Suzanne M. Miller

Vygotsky's Educational Theory in Cultural Context: Introduction: Sociocultural Theory and Education: Students, Teachers, and Knowledge

What are the differences among American, German, and Japanese classrooms? If we take as a cue the anecdote told by Stiegler and Hiebert (1999) in their book The Teaching Gap , in a Japanese classroom there are students and there is knowledge and the teacher serves as a mediator between them. In a German classroom there are also knowledge and students, but teachers perceive this knowledge as their property and dispense it to students as they think best. In the American classroom there are teachers and there are students, but the status of knowledge is uncertain. In this book we are offering a perspective that is different from those mentioned, yet poses the same fundamental question of the relationships among students, teachers, and knowledge. Our perspective is grounded in the theory of Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934), whose ideas turned out to be instrumental in shaping the learning processes in a growing number of classrooms in Russia, Europe, and the United States. At the heart of Vygotskys theory lies the understanding of human cognition and learning as social and cultural rather than individual phenomena. During his tragically short lifetime Vygotsky developed this central thesis in a variety of areas including the theory of child development and educational psychology. He explored relationships between language and thought, instruction and development, everyday and academic concept formation, and a host of others. For a number of decades his theory inspired only a relatively small group of followers in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Mediation in Cognitive Socialization

Social activities and adult–child interactions form the basis for cognitive socialization. The extent to which everyday activities differ by socioeconomic status (SES), and the extent to which they are employed differently, becomes a contentious topic when different outcomes in social and academic competence are linked. Socialization results in attitudes, values, and cognitive and linguistic skills that children use as they grow and ultimately become means or tools for development. Children develop competencies through various patterns of adult–child and other social interactions. Often what is seen as important and valuable for socialization varies across communities. Only some of the literature on adult–child interaction addresses elements of SES differentiated activity settings – for example, family structures, scripts, values, and task demands – that are historically embedded. This chapter focuses on a cultural–historical analysis of research linking SES to variations in adult–child interaction.Although the scope of the chapter limits the extent to which these topics may be explored, a sample of research is examined and framed within the structure provided by Cultural–Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), along with examples of adult–child interaction research approached from a CHAT perspective. CHAT is characterized by a developmental and social analysis of human action that is mediated generally by different cultural tools. To understand differences in individual development, variations in the latter must be considered across activity settings, as well as the way a person responds in terms of shared values, expectations, and practices.