Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)
Importance of culture
and social interaction
Starter
Give 3 positive evaluations of Piaget’s
work.
 How did Piaget influence early years
education?
 Give 3 negative evaluations of Piaget’s
theory, methodology and research.

Introduction

Vygotsky was a Russian developmental
psychologist who was a contemporary of
Piaget.

His work wasn’t published in English
until well after his death.
What Piaget missed out.
He believed that Piaget’s theory ignored
the influence of culture on cognitive
development.
 Vygotsky suggested that an important
part of development was a child’s
acquisition of cognitive tools developed
by their culture.
 Such as Language, Number, Writing and
Scientific Concepts.

Social Learning and Teaching

Rather than developing through
discovery learning, Vygotsky
emphasised the importance of
interactions with other children and
adults. This was through social learning
and direct support and instruction
(teaching)
Skills

Vygotsky pointed out that skills acquired
during cognitive development are those that
are needed for the culture in which the child is
raised.
 Today our culture requires the ability to
process numbers and to read and write, to
plan and co-operate. This hasn’t always been
the case so there must be support for social
learning over biological processes.
Example by Richardson (1994)
A child attends nursery for the first time
and wants to play with all the new toys.
 The problem of sharing is raised that the
child doesn’t have to face at home.
 Through the responses of adults and
peers the child begins to accept systems
of turn taking and queuing. Or rules
about who can play with what and at
what time.

Cont….
This understanding of regulation
becomes internalised and the child
learns to wait for what they want.
 This is important in cultures that use
money.
 Ideas of saving so they can spend later,
or to delay having children to make
progress in a career.

Unaided play

According to Vygotsky, children can acquire
some concepts through their own unaided
play, but most concepts are acquired with the
help of others.
 This support is important when dealing with
abstract concepts.
 Vygotsky claimed that abstract thought
occurred most in technologically advanced
societies where formal education was used.
Internalisation



This is a key aspect in Vygotsky’s theory. He believed
that children learn through social experiences. The
example of pointing can be used to illustrate this point.
Initially a baby will reach for an object by extending
arm and fingers towards it. When the parent sees this
the parent will point towards the object and perhaps
ask, ‘Do you want teddy?’
Through observing the parent’s behaviour and
understanding the meaning of the action, the child will
then acquire the pointing behaviour, imitating the
parent’s action and using the newly acquired
behaviour as a deliberate communication in other
similar situations.