in co ntr ast to o th e r
r e pr e se ntative s
o f th at
line ,
Vygo tsky
intr o duce d into
psych o lo gy
th e no tio n o f co lle c-
tive
activity
in its
unive r sal,
ge ne r ic
manife statio n.
One
po le
o f h is cultur al and h isto r ical
th e o r y
is
r e pr e -
se nte d
by
th e
co nce pt
o f th e
h isto r ically de ve lo ping
ge ne r ic,
th at
is,
th e co lle ctive
activity
o f
pe o ple
(and fr o m
th is it is
o nly
o ne
ste p
to th e
co nce pt
o f th e co lle ctive sub-
je ct
and o f co lle ctive co nscio usne ss). A se co nd
po le
is
r e p-
r e se nte d
by
individual
activity, by
th e
co nce pt
o f th e
individual
subje ct
and individual co nscio usne ss.
Fo r
Vygo tsky,
individual co nscio usne ss is de te r mine d
by
th e
activity
o f th e co lle ctive
subje ct.
Fo r it is
just
th is activ-
ity
th at in th e
pr o ce ss
o f inte r io r izatio n fo r ms individual
co nscio usne ss. As
Vygo tsky
wr o te ,
In th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e ch ild's
be h avio r ,
th e
ge ne tic
r o le o f th e co lle ctive
ch ange s.
T h e ch ild's
h igh e r
functio ns
o f
th o ugh t
fir st
appe ar
in th e co lle ctive life o f ch ildr e n in
th e fo r m o f
ar gume nt
and
o nly
late r le ad to th e
de ve lo p-
me nt o f
r e aso ning
in th e ch ild's o wn be h avio r .
(1987,
vo l.
3,
p.
141)
T h is th e sis o f
Vygo tsky
co ntains a
ge ne r al
r e so lutio n o f
many pr o ble ms
o f
psych o lo gy,
o f
upbr inging
and o f te ach -
ing,
th at
is,
th e
pr o ble ms
o f e ducatio n.
We
o ugh t
to no te
th at,
in so me
co nte mpo r ar y ph ilo -
so ph ical-psych o lo gical
wo r ks,
th e
par ticular s
o f th e indi-
vidual and co lle ctive
subje ct
ar e
spe cially
discusse d.
T h us,
wr ite s Pr o fe sso r
V.
A.
L e kto r sky:
"T h e individual
subje ct,
h is co nscio usne ss and
pe r ce ptio n,
must be
unde r sto o d,
co nside r ing
th e ir inclusio n in var io us
syste ms
o f co lle ctive
pr actical
and
co gnitive activity"
(1980,
p.
281). And fur -
th e r : "T h e co lle ctive
subje ct
e xists in a ce r tain se nse o utside
o f e ach
se par ate
individual
subje ct.
T h e co lle ctive
subje ct
r e ve als itse lf and th e laws o f its
functio ning
no t so much
th r o ugh
inte r nal str uctur e s o f individual
co nscio usne ss,
as
th r o ugh
e xte r nal
o bje ct-o r ie nte d pr actical activity
and co l-
le ctive
co gnitive activity
with
syste ms
o f
o bje ctifie d
kno wl-
e dge " (p.
283).
In o th e r
wo r ds,
th e fundame ntal and
ge nuine subje ct
o f
all
activity (e spe cially o bje ctive ly pr actical)
is th e co lle ctive
subje ct. Only
wh e n imme r se d in all th e
var ie ty
o f co lle ctive
fo r ms o f
activity
do e s th e individual
acquir e
th e
quality
o f
be ar e r o f co nscio us
r e gulatio n
o f its o wn
activity.
Vygo tsky's
th e sis abo ut th e
pr imar y
r o le o f co lle ctive ac-
tivity
in th e fo r matio n o f th e individual
subje ct
le d h im
natur ally
to ano th e r
ve r y impo r tant pr o ble m.
T h is is th e
pr o ble m
o f th e natur e o f th e ide al. Fo r tr aditio nal
psych o l-
o gy,
th e ide al (if it was
r e co gnize d
at all) was situate d in
th e co nscio usne ss o f an individual.
Vygo tsky
lo o ke d o n th e
ide al in a
quite
diffe r e nt
way.
We co uld
e xplain
h is vie ws o n th is
que stio n
in th e fo l-
lo wing way:
T h e ide al canno t be disco ve r e d o r unde r sto o d
at th e le ve l o f th e co nscio usne ss o f a
single pe r so n;
th e
ide al is an
aspe ct
o f cultur e . Be h ind th e ide al, be h ind th e
APRIL 1995 15
wo r ld o f
cultur e ,
and
de te r mining
it,
stands th e
o bje ctive ly
pr actical activity
(fir st and fo r e mo st wo r k
activity)
o f a so -
cial
subje ct
in its h isto r ical
de ve lo pme nt.
Vygo tsky
wr o te : "Cultur e is in fact th e
pr o duct
o f h uman
so cial life and th e so cial
activity
o f h uman
be ings,
and
th e r e fo r e th e
ve r y
act o f
putting
th e
que stio n
abo ut cultur al
de ve lo pme nt
o f be h avio r
alr e ady
le ads us
dir e ctly
into th e
so cial
plane
o f
activity"
(1987,
vo l.
3,
p.
145-146).
Fr o m th is
po int
o f
vie w,
in
psych o lo gy
o ne canno t talk
abo ut th e de te r minatio n o f co nscio usne ss
by activity
and
igno r e
th e
plane
o f th e ide al o r th e cultur al. In
spe aking
abo ut th e ide al (o r th e cultur al) as a de te r minant o f indi-
vidual
co nscio usne ss,
o ne h as to r e call th e
supe r individu-
ality
o f th e ide al.
T h us,
Vygo tsky
unde r sto o d th e me ch anism o f de te r min-
ing
individual co nscio usne ss
by activity
as me diate d
by
cultur e and
by
th e ide al.
Vygo tsky
co nside r e d
signs
and
symbo ls,
wh ich
po sse ss
stable
me anings
fo r me d in th e
co ur se o f cultur al
de ve lo pme nt,
to be th e r e al car r ie r s o f
cultur e ,
e mbo dying
th e ide al.
T h e
sign
as a tr ansmitte r o f
cultur al-activity
de te r mina-
tio n is o n th e o ne h and
supe r individual, o bje ctive ,
and be -
lo ngs
to th e wo r ld o f cultur e .
"T h e
sign, " Vygo tsky
no te d,
"is lo cate d o utside o f th e o r -
ganism just
as a to o l
is,
se par ate
fr o m th e
pe r so nality,
and
is in
r e ality
a so cial
o r gan
o r so cial me dium"
(1987,
vo l.
3,
p.
146). On th e o th e r
h and,
th e
sign
also e xists in th e co n-
scio usne ss o f th e individual
subje ct.
T h e no table Russian
ph ilo so ph e r
and
psych o lo gist
Eval'd
Il'e nko v de ve lo pe d
a similar
appr o ach
to th e ide al
dur ing
th e 1960s-1980s. His
co nce ptio n
is laid o ut we ll in
th e bo o k
Ph ilo so ph y
and Cultur e ,
publish e d
in Mo sco w in
1991 as
par t
o f th e
pr e stigio us
se r ie s "T h inke r s o f th e 20th
Ce ntur y. "
If we e nr ich
Vygo tsky's ge ne r al
ide as with E. V.
Il'e nko v's
pr o po sitio ns,
th e n
co nte mpo r ar y psych o lo gy
and
pe dago gy
take a
significant ste p
fo r war d in th e
study
o f th e cr e atio n and
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e co nscio usne ss o f
th e individual
subje ct
o f
activity.
And an
unde r standing
o f
th e se
pr o ce sse s,
if
yo u
will
agr e e ,
h as
gr e at impo r tance
fo r
th e
impr o ve me nt
o f e ducatio n.
I can info r m
yo u
th at th e
pr o ble m
o f th e inte r r e latio n-
sh ip
be twe e n th e th e o r ie s o f
Vygo tsky
and
Il'e nko v
h as
be e n
analyze d
in a de taile d
way r e ce ntly
in th e
lar ge
bo o k
by
th e
English
and Canadian
ph ilo so ph e r
David
Bakh ur st,
Co nscio usne ss and Re vo lutio n in S o vie t
Ph ilo so ph y:
Fr o m th e
Bo lsh e viks to Eval'd Il'e nko v
(Bakh ur st, 1991).
S o th e o utline o f th e fo r matio n o f individual co nscio us-
ne ss th at
Vygo tsky
cr e ate d co uld be
r e pr e se nte d
in th e fo l-
lo wing way: "fir st, co lle ctive
activity,
th e n cultur e , th e ide al,
sign
o r
symbo l,
and
finally,
individual co nscio usne ss. " We
canno t o ve r e stimate th e
significance
o f th is o utline as a
de e p
th e o r e tical basis fo r
o r ganizing
all o f
e ducatio n.
But
ve r y unfo r tunate ly,
th is o utline in all its
inte gr ity
h as still
be e n
ve r y po o r ly
use d
by
e ducato r s and
pr acticing
te ach e r s
in
o r ganizing
th e
pr o ce sse s
o f instr uctio n and
upbr inging.
T h is is
sur e ly
th e case in o ur
co untr y,
but it se e ms to me
o ur s is no t th e
o nly co untr y.
T h e ne e d fo r a
spe cial o r gani-
zatio n fo r th e co lle ctive
activity
o f ch ildr e n is
e spe cially
po o r ly
take n into acco unt, and th e
nur tur ing significance
o f
th e co lle ctive
subje ct
is almo st no t co nside r e d.
At th e same time , Vygo tsky's
o utline h as also be e n little
studie d
by
sch o lar s. It h as be e n difficult fo r th e m to co m-
bine two tr aditio ns-th e
appr o ach
to cultur e as a su-
pe r individual ph e no me no n,
and th e
analysis
o f individual
co nscio usne ss. S o me sch o lar s,
acce pting
th e
impo r tance
o f
Vygo tsky's
ide as abo ut co lle ctive
activity,
th e n r e duce co l-
le ctivity
to a
simple
sum o f th e actio ns o f a
gr o up
o f
se pa-
r ate
pe o ple .
In th is
case ,
e ve r y pe r so n
is vie we d as
fundame ntally
auto no mo us.
T h is kind o f
unde r standing
o f th e
pr o ble m
co ntr adicts
th e e sse nce o f
Vygo tsky's th e o r y.
S uch an
unde r standing
co ntr adicts h is ide a abo ut co lle ctive
activity
as a
ge ne tic
po int
o f
de par tur e
in th e fo r matio n o f an individual
pe r -
so n's co nscio usne ss. We sh o uld no te th at
Vygo tsky alr e ady
fo r e saw th is
po ssible
inco r r e ct
inte r pr e tatio n
o f h is o wn
th e o r y.
T h us,
in h is o wn
time ,
h e wr o te th e
fo llo wing:
Many
auth o r s h ave
alr e ady po inte d
to th e
pr o ble m
o f in-
te r nalizatio n,
th e tr ansfe r o f be h avio r inwar d.
. . .
Bue lle r
r e duce s th e e ntir e e vo lutio n o f be h avio r to th e fact th at
th e fie ld o f ch o ice o f use ful actio ns is tr ansfe r r e d fr o m th e
o utside inwar d.
"But th is is no t wh at we h ave in
mind, "
Vygo tsky
un-
de r line d,
wh e n we talk abo ut th e e xte r nal
stage
in th e
h isto r y
o f th e
ch ild's cultur al
de ve lo pme nt.
Fo r
us,
to talk abo ut a
pr o ce ss
as "e xte r nal" me ans to talk abo ut it as "so cial. "
Eve r y h igh e r psych o lo gical
functio n was e xte r nal be -
cause it was so cial be fo r e it be came an
inte r nal,
individ-
ual
psych o lo gical
functio n;
it was
fo r me r ly
a so cial
r e latio nsh ip
be twe e n two
pe o ple .
(1987,
vo l. 3,
pp.
144-145).
It is
just
in th is co nte xt th at we h ave to co nside r th e tr ue
significance
o f th is
pr o po sitio n
o f
Vygo tsky: "Eve r y
func-
tio n in th e cultur al
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e ch ild
appe ar s
o n
th e
stage
twice ,
o n two
plane s.
Fir st,
o n th e so cial
plane ,
and th e n o n th e
psych o lo gical;
fir st,
be twe e n
pe o ple ,
and
th e n,
inside th e ch ild. "
(1987,
vo l.
3,
p.
145).
We h ave full r e aso n to
sugge st
th at th e se te ne ts o f
Vygo t-
sky
ar e th e th e o r e tical and
psych o lo gical
base fo r h is ide a o f
co llabo r atio n be twe e n adults and
ch ildr e n,
and o f co llabo -
r atio n
amo ng
ch ildr e n in th e
pr o ce ss
o f th e ir
upbr inging
and
te ach ing.
And at th e same
time ,
th e se te ne ts ar e o ne o f
th e th e o r e tical so ur ce s fo r th e
co nce pt
o f th e "zo ne o f
pr o x-
imal
de ve lo pme nt, "
wh ich was intr o duce d into scie nce
by
Vygo tsky
h imse lf. I will no te
th at,
o ve r th e last
de cade s,
th e
substance o f th is
co nce pt
h as be co me mo r e and mo r e inte r -
e sting
to Russian scie ntists
and,
as I unde r stand
it,
also to
scie ntists in th e Unite d S tate s
(yo u
h ave be e n
car r ying
o ut
sympo sia
and
publish ing
bo o ks o n th is th e me ).
It is also
impo r tant
to
say
th at th e
pr o ble ms
o f co lle ctive
activity
o f
pe o ple , e spe cially ch ildr e n, as th e tr ue basis fo r
th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e ir co nscio usne ss and
pe r so nality,
h ave in th e last fe w
ye ar s
be co me a
subje ct
fo r
de e pe r
study
o n th e
par t
o f
spe cialists
fr o m var io us co untr ie s
(I wo uld no te such sch o lar s as A-N. Pe r r e t-Cle r mo nt, Y.
Enge str o m,
G. T suke r man, V. Rubtso v, Iu. Po luyano v,
and
o th e r s). T h e r e sults o f th is r e se ar ch , as th e
e xpe r ie nce
o f
my
o wn
pe r so nal labo r ato r y
h as de mo nstr ate d, h ave se r io us
pr actical significance
fo r th e
pr o ce sse s
o f
impr o ving
e ducatio n.
And no w I want to dwe ll fo r a mo me nt o n o ne o f
Vygo t-
sky's
mo st
co mple x que stio ns:
th e
inte r r e latio nsh ip
o f th e
16 EDUCAT IONAL RES EARCHER
co llabo r atio n o f a ch ild and an
adult,
and
amo ng
ch ildr e n
th e mse lve s,
with th e ir
pe r so nal activity
in
maste r ing
th e
value s o f cultur e .
Ye s,
Vygo tsky
co nside r e d-and th is is
wh at we ar e
tr ying
to sh o w
r igh t
no w-th at th e so cial in-
te r actio n,
th e co lle ctive
activity
o f th e ch ild and
adult,
and
amo ng
ch ildr e n
th e mse lve s,
is th e
ge ne tically
fundame ntal
fo r m o f th e ir individual
psych o lo gical
functio ns,
and in
par ticular
o f th e functio ns o f assimilatio n.
But at th e same
time ,
Vygo tsky pr o po se d
th at to th is co l-
le ctive
activity,
to th is
co llabo r atio n,
e ve r y
ch ild
br ings
a
pe r so nal
co ntr ibutio n at th e ch ild's o wn le ve l. In
fact,
th is
is wh at is
r e ally
co lle ctive
activity
o f a
gr o up
o f
pe o ple ,
and
no t th e o ne -side d
activity
o f o ne adult with o ne ch ild. T h is
inte r actio n is a kind o f
h e lp
to e ach o th e r . T h e functio ns o f
th e adult and th e ch ild in mutual
assistance ,
o f
co ur se ,
ar e
diffe r e nt. T h e ir
e xpe r ie nce
and
po ssibilitie s
ar e also diffe r -
e nt,
and
ye t
all th e
same ,
th is is still r e al co llabo r atio n.
Fr o m
Vygo tsky's po int
o f
vie w,
th e main
figur e
in th is
co llabo r atio n is th e ch ild h im o r h e r se lf as an auth e ntic
subje ct.
T h e
adult,
e ith e r th e te ach e r o r th e
upbr inge r ,
using
th e
po ssibilitie s
o f th e so cial milie u in wh ich th e
ch ild
live s,
can
o nly
dir e ct and
guide
th e ch ild's
pe r so nal
activity
with th e inte nt o f
e nco ur aging
its fur th e r
de ve lo p-
me nt.
L e t's co nside r an
e xce r pt
o f th e r e mar kable bo o k
by Vy-
go tsky
no te d
e ar lie r ,
Pe dago gical Psych o lo gy,
wh ich in h is
o wn wo r ds co nfir ms th is
impo r tant
state me nt o f h is
th e o r y
th at we h ave fo r mulate d
(yo u
will h ave to e xcuse me fo r
intr o ducing
so
many
o f th e se
e xce r pts,
but th e ir scie ntific
significance justifie s
it). S o ,
Vygo tsky
wr o te th e
fo llo wing.
T h e
pe r so nal activity
o f th e stude nt must be
place d
at th e
base o f th e e ducative
pr o ce ss,
and all th e te ach e r 's ar t
must co me do wn to
dir e cting
and
r e gulating
th is
activity.
(1926/1991,
p.
82)
A
psych o lo gical
lawstate s: be fo r e
yo u
want to invo lve
th e ch ild in so me kind o f
activity,
inte r e st th e ch ild in
it,
be ing
co nce r ne d to make sur e th at th e ch ild is
r e ady
fo r
th is
activity,
th at all th e ch ild's
str e ngth s
ne e de d fo r it ar e
e xe r te d, th at th e ch ild will act fo r
h im/h e r se lf,
and th at
fo r th e te ach e r r e mains
o nly
th e task o f
guiding
and di-
r e cting
th e ch ild's
activity
(1926/1991,
p.
118)
In o th e r
wo r ds,
acco r ding
to
Vygo tsky,
a te ach e r can in-
te ntio nally br ing up
and te ach ch ildr e n
o nly th r o ugh
co n-
tinual co llabo r atio n with th e m and with th e ir so cial
milie u,
with th e ir de sir e s and r e adine ss to act
to ge th e r
with th e
te ach e r .
T h is fundame ntal
ide a,
fo r mulate d
by Vygo tsky,
h as its
de e p pr e mise s
in th e wo r ks o f a se r ie s o f
impo r tant
e duca-
to r s and
psych o lo gists (fo r e xample ,
in th e wo r ks o f
F.
A.
W.
Die ste r we g,
J.
De we y,
and o th e r s). Vygo tsky gr aspe d
th e se
pr e mise s ve r y
we ll and
co ncise ly
fo r mulate d th e m in
th e fo r m o f a
spe cial psych o lo gical
law.
Fo r th e r e fo r m o f Russian e ducatio n, unde r standing
th is
law h as
spe cial significance be cause , wo r king
fr o m it, we
can
co nfide ntly
o ve r co me th e auth o r itar ian
pe dago gy
th at
until r e ce nt time s r ule d in o ur e ducatio nal
syste m
and th at
igno r e d
th e
po ssibility
o f a ch ild's
car r ying
o ut
pe r so nal
o r
individual
activity.
Many suppo r te r s
o f such r e fo r ms, as
th e y
se e k
pr actical
ch ange s,
wo r k fr o m th e se vie ws o f
Vygo tsky,
and also fr o m
th e
multidisciplinar y th e o r y
o f h uman
activity.
T h e
ach ie ve me nts o f th is
th e o r y
ar e asso ciate d with Ge r man
classical
ph ilo so ph y,
with th e
e ar ly
wo r ks o f
Mar x,
late r
with th e wo r ks o f
J. De we y,
M.
We be r ,
and also with th e r e -
se ar ch o f th e Russian sch o lar s S . L . Rubinsh te in
(1976),
A.
A.
L e o nt'e v, E. V. Il'e nko v,
and o th e r s.
It is no t
by
ch ance th at th e stude nts and fo llo we r s o f
Vy-
go tsky
also
suppo r t activity th e o r y,
th at
th e y de ve lo p
and
use it in
impr o ving
e ducatio n. But an e xaminatio n o f th e
co r r e spo nde nce
o f
Vygo tsky's
vie ws with
activity th e o r y
do e s no t fall with in th e bo unds o f o ur
pr e se ntatio n
h e r e ,
al-
th o ugh
it is a
ve r y inte r e sting que stio n.
S o me liste ne r s
may
h ave th e
impr e ssio n
th at th e
pr e -
do minance in
Vygo tsky's
ide as o f th e
co nce pt
o f th e se lf-
activity
o f th e ch ild in th e
pr o ce sse s
o f th e ch ild's
upbr inging
and
te ach ing
is e vide nce o f h is attach me nt to
th e ide as o f th e famo us
co nce pt
o f
o pe n te ach ing.
But th is
wo uld be a
pur e
de lusio n. In
fact,
Vygo tsky co ntinually
and
car e fully analyze s
th e
activity
o f all
par ticipants
o f th e
tr uly
e ducative
pr o ce ss:
th e
ch ild,
th e
ch ild's so cial
milie u,
and th e te ach e r . He
e spe cially
discusse s th e
pr o ble m
o f th e
e th ical and
pe dago gical go als
o f e ducatio n. "T h e e ducative
pr o ce ss, " Vygo tsky
said,
"is active in th r e e
ways.
T h e stu-
de nt is active , th e te ach e r is active and th e milie u wh ich
th e y
h ave co nstr ucte d is also active "
(1926/1991,
p.
89).
It is wo r th
no ting spe cially
th at
Vygo tsky
did no t
r e co g-
nize th e
pr e se nce
o f so me
se par ate r e ality co ntaining o nly
th e "te ach e r and ch ild. " He
single d
o ut and studie d th e
dy-
namic so cial
sur r o undings
th at co nne ct th e te ach e r and
ch ild (th at is, th e o th e r adults and ch ildr e n with wh o m a
give n
ch ild
actually
live s and
inte r acts). T h e te ach e r 's
wo r k is
par ticular ly co mple x
be cause ,
in th e fir st
place ,
th e
te ach e r must be we ll o r ie nte d to th e
r e gular itie s
o f th e
ch ild's
pe r so nal activity,
th at
is,
kno w th e ch ild's
psych o l-
o gy;
in th e se co nd
place ,
th e te ach e r must kno w th e
par tic-
ular so cial
dynamics
o f th e ch ild's so cial
se tting;
and in th e
th ir d
place ,
th e te ach e r must kno w abo ut th e
po ssibilitie s
o f h is o r h e r o wn
pe dago gical activity
to use th e se
se nsibly
and th us r aise to a ne w le ve l th e
activity, co nscio usne ss,
and
pe r so nality
o f h is o r h e r
ch ar ge s.
T h is is
wh y
th e
wo r k
o f a
ge nuine
te ach e r can ne ve r be
ste r e o type d
o r
r o utine ;
th e te ach e r 's wo r k
always
car r ie s a
pr o fo undly
cr e ative
ch ar acte r .
S pe cialists
fr o m
many
co untr ie s
fully co r r e ctly
co nne ct
th e vie ws o f
Vygo tsky
with th e vie w th at th e
psych o lo gical
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e ch ild sh o uld be se e n in th e co nte xt o f
th at ch ild's e ducatio n and
upbr inging.
And
Vygo tsky
is
still se e n as an
impo r tant auth o r ity
in th e ar e a o f
de ve lo p-
me nt-o r ie nte d e ducatio n.
L e t's lo o k in
par ticular
at a numbe r o f th e o r ie s th at in
o ne
way
o r ano th e r to uch o n th e
r e latio nsh ip
be twe e n th e
e ducatio n o f a ch ild and th at ch ild's
psych o lo gical
de ve l-
o pme nt.
In
my vie w, we can
ide ntify
th r e e o f th e se basic
th e o r ie s
to day.
T h e fir st o f th e se we co uld call th e
th e o r y o f
th e
inde pe n-
de nce
o f psych o lo gical de ve lo pme nt
fr o m e ducatio n and fr o m
upbr inging
o f a h uman
be ing
(as in th e wo r ks o f Ge sse ll,
Fr e ud, Piage t,
and o th e r s). Psych o lo gical de ve lo pme nt
is
se e n h e r e as a
fully inde pe nde nt pr o ce ss,
th e r e sults o f
wh ich ar e
me r e ly
use d in e ducatio n and
upbr inging.
Eve n
to day, many
th e o r e tical
psych o lo gists
de scr ibe th e
r e gular -
itie s and
stage s
o f ch ildr e n's
de ve lo pme nt
with o ut
r e gar d
to h o w and wh at ch ildr e n ar e
taugh t
and h o w
th e y
ar e
br o ugh t up
(and th e r e fo r e th is kind o f ch ild
psych o lo gy
is
se t fo r th as
inde pe nde nt
fr o m e ducatio nal
psych o lo gy).
APRIL 1995 17
T h e se co nd
th e o r y r e co gnize s
th e
inte r de pe nde nce o f psy-
ch o lo gicalt
de ve lo pme nt
and
upbr inging
(fo r
e xample ,
th e
wo r ks o f G. S .
Ko styuk,
N. A.
Me nch inskaya,
and o th e r s).
Acco r ding
to th is
th e o r y, de ve lo pme nt
is de fine d
by
ce r -
tain inte r nal facto r s and at th e same time
by te ach ing
and
upbr inging,
th e co ncr e te ch ar acte r o f wh ich
de pe nds
o n
th e r e al le ve l o f h uman
de ve lo pme nt.
T h e th ir d
th e o r y pr o po se s
th at
psych o lo gical de ve lo p-
me nt o ccur s
th r o ugh te ach ing/le ar ning
and
upbr inging,
wh ich
appe ar
as its
ne ce ssar y
and
ge ne r al
fo r ms
(e . g. ,
th e
wo r k o f
Vygo tsky,
L e o nt'e v,
El'ko nin
and o th e r s). T h e se
fo r ms can be
th o ugh t
o f as var io us
type s
o f
spo ntane o us
and
spe cially o r ganize d
inte r actio ns o f th e ch ild with
adults,
o f o ne
pe r so n
with o th e r
pe o ple -inte r actio ns
th r o ugh
wh ich a h uman
be ing
assimilate s th e ach ie ve -
me nts o f
h isto r ically sh ape d
cultur e . T h is so r t o f assim-
ilatio n
plays
an e sse ntial r o le in a
pe r so n's de ve lo pme nt.
In o th e r
wo r ds,
in te r ms o f its
co nte nt,
psych o lo gical
de -
ve lo pme nt
is an
inde pe nde nt pr o ce ss,
but it
pr o ce e ds
th r o ugh
inte r actio n,
th r o ugh
assimilatio n,
and
th r o ugh
te ach ing
and
upbr inging.
We
o ugh t
to lo o k at
psych o lo gical de ve lo pme nt th r o ugh
th e
pr ism
o f th e
r e latio nsh ip
be twe e n co nte nt and
fo r m,
th r o ugh
th e diale ctic o f th e ir mutual co nne ctio ns. Fr o m
th is
po int
o f
vie w,
o ne canno t
study de ve lo pme nt
with o ut
disco ve r ing
th e r o le o f
assimilatio n,
th e r o le o f o ne o r an-
o th e r fo r m o f
te ach ing
and
upbr inging.
And th e se famo us
e xpr e ssio ns
o f
Vygo tsky's
ar e co n-
ne cte d with th is
th e o r y: "T e ach ing
must le ad
de ve lo pme nt
fo r war d, "
and no t
lag
be h ind.
Pe dago gy
must be o r ie nte d no t to th e
ye ste r day,
but to
th e to mo r r o wo f th e ch ild's
de ve lo pme nt. Only
th e n can
it call to life in th e
pr o ce ss
o f e ducatio n th o se
pr o ce sse s
o f
de ve lo pme nt
wh ich no w lie in th e zo ne o f
pr o ximal
de -
ve lo pme nt.
(1987,
vo l.
2,
pp.
252, 251)
T h e
th e o r y
o f
de ve lo pme ntal
e ducatio n allo we d
Vygo t-
sky
to intr o duce into e ducatio nal
psych o lo gy
th e
co nce pt
o f th e zo ne
o f pr o ximal de ve lo pme nt,
wh ich h as th e
fo llo wing
se nse : Wh at th e ch ild is
initially
able to do
o nly to ge th e r
with adults and
pe e r s,
and th e n can do
inde pe nde ntly,
lie s
e xactly
in th e zo ne o f
pr o ximal psych o lo gical de ve lo p-
me nt. Bo th sch o lar s and
pr actitio ne r s
ar e no w
using
th is
co nce pt
mo r e and mo r e o fte n in th e
sph e r e
o f e ducatio n
(I
no te d a little abo ut th is e ar lie r ).
We h ave fo r mulate d
o nly
th e
ge ne r al
se nse o f th e th e o -
r ie s e nume r ate d
pr e vio usly.
Each h as, o f co ur se , co r r e -
spo nding
base s and co ncr e te
spe cifics
th at wo uld
sugge st
th e
fr aming
and
analysis
o f
many que stio ns.
We co uld also
say
th at th e fir st and th e th ir d th e o r ie s ar e
alte r native s.
Many
Russian te ach e r s e ith e r
co nscio usly
o r
spo ntane o usly
take th e
po sitio n
o f th e fir st
th e o r y (so me
e ducatio nal sch o lar s h ave similar vie ws). But th e
majo r ity
o f te ach e r s and sch o lar s wh o ar e
tr ying
to r e fo r m o ur e du-
catio nal
syste m
affir m th e th ir d
th e o r y, Vygo tsky's th e o r y
abo ut
de ve lo pme ntal
e ducatio n. As we se e , th e
th e o r y
and
pr actice
o f e ducatio n no w co me
dir e ctly
into co ntact in th e
issue o f
de ve lo ping
stude nts. And h e r e , much in
pr actice
de pe nds
o n wh at th e o r e tical
po sitio ns
te ach e r s and sch o l-
ar s ar e able to take .
T h e se
que stio ns,
fo r
e xample ,
ar ise
r e gar ding
th e th ir d
th e o r y:
1. Will
any type
o f e ducatio n
e nco ur age
th e
de ve lo p-
me nt o f fundame ntal ne w h uman
psych o lo gical
fo r ma-
tio ns?
2. Wh at is th e co ncr e te co nne ctio n be twe e n
te ach ing
as a
fo r m o f
de ve lo pme nt
and th e co nte nt o f th is
pr o ce ss
itse lf?
3. Wh at distinctio ns ar e th e r e be twe e n
spo ntane o us
and
spe cially o r ganize d de ve lo pme ntal
e ducatio n? And so
fo r th .
All th e se
que stio ns,
o f
co ur se ,
ne e d
spe cial
co nside r a-
tio n.
He r e ,
we no te th at th e
pr o ble ms
o f
de ve lo pme ntal
e ducatio n
to day
ar e
e xpe die nt
to discuss in r e latio n to o ne
o r ano th e r
spe cific age ,
in r e latio n to
spe cific
ne w fo r ma-
tio ns,
in co nne ctio n with th e
o r ganizatio n
o f a
spe cific type
o f e ducatio n.
In
my
talk,
I h ave tr ie d to
lay
o ut th e basic
pr o po sitio ns
o f
Vygo tsky's co nce ptio n,
th e ir inte r nal links to th o se o f h is
ide as th at ar e
ve r y impo r tant to day
fo r th e r e fo r m o f Russ-
ian e ducatio n. T h e se ide as ar e no t
o nly impo r tant,
but ar e
also
be ing
use d
alr e ady
to so me
de gr e e
in o ur e ducatio nal
pr actice (e spe cially
th e ide a co nne cte d with th e
o r ganiza-
tio n o f
de ve lo pme ntal te ach ing). Vygo tsky's
ide as,
o f
co ur se ,
co uld also be use ful in th e
sph e r e
o f e ducatio n in
o th e r co untr ie s.
And no w I want to
say
a little bit mo r e abo ut
Vygo tsky's
influe nce o n th e co nduct o f r e se ar ch co nne cte d with th e
ne e ds o f e ducatio n. His
co nce pts
and th e ne e ds o f e duca-
tio n ar e
inse par ably
linke d
to ge th e r .
And th e r e fo r e almo st
all o f h is Russian stude nts and fo llo we r s h ave wo r ke d
so as to take th e se de mands into acco unt (th is include s
L e o nt'e v, Bo zh o vich ,
Zapo r o zh e ts,
El'ko nin,
L .
V.
Zanko v
[1975],
and so o n).
We can unde r stand
Vygo tsky's
tr ue influe nce o n th e se
so r ts o f scie ntific
inve stigatio ns
if we co nside r th at ch ild
and e ducatio nal
psych o lo gy
h ave
unde r go ne
two basic
ste ps
in th e ir
de ve lo pme nt.
T h e fir st o f th e se was co n-
ne cte d with th e use o f wh at is
basically
a
co nstituting
me th o d o f
r e se ar ch ,
and
psych o lo gy
in th is case was fo r th e
mo st
par t
a
de scr iptive discipline .
T h is kind o f
psych o lo gy
fo r mulate d th e basic
stage s
o f a
h isto r ically
de te r mine d ch ildh o o d in such
co nce pts
as "th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e mind" and "th e laws o f th e
de ve lo p-
me nt o f th e
psych e "
(fo r
e xample ,
it de scr ibe d mo de s o f
ch ildr e n's me ntal
activity
th at we r e
alr e ady h isto r ically
de -
te r mine d). At th is
stage , psych o lo gy
still did no t h ave th e
me ans ne e de d to r e ve al and
e xplain
th e inte r nal me ch a-
nisms o f
assimilating kno wle dge
and o f ch ildr e n's
psych o -
lo gical de ve lo pme nt.
One o f th e mo st cr itical mo me nts in
th e
h isto r y
o f
psych o lo gy
was
Vygo tsky's co nce ptio n
th at
spe cific
functio ns ar e no t
give n
to a
pe r so n
at bir th but ar e
o nly pr o vide d
as cultur al and so cial
patte r ns. T h e r e fo r e ,
h uman
psych o lo gical de ve lo pme nt
is
acco mplish e d,
as
Vy-
go tsky pr o po se d, th r o ugh
assimilatio n o f th e se
patte r ns,
assimilatio n th at take s
place
in th e
pr o ce ss
o f
te ach ing
and
upbr inging.
As a r e sult, fir st, pr e mise s
we r e fo r mulate d fo r
studying
th e inte r nal links o f var io us me th o ds o f
upbr inging
and
te ach ing
with th e
co r r e spo nding
ch ar acte r o f
psych o lo gi-
cal
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e ch ild. And se co nd, ne ce ssar y
co n-
ditio ns we r e de mo nstr ate d fo r
intr o ducing
a ne w
type
o f
e xpe r ime nt
into
psych o lo gical
r e se ar ch as a
spe cial
me th o d
fo r
studying
th e e sse nce o f th e se
r e latio nsh ips.
Vygo tsky
and h is
co lle ague s be gan
to use th e so -calle d
"causal-ge ne tic me th o d, " wh ich allo we d th e m to inve sti-
18 EDUCAT IONAL RES EARCHER
gate
th e
pr o ce ss by
wh ich ne w
psych o lo gical
fo r matio ns
ar ise .
By
th is,
Vygo tsky
co nside r e d "th at th e
ge nuine ge -
ne tic
analysis
o f a
pr o ce ss
wo uld be its
syste matic r e pr o -
ductio n in a
te ach ing e xpe r ime nt" (Gal'pe r in,
1966,
p.
26).
T h e use o f th is r e se ar ch me th o d was asso ciate d with a
qualitative ly
ne w
ste p
in th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f
psych o lo gy.
Fo r th is ne w
type
o f
e xpe r ime nt,
wh at is distinctive is
th e active inte r ve ntio n o f th e r e se ar ch e r into th e
psych o -
lo gical pr o ce sse s be ing
studie d. In th is
way,
it is
signifi-
cantly
diffe r e nt fr o m th e ve r ificatio n me th o d o f
e xpe r ime nt
th at
sh o ws
o nly
th e cur r e nt state o f o ne o r ano th e r
psy-
ch o lo gical
functio n.
T h e ide a o f th is kind o f
e xpe r ime nt
is also
be ginning
to
be
r e co gnize d
in o th e r co untr ie s. And so in o ne bo o k o n so -
cial
psych o lo gy
th at was
publish e d
in 1988 (Bar -T al &
Kr uglanski,
1988),
it is no te d th at it is
ne ce ssar y
to
r e co g-
nize th e
unity
o f r e se ar ch and
pr actical
influe nce ;
it is ne c-
e ssar y
to
study
th e e ntir e
pe r so nality including
its "life
co nte xt. "
Car r ying
o ut
e xpe r ime nts
o f th is ne w
type r e quir e s
de -
sign
and
mo de ling
o f th e co nte nt o f fo r me d ne w
psych o -
lo gical ph e no me na,
o f
pe dago gical
me ans and
ways
o f
th e ir cr e atio n.
T h r o ugh studying
th e
ways
o f
r e alizing
th is
kind o f
de sign
o r mo de l in th e
pr o ce ss
o f instr uctio nal ac-
tivity
with
ch ildr e n,
it is also
impo r tant
to
study
th e co ndi-
tio ns and
r e gular itie s
o f th e
o r igins,
and th e
ge ne sis
o f
co r r e spo nding
ne w
psych o lo gical
fo r matio ns.
"Only
in
ge ne sis, "
wr o te o ur famo us
psych o lo gist
Gal'pe r in,
"ar e th e
ge nuine
str uctur e s o f
psych o lo gical
functio ns r e ve ale d: Wh e n
th e y
ar e
finally put
in
place ,
th e ir
str uctur e be co me s
unbr e akable , "
and
fur th e r ,
it "de sce nds
into th e
de pth s"
and is co ve r e d o ve r
by
a
"ph e no me no n"
o f a
co mple te ly
diffe r e nt
so r t, natur e ,
and str uctur e
(1966,
p.
26).
T h is ne w
type
o f
e xpe r ime nt
I th ink we co uld call a
ge -
ne tic-mo de ling e xpe r ime nt.
It e mbo die s th e
unity
o f r e se ar ch
o n
psych o lo gical de ve lo pme nt
o f ch ildr e n with th e ir
up-
br inging
and
te ach ing. 6
T h is me th o d is base d o n th e
de sign
and
r e de sign
o f ne w
pr o gr ams
fo r
upbr inging
and
te ach ing,
and o f th e me th o ds
fo r
imple me nting
th e se . In th is
way, e xpe r ime ntal
nur tur e
and
te ach ing
ar e r e alize d no t as an acco mmo datio n to an
available ,
alr e ady
e stablish e d le ve l o f
ch ildr e n's
psych o -
lo gical de ve lo pme nt,
but r ath e r as th e use o f th o se
ap-
pr o ach e s
in th e inte r actio n be twe e n th e
te ach e r -upbr inge r
th at will
active ly
fo r m in th e m a ne w le ve l o f th e
de ve lo p-
me nt o f th e ir abilitie s.
Our famo us
psych o lo gist
S . L . Rubinsh te in wr o te th e fo l-
lo wing:
We intr o duce e le me nts o f
pe dago gical
influe nce into th e
e xpe r ime nt itse lf, building
o ur
study
by a
type o f e xpe r i-
me ntal le sso n. In te ach ing th e ch ild, we tr y no t to fix th e
stage
o r le ve l o n wh ich th e ch ild is fo und, but r ath e r to
h e lp
th e ch ild mo ve fr o m th is
stage
to th e ne xt, h igh e r
stage .
In th is mo ve me nt, we
study
h o wth e ch ild's
psych e
de ve lo ps. (1976, vo l. 1, p. 61)
In th is
way,
th e
ge ne tic mo de ling
me th o d o f r e se ar ch can
be se e n as a me th o d fo r th e
e xpe r ime ntal, de ve lo pme ntal
upbr inging
and
te ach ing
o f ch ildr e n.
Cr e ating
th is r e se ar ch
me th o d se ts a se r io us task fo r
psych o lo gy,
and
te sting
and
using
th is me th o d assume s th e e stablish me nt fo r th e se
pur po se s
o f
spe cial e xpe r ime ntal institutio ns.
De ve lo pme ntal upbr inging
and
te ach ing
de als with th e
e ntir e ch ild, th e ch ild's e ntir e
activity,
wh ich
r e pr o duce s in
th e individual
so cially
cr e ate d ne e ds,
capabilitie s,
kno wl-
e dge ,
and
ways
o f be h avio r . T h is
activity,
if we se e it as a
spe cial o bje ct
o f
study,
include s so cial,
lo gical, pe dago gi-
cal,
psych o lo gical,
and
ph ysio lo gical aspe cts
in its
unity.
And th e r e fo r e ,
de ve lo pme ntal upbr inging
and
te ach ing
by
th e ir
ve r y
e sse nce can
o nly
be studie d in a
co mple x way
by spe cialists
fr o m a numbe r o f diffe r e nt
discipline s-by
so cio lo gists, lo gicians, e ducato r s,
psych o lo gists, ph ysio lo -
gists,
and o th e r s.
Only th r o ugh
th e ir co llabo r ative r e se ar ch
wo r k can we de fine
ways
to
impr o ve
th e e ffe ctive ne ss o f
de ve lo pme ntal upbr inging
and
te ach ing.
We h ave
alr e ady
co lle cte d a ce r tain amo unt o f
e xpe r ie nce th r o ugh
o ur co l-
labo r ative wo r k, but we h ave to
r e co gnize
also th at cr e at-
ing
a
str ate gy
fo r its fur th e r
de ve lo pme nt
and
ways
to
o r ganize
it r e main a matte r fo r th e futur e .
T h e inte nsificatio n and
pur po se ful study
o f th e
pr o ble m
we h ave r e vie we d h e r e can
o nly
be car r ie d o ut in
spe cial
e xpe r ime ntal
institutio ns
o r ganize d
to war d th at e nd
(kinde r gar te ns,
sch o o ls).
Only
th e r e can we
study
o ve r a
co mpar ative ly lo ng pe r io d
th e influe nce o f var io us fo r ms
and me th o ds o f
de ve lo pme ntal upbr inging
and
te ach ing
o n th e
psych o lo gical de ve lo pme nt
o f a
fair ly lar ge
numbe r
o f ch ildr e n,
assur ing
in th is
way co mple x
co ntr o l o ve r th e
activity
o f
upbr inge r s,
te ach e r s, and ch ildr e n.
T h e
wo r king gr o up
th at El'ko nin cr e ate d in h is time , and
th at I no w le ad, h as car r ie d o ut and is
car r ying
o ut its r e -
se ar ch o n th e basis o f th is ne w me th o d o f
e xpe r ime nt
in
ce r tain citie s and r ur al
r e gio ns
o f Russia. T h e basic task o f
th is
gr o up
is to use
Vygo tsky's
ide as to cr e ate ne w me th -
o ds o f
te ach ing
and
upbr inging
fo r sch o o l ch ildr e n th at
wo uld
impr o ve
th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f th e ir
activity,
th e ir
co nscio usne ss, and th e ir
pe r so nality.
T h e
spe cial ways
o f
o r ganizing te ach ing/le ar ning
and
upbr inging
wo r k with ch ildr e n th at
my gr o up
fo und h ave
be e n r e fle cte d in ne w te xtbo o ks in math e matics, Russian
language , ch e mistr y, ge o gr aph y,
and o th e r
te ach ing
disci-
pline s. 7
Use o f th e se te xtbo o ks in so me do ze ns o f
o r dinar y
sch o o ls h as de mo nstr ate d a se r io us
de ve lo pme ntal
e ffe ct.
T h e
te sting
o f th e
de ve lo pme ntal
influe nce o f o ur
ap-
pr o ach e s
is
co ntinuing.
T h e r e sults o f
my
th e o r e tical and
e xpe r ime ntal
r e se ar ch
h ave be e n r ath e r
th o r o ugh ly
laid o ut in
quite
a fe w
publi-
catio ns. S o me o f th e se ar e available h e r e in
English .
T wo o f
my
bo o ks h ave be e n tr anslate d into
English
and
publish e d
in th e Unite d S tate s-Pr o ble ms
o f De ve lo pme ntally
Or ie nte d
T e ach ing (Davydo v,
1988a-e ) and
T ype s o f
Ge ne r alizatio n in
Instr uctio n
(Davydo v, 1990).
My co lle ague s'
(and o th e r
gr o ups') o r ganizatio n
o f de -
ve lo pme ntal instr uctio n fo r stude nts be ar s witne ss, o n th e
o ne h and, to th e
significant pr actical
r e sults o f
Vygo tsky's
scie ntific
co nce ptio n and, o n th e o th e r h and, to th e
lar ge
po ssibilitie s fo r
using th at
co nce ptio n to r e fo r m o ur e duca-
tio nal
syste m.
In
my pr e se ntatio n, I h ave tr ie d to de scr ibe th e basic co n-
te nt o f
Vygo tsky's co nce pts,
and to sh o w th e ir influe nce o n
e ducatio nal
th e o r y
and o n
co nte mpo r ar y
me th o ds o f r e -
se ar ch . At th e same time , it was
ve r y impo r tant
fo r me to
sh o w th at th e se
co nce pts in fact h ave a r e al influe nce o n
th e r e fo r m o f e ducatio n in Russia. Ho we ve r , in
my o pin-
io n, Vygo tsky's
ide as can also
h e lp
e ducatio nal r e se ar ch e r s
and r e fo r me r s in o th e r co untr ie s, including
th e Unite d
APRIL 1995 19
S tate s. T h e h e ur istic and
pr actical po ssibilitie s
o f
Vygo t-
sky's co nce ptio ns
ar e far fr o m e xh auste d.
T h ank
yo u,
de ar
co lle ague s,
fo r
yo ur go o d
natur e d at-
te ntio n and
patie nce !
No te s
T h is
spe e ch
was tr anslate d and additio nal
e xplanato r y
co mme nts
fr o m Pr o fe sso r
Davydo v
we r e asse mble d
by S te ph e n
T .
Ke r r , Pr o fe s-
so r o f Educatio n,
Unive r sity
o f
Wash ingto n, DQ-12, S e attle ,
WA
98195. All
e xplanato r y
no te s we r e
o r iginally
auth o r e d
by Vasily
Davydo v,
with th e
e xce ptio n
o f th o se ide ntifie d
by
th e tr anslato r 's ini-
tials (S T K)
fo llo wing
th e no te . T h e tr anslato r wish e s to
e xpr e ss
h is
ap-
pr e ciatio n
to Pr o fe sso r Mich ae l Co le and Vikto r
Kapte linin,
Unive r sity
o f Califo r nia at S an
Die go ,
fo r th e ir co nsultatio n o n th e
tr anslatio n o f ce r tain te ch nical
e xpr e ssio ns.
1T h is pape r
was de live r e d at th e Annual
Me e ting
o f th e Ame r ican
Educatio nal Re se ar ch Asso ciatio n in
Atlanta,
Ge o r gia, Apr il,
1993, as
an addr e ss invite d
by
Divisio n C and th e Co mmitte e o n Inte r natio nal
Re latio ns.
Vasily
Vasil'e vich
Davydo v
is
cur r e ntly
Vice Pr e side nt o f
th e Russian
Acade my
o f Educatio n and a me mbe r o f th e
Acade my's
Pr e sidium. He was fo r
many ye ar s
th e Dir e cto r o f th e Re se ar ch Insti-
tute fo r Ge ne r al and
Pe dago gical Psych o lo gy
o f th e
Acade my
o f Pe d-
ago gical
S cie nce s o f th e US S R
(pr e de ce sso r o r ganizatio n
to th e
Russian
Acade my
o f Educatio n). A stude nt o f L ur ia and fo llo we r o f
Vygo tsky, Davydo v's
car e e r h as no t be e n unifo r m:
dur ing
th e late
1970s and
e ar ly
1980s, h e was r e mo ve d fr o m
le ade r sh ip po sitio ns
with in th e
Acade my
be cause o f h is
suppo r t
fo r
Vygo tsky's
"cultur al-
h isto r ical" th e o r ie s and h is
unwillingne ss
to
par ticipate
in wh at h e r e -
gar de d
as unscie ntific and
co r r upt
me th o ds o f e valuatio n and
pe e r
r e vie w. With th e adve nt o f
pe r e str o ika, Davydo v be gan
to
push
fo r r e -
fo r m with in th e Russian e ducatio nal
syste m, jo ining
fo r ce s with a
co r ps
o f "te ach e r -inno vato r s" in th e ir
push
to r e o r ie nt th e S o vie t e du-
catio nal
syste m. Alo ng
with such r e fo r me r s as S h alva Amo nash vili
and S imo n S o lo ve ich ik,
Davydo v h e lpe d
de fine th e mo ve me nt late r
kno wn as th e
"pe dago gy
o f
co o pe r atio n. "
In
1987-1988, h e wo r ke d
with th e te am h e ade d
by
Eduar d
Dne pr o v
(late r fir st Ministe r o f Ed-
ucatio n o f Russia in Ye ltsin's
go ve r nme nt)
to cr e ate a ne w do cume nt
o n basic e ducatio n wh ich h as co ntinue d to se r ve as th e
co nce ptual
basis fo r Russian e ducatio nal r e fo r m. In th e
ne wly r e o r ganize d
Russ-
ian
Acade my
o f Educatio n, h e se r ve s as th e
r allying po int
fo r th o se
se e king
fundame ntal
ch ange
in th e e ducatio nal
syste m. Davydo v
h as
le ctur e d
e xte nsive ly
abr o ad, and is an
h o no r ar y
me mbe r o f th e Na-
tio nal
Acade my
o f Educatio n in th e Unite d S tate s. (S T K)
2A numbe r o f
Vygo tsky's
wo r ks h ave be e n tr anslate d into
English
(Vygo tsky, 1978, 1987, 1992, 1993;
Vygo tsky
&
L ur ia, 1993).
Inte r pr e ta-
tio ns o f
Vygo tsky's
life and wo r k ar e fo und in Ko zulin (1990) and
Ne wman and Ho lzman (1993). His ide as also se r ve as th e basis fo r an
e xpanding inte r pr e tive
lite r atur e in th e We st th at se e ks to e xte nd h is
insigh ts
into ne w ar e nas and use th e m to r e de fine tr aditio nal
psych o -
lo gical
and e ducatio nal r e se ar ch . S e e , fo r
e xample ,
Danie ls
(1993),
L anto lf (1994),
Mo ll
(1990),
Ratne r
(1991),
Van de r Ve e r and Valsine r
(1991, 1994a, 1994b), We r tsch (1985a, 1985b), and Ze br o ski (1994). At
th e 1994 Annual
Me e ting
o f th e Ame r ican Educatio nal Re se ar ch As-
so ciatio n,
a ne w
S pe cial
Inte r e st
Gr o up,
th e Cultur al-Histo r ical
S IG,
was fo unde d to
br ing Vygo tskian pe r spe ctive s
to th e atte ntio n o f an
Ame r ican audie nce . (S T K)
3T h e te r m
vo spitate li
is r e late d to th e Russian te r m
vo spitanie ,
wh ich
is no t an
e asy
o ne to r e nde r in
English .
It is
usually
tr anslate d as
"up-
br inging, "
and th at is th e
appr o ach
th at h as be e n fo llo we d in th is ar ti-
cle . An alte r native
migh t
be to use th e te r m nur tur e , wh ich is clo se r in
bo th
o r igins
and co nno tatio ns to th e
Russian,
but is no t a wo r d with
wh ich
English spe ake r s
wo uld fe e l
to tally co mfo r table if it we r e
ap-
plie d
to a sch o o l
se tting.
T h e
me aning
is
r o ugh ly
all th e actio ns o f
adults th at
h e lp
to
sh ape
th e
pe r so nality
and
patte r ns
o f so cial inte r -
actio n o f a
yo ung pe r so n, r e gar dle ss
o f wh e r e th at
pe r so n is-sch o o l,
h o me , clubs, and so fo r th .
S imilar ly,
th e Russian o buch e nie , r e nde r e d
h e r e as
te ach ing
o r
te ach ing-le ar ning,
r e fe r s to all th e actio ns o f th e
te ach e r in
e nge nde r ing co gnitive de ve lo pme nt and
gr o wth .
In
Davy-
do v's
spe e ch ,
th e two te r ms ar e o fte n use d linke d
to ge th e r , sh o wing
th e ir e sse ntial inte r r e late dne ss in th e mind o f Russian e ducato r s. (S T K)
4T h is do cume nt was
pr o duce d by
th e
gr o up "VNIK-S h ko la, "
h e ade d
by Eduar d
Dne pr o v.
T h e
o r iginal was
Ko ntse ptsiia o bsh ch e go
sr e dne go
o br azo vaniia [A
co nce pt
o f
ge ne r al se co ndar y
e ducatio n]
(1988,
August
23), Uch ite l'skaia gaze ta
[T e ach e r s Gaze tte ],
pp.
2-3. Fo r
a tr anslatio n and a discussio n in
English
o f th e
ge ne r atio n
o f th e se
pr o po sals,
se e
Eklo f, B. ,
and
Dne pr o v,
E.
(1993), De mo cr acy
in th e Russ-
ian sch o o l: T h e
r e fo r m
mo ve me nt in e ducatio n since 1984,
e sp. pp.
77-103.
(S T K)
S Pe do lo gy
was a scie ntific
appr o ach
th at
atte mpte d
to
study
th e de -
ve lo pme nt
o f th e wh o le ch ild. It was
ve r y po pular
in S o vie t Russia in
th e 1920s-1930s.
Many impo r tant
ch ild
psych o lo gists
(fo r
e xample ,
L .
S .
Vygo tsky,
P.
P.
Blo nsky,
and o th e r s) be came
pe do lo gists.
T h e
pe do l-
o gists
use d We ste r n
psych o diagno stic
te sts to de te r mine
ph ysio lo gi-
cal,
psych o ph ysio lo gical,
and
psych o lo gical de ve lo pme nt
o f
yo ung
ch ildr e n. In th e
mid-1930s,
th e Co mmunist
Par ty
co nclude d th at
pe do lo gy
was a
"bo ur ge o is pse udo -scie nce " causing gr e at
h ar m to S o -
vie t e ducatio n. In a 1936 de cr e e o f th e Co mmunist
Par ty,
it was fo r -
bidde n to te ach o r wr ite abo ut
pe do lo gy.
T h e
pe do lo gical
co nsultancie s in sch o o ls we r e clo se d, and
pe do lo gists
lo st th e ir
jo bs.
In o th e r wo r ds, a wh o le scie ntific
discipline
was
r e pr e sse d.
Wh e n it
be came
po ssible
to wr ite abo ut th e se
th ings
o nce mo r e in th e
1980s, in-
dividual sch o lar s
be gan
to discuss
pe do lo gy again.
And
alth o ugh ,
in
my
vie w,
co nte mpo r ar y
ch ild
psych o lo gy
and
pe dago gy
h ave mo ve d
far
be yo nd pe do lo gy,
we h ave to
o bje ctive ly
e xamine it and de fine its
place
in th e
h isto r y
o f scie nce s abo ut ch ildh o o d.
6Unde r th e
appr o ach
calle d th e
ge ne tic-mo de ling
me th o d, th e r e -
se ar ch e r builds a mo de l o f th e
kno wle dge
th at th e le ar ne r must mas-
te r , and th e
th o ugh t
activitie s co nne cte d with
maste r y
o f th is
kno wle dge . Maste r y
o f th e
kno wle dge
le ads to th e
de ve lo pme nt
o f
par ticular
activitie s o n th e le ar ne r "
par t.
In acco r d with th e se th e o r e t-
ically
base d mo de ls, a de taile d
pr o gr am
o f
e xpe r ime ntal
instr uctio n is
cr e ate d, se ve r al
po ssible
var iants ar e co nside r e d-and th e n r e al in-
str uctio n is car r ie d o ut. In such
e xpe r ime ntal
instr uctio n we can tr ace
th e co nditio ns fo r th e
ge ne sis
o f co ncr e te
th o ugh t
activitie s. Re late d to
th e se
th o ugh t
activitie s ar e such
th ings
as co nte ntful abstr actio n and
co nte ntful
ge ne r alizatio n,
as we ll as th e activitie s o f
analysis, plan-
ning,
and r e fle ctio n, all
co mpo ne nts
o f th e o r e tical
th inking (Davydo v,
1988a-e ; fo r a
spe cific e xample invo lving
a me th o d fo r
te ach ing
ch il-
dr e n th e
co nce pt
o f
numbe r , se e
Davydo v,
1990,
pp.
360-366).
7T h e se ne w te xts ar e
be ing publish e d by
such fir ms as th e Mo sco w
Institute fo r th e
De ve lo pme nt
o f Educatio nal
S yste ms
(MIROS ), Pe -
le ng publish e r s
in th e
city
o f T o msk, and Pr o sve sh ch e nie
(Enligh te n-
me nt)
publish e r s
in Mo sco w.
Re fe r e nce s
Bakh tin,
M. M. (1975).
Vo pr o sy lite r atur y
i e ste tiki
[Que stio ns
o f lite r a-
tur e and e sth e tics]. Mo sco w: Kh udo zh e stve nnaia lite r atur a.
Bakh ur st,
D. (1991). Co nscio usne ss and r e vo lutio n in S o vie t
ph ilo so ph y:
Fr o m th e Bo lsh e viks to Evald
Ilye nko v. Cambr idge ,
Ne w Yo r k: Cam-
br idge Unive r sity
Pr e ss.
Bar -T al, D. ,
&
Kr uglanski,
A. W. (Eds. ). (1988). T h e so cial
psych o lo gy o f
kno wle dge . Cambr idge ,
Ne w Yo r k:
Cambr idge Unive r sity
Pr e ss.
Blo nsky,
P. P. (1929).
Osno vy pe dago giki
[Fundame ntals o f
pe dago gy,
3r d
e d. ].
Mo sco w: Rabo tnik
pr o sve sh ch e niia.
Blo nsky, P.
P. (1936).
Pe dalo giia [Pe do lo gy,
2nd
e d. ].
Mo sco w:
Uch pe d-
giz.
Danie ls,
H. (Ed. ). (1993).
Ch ar ting
th e
age nda:
Educatio nal
activity afte r
Vygo tsky.
Ne w Yo r k:
Ro utle dge .
Davydo v, V. V. (1986).
Pr o ble my r azvivaiush ch e go
o buch e niia:
Opyt te o -
r e tich e sko go
i
e kspe r ime ntal'no go psikh o lo gich e sko go
issle do vaniia [Pr o b-
le ms o f
de ve lo pme ntal
e ducatio n: T h e
e xpe r e ince
o f th e o r e tical and
e xpe r ime ntal psych o lo gical
r e se ar ch ]. Mo sco w:
Pe dago gika.
Davydo v, V.
V. (1988a).
L e ar ning activity
in th e
yo unge r
sch o o l
age pe -
r io d. S o vie t Educatio n, 30(9), 3-47.
Davydo v, V.
V. (1988b). Pr o ble ms o f th e ch ild's me ntal
de ve lo pme nt.
S o vie t Educatio n, 30(8), 44-97.
Davydo v, V. V.
(1988c). T h e basic
co nce pts
o f
co nte mpo r ar y psych o l-
o gy.
S o vie t Educatio n, 30(8), 15-43.
Davydo v, V. V.
(1988d). T h e me ntal
de ve lo pme nt
o f
yo unge r
sch o o l-
ch ildr e n in th e
pr o ce ss
o f
le ar ning activity.
S o vie t Educatio n, 30(9),
48-83.
Davydo v, V. V.
(1988e ). T h e me ntal
de ve lo pme nt
o f
yo unge r
sch o o l
ch ildr e n in th e
pr o ce ss
o f
le ar ning activity
(co ntinue d). S o vie t Edu-
catio n, 30(10), 3-36.
Davydo v, V. V.
(1990).
T ype s o f ge ne r alizatio n
in instr uctio n:
L o gical
and
20 EDUCAT IONAL RES EARCHER
psych o lo gical pr o ble ms
in th e
str uctur ing o f
sch o o l cur r icula. Re sto n,
VA:
Natio nal Co uncil o f T e ach e r s o f Math e matics.
El'ko nin,
D. B. (1971).
Psikh o lo giia
o buch e niia
mladsh e go
sh ko l'nika
[Psy-
ch o lo gy
o f instr uctio n fo r
yo unge r
sch o o l ch ildr e n]. Mo sco w:
Znanie .
Gal'pe r in,
P. Ia. (1966). Kuch e niiu o b inte r io r izatsii [T o war d th e
study
o f inte r io r izatio n].
Vo pr o sy psikh o lo gii [Que stio ns
o f
psych o lo gy],
6,
26.
Gal'pe r in,
P. Ia. (1974).
Ekspe r ime ntal'no e fo r mir o vanie
vnimaniia
[Expe r i-
me ntal fo r matio n o f atte ntio n]. Mo sco w: Izd-vo
Mo sko vsko go
un-ta.
Il'e nko v,
E. V. (1984). Diale ktich e skaia
lo gika
[Diale ctical
lo gic,
2nd
e d. ].
Mo sco w: Po litizdat.
Il'e nko v,
E. V. (1991).
Filo so fiia
i kul'tur a
[Ph ilo so ph y
and cultur e ].
Mo sco w: Po litizdat.
Ko zulin,
A. (1990).
Vygo tsky's psych o lo gy:
A
bio gr aph y o f
ide as. Ne w
Yo r k: Har ve ste r Wh e atsh e af.
L anto lf, J.
P. (1994).
Vygo tskian appr o ach e s
to se co nd
language
r e se ar ch .
No r wo o d, NJ:
Able x.
L e kto r sky,
V A. (1984). S ub"se kt, o b"se kt,
po znanie [S ubje ct, o bje ct, co g-
nitio n]. Mo sco w:
Pr o gr e ss
Publish e r s.
(Or iginal
wo r k
publish e d
1980)
L e o n'te v,
A. N. (1977). De iate l'no st', so znanie , lich no st'
[Activity,
co n-
scio usne ss,
pe r so nality,
2nd
e d. ].
Mo sco w: Po litizdat.
L ur iia,
A. R. (1973).
Osno vy ne ir o psikh o lo gii
[Base s o f
ne ur o psych o l-
o gy].
Mo sco w:
Izd-vo Mo sko vsko go
un-ta.
L ur iia,
A. R. ,
with
Vygo tsky,
L . S . (1993).
Etiudy po
isto r ii
po ve de niia
[S tudie s in th e
h isto r y
o f be h avio r ,
2nd
e d. ].
Mo sco w:
Pe dago gika-
Pr e ss.
Mo ll,
L . C. (Ed. ). (1990).
Vygo tsky
and e ducatio n: Instr uctio nal
implica-
tio ns and
applicatio ns o f
so cio h isto r ical
psych o lo gy. Cambr idge ,
Ne w
Yo r k:
Cambr idge Unive r sity
Pr e ss.
Ne wman,
E,
& Ho lzman,
L . (1993). L e v
Vygo tsky: Re vo lutio nar y
scie n-
tist. Ne w Yo r k:
Ro utle dge .
Ratne r ,
C. (1991).
Vygo tsky's
so cio h isto r ical
psych o lo gy
and its
co nte mpo -
r ar y applicatio ns.
Ne w Yo r k: Ple num.
Rubinsh te in,
S . L . (1976).
Osno vy
o bsh ch e i
psikh o lo gii
[Fundame ntals
o f
ge ne r al psych o lo gy,
3r d
e d. ].
Mo sco w:
Pe dago gika.
S h atsky,
S . T . (1935).
Go dy iskanii [Ye ar s o f
que st,
3r d
e d. ].
Mo sco w:
Uch pe dgiz.
T o ulmin, S . (1981).
Mo tsar t v
psikh o lo gii
[A Mo zar t in
psych o lo gy].
Vo pr o sy psikh o lo gii
[Que stio ns
o f
psych o lo gy],
No . 10.
Van De r Ve e r , R. , & Valsine r , J. (1991).
Unde r standing Vygo tsky.
Black-
wo o d, NJ:
Blackwe ll.
Van de r Ve e r ,
R.
(Ed. ),
&
Valsine r , J. (1994a). T h e
Vygo tsky
r e ade r . Black-
wo o d, NJ:
Blackwe ll.
Van de r Ve e r , R. , & Valsine r , J. (1994b).
Unde r standing Vygo tsky:
A
que st
fo r synth e sis.
Blackwo o d, NJ:
Blackwe ll.
Vygo tsky,
L .
S . (1978). Mind in
so cie ty:
T h e
de ve lo pme nt o f h igh e r psych o -
lo gical pr o ce sse s
(M. Co le , V. Jo h n-S te ine r ,
S . S cr ibne r ,
& E. S o ube r -
man, Eds. ).
Cambr idge ,
MA: Har var d
Unive r ity
Pr e ss.
Vygo tsky,
L .
S . (1987). T h e co lle cte d wo r ks
o f
L . S .
Vygo tsky
(R. W. Rie be r
& A. S . Car to n, Eds. ). Ne w Yo r k: Ple num.
Vygo tsky,
L .
S . (1987-).
S o br anie so ch ine nii v sh e sti to makh [Co lle cte d
wo r ks in six vo lume s (T h e co lle cte d wo r ks o f L . S .
Vygo tsky)].
(A.
V.
Zapo r o zh e ts, ge n.
e d.
o r ig.
se r ie s;
R. W. Rie be r & A. S . Car to n,
Eds. ; J.
S . Br une r ,
pr o lo gue ;
N. Minick, tr ans. and
pr o lo gue ).
Ne w
Yo r k: Ple num Pr e ss.
(Or iginal
wo r ks
publish e d be ginning
1982)
Vygo tsky,
L .
S . (1991).
Pe dago gich e skaia psikh o lo giia [Pe dago gical psy-
ch o lo gy,
2nd
e d. ].
Mo sco w:
Pe dago gika. (Or iginal
wo r k
publish e d
in 1926)
Vygo tsky,
L .
S . (1992). Educatio nal
psych o lo gy
(M. O'Co nno r & R. S il-
ve r man, Eds). Winte r
Par k,
FL : PMD Publicatio ns.
Vygo tsky,
L . S . (1993). T h e co lle cte d wo r ks
o f
L . S .
Vygo tsky.
Vo l. 2: Fun-
dame ntals
o f de fe cto lo gy
(abno r mal
psych o lo gy
&
le ar ning disability).
Ne w Yo r k: Ple num.
Vygo tsky,
L . S . , & L ur ia,
A. R. (1993). S tudie s o n th e
h isto r y o f
be h avio r :
Ape , pr imitive
man, & ch ild
(V. I.
Go lo d &
J.
E.
Kno x, Eds. ). Hillsdale ,
NJ:
Er lbaum.
We r tsch , J.
V. (Ed. ). (1985a). Cultur e , co mmunicatio n,
and
co gnitio n: Vy-
go tskian pe r spe ctive s
Ne w Yo r k:
Cambr idge .
We r tsch , J.
V. (1985b).
Vygo tsky
and th e so cial
fo r matio n o f
mind. Cam-
br idge ,
MA: Har var d
Unive r sity
Pr e ss.
Zanko v,
L . V. (1975). Obuch e nie i r azvitie [Instr uctio n and
de ve lo p-
me nt]. Mo sco w:
Uch pe dgiz.
Ze br o ski, J.
T . (1994).
T h inking th r o ugh th e o r y: Vygo tskian pe r spe ctive s
o n
th e
te ach ing o f wr iting
Po r tsmo uth ,
NH:
He ine mann.
Re ce ive d
Januar y
17,
1994
Re visio n r e ce ive d Octo be r
30,
1994
Acce pte d
De ce mbe r
27,
1994
(co ntinue d
fr o m p.
11)
Act (Co lumbus: Oh io S tate
Unive r sity
Pr e ss, 1978), 132-36; Je r o me
Mur ph y,
"T h e Educatio n Bur e aucr acie s
Imple me nt
No ve l
Po licy:
T h e
Po litics o f T itle I o f ES EA, 1965-1972, "
in
Po licy
and Po litics in Ame r ica,
e d. Allan P. S indle r (Bo sto n: L ittle Br o wn, 1973), 161-97; Je nnife r
Ho ch sch ild,
T h e Ne wAme r ican Dile mma: L ibe r al
De mo cr acy
and S ch o o l
De se gr e gatio n
(Ne w Have n: Yale
Unive r sity
Pr e ss, 1984),
102-3.
"44Gar y
Or fie ld,
T h e Re co nstr uctio n
o f
S o uth e r n Educatio n: T h e S ch o o ls
and th e 1964 Civil
Righ ts
Act (Ne w Yo r k:
Jo h n Wile y,
1969),
38.
45Fo r an acco unt o f e ve nts in
Ch icago ,
se e
Or fie ld,
Re co nstr uctio n
o f
S o uth e r n Educatio n,
ch ap.
4.
460r fie ld,
Re co nstr uctio n
o f
S o uth e r n Educatio n,
ch ap.
5.
47Fr ance s
Fo x Pive n,
"T h e Gr e at
S o cie ty
as Po litical
S tr ate gy, "
in
Rich ar d A. Clo war d and Fr ance s Fo x Pive n,
T h e Po litics
o f
T ur mo il:
Po ve r ty,
Race , and th e Ur ban Cr isis (Ne w Yo r k:
Vintage
Bo o ks, 1975),
271-83.
48T h o mas Edsall and
Mar y
Edsall,
Ch ain Re actio n: T h e
Impact o f
Race ,
Righ ts,
and T axe s o n Ame r ican Po litics (Ne w Yo r k: No r to n, 1991);
E.
J.
Dio nne , Jr . , Wh y
Ame r icans Hate Po litics (Ne w Yo r k: T o uch sto ne , 1991).
490n th is
po int
in r e latio n to
po licy
fo r matio n mo r e
ge ne r ally,
se e
Ir a Katzne lso n, "Re th inking
th e S ile nce s o f S o cial and Eco no mic Po l-
icy, "
Po litical S cie nce
Quar te r ly
101 (1986): 322-23.
500n th e se issue s,
se e
Har ve y
Kanto r , "Educatio n, S o cial Re fo r m,
and th e S tate : ES EAand Fe de r al Educatio n
Po licy
in th e 1960s, "
Ame r -
ican
Jo ur nal o f
Educatio n 100 (No ve mbe r 1991): 47-83.
Re ce ive d
May
27,
1994
Re visio n r e ce ive d
August
8,
1994
Acce pte d Januar y
9,
1995
S pe cial
Inte r e st
Gr o up
o n
Pr o fe ssio nal
De ve lo pme nt
S ch o o ls
T h e S IG o n Pr o fe ssio nal
De ve lo pme nt
S ch o o ls is
be ing
fo r me d to
pr o vide
a
fo r um
fo r
unive r sity
and sch o o l
pr o fe s-
sio nals
to discuss
appr o ach e s
in
fo r ming
pr o fe ssio nal de ve lo pme nt
sch o o ls,
me th -
o ds
o f
asse ssing
o utco me s,
and
str ate gie s
fo r
co nducting syste mic ch ange
r e se ar ch .
If
inte r e ste d,
co ntact
Jo h n Bur ke ,
L isa
Campane lli,
and
Ralph
Fe ssle r ,
Divisio n
o f Educatio n,
100 Wh ite h e ad
Hall,
Jo h ns Ho pkins Unive r sity,
3400 No r th
Ch ar le s, Baltimo r e ,
MD
21218;
410-
516-8273;
E-mail
BURKEJC@JHUVM. HCF. JHU. EDU
APRIL 1995 21