Vygotsky theory of social and cultural development

Vygotsky a Russian constructivist psychologist, has argued that culture and language provide a social context in which people live, develop and understand the world around them.  Although Vygotsky's theory is interested in understanding the development within an individual, it relies heavily on social interactions and cultural context to explain learning.  

According to Vygotsky, every function in the child's cultural development appears twice, first at the social level and then within the child.  Vygotsky said that cultures, like individuals, have a life of their own;  They grow and change, and in the process specify what will be the end product of successful intellectual development.

   • His works say that people live in one culture.  They grow in that culture from childhood to adulthood.  They perform all activities and think within the confines of their socio-cultural environment.  The language spoken by the people around us also becomes the language of the child's thinking.  He understood learning and development as a process that occurs during a child's interaction with adults and peers.

  • Therefore, their developmental processes can be understood only by studying the interactions of children with their culture and environment.

Some of the concepts given by Vygotsky are as follows:

   "More Knowledgeable Other" (MKO)

  He said that  intelligence is the ability to learn by instruction.  According to him, these are the people who are more knowledgeable and have better knowledge in a particular field.  These MKOs can help improve children's skills.

 

  Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

It is the difference between the current level of development achieved without one's help and the potential level of development that can be achieved under the guidance of more knowledgeable others.

 Scaffolding

He used the term to explain the social and instructional support provided by more knowledgeable others to students to learn new concepts and skills.  Once the skill is learned by the student, instructional support ends.