Vygotsky and His Socio-cultural Theory

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Throughout the history of early childhood education educators have used various theorists’ theories to develop children’s learning and development. One of the most significant theories is the socio-cultural theory by Vygotsky. His theory consists of how private speech is used by children and the importance of the zone of proximal development. Vygotsky’s theory is well used in the education environment today and educators use it to be able to provide activities that aren’t too difficult for the children to engage in. Therefore Vygotsky’s theory has enabled educators to have a better understanding of how children learn and develop.
Lev Vygotsky’s life began on 1896 in Orscha, Belarus, he was born into a Russian- Jewish family. Vygotsky had won a place at the University of Moscow in 1913 which is where he received a degree in law and a specialisation in literature. After completing his degree he taught children and adults a variety of subject areas. He became then interested in children with learning difficulties and intellectual disabilities. Through this event he was invited to join the Institute of Psychology in Moscow. Vygotsky moved there and began a collaboration with two other Russian psychologists. They in turn developed a ‘cultural-historical’ or ‘sociocultural’ view of human development that looked in depth of cognitive activities (Duchesne S, et al, 2013). Vygotsky’s theory therefore was established from his past experiences and his interests in children’s development.

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory is one of the key theories that early childhood educators implement in their practices. In his theory he emphasises the significance that language plays in children’s development (Pound L, 2012). Although Piaget’s theory to...

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...r understand the importance of scaffolding which allows educators to be able to diagnose children’s learning needs and development of teaching techniques to meet them. To conclude although Vygotsky’s theory isn’t as complete as other theories, his theory is one that is important for educators to adopt.

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Reference List
Berk, L. (2013). Child development. (9th. ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Duchesne, S., McMaugh, A. Bochner, S, and Krause, K. (2013) Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching. 4th Edition. South Melbourne: Cengage Learning.

Gonzalez-DeHass, Alyssa R.; Willems, Patricia P. (2012). Theories in Educational Psychology : Concise Guide to Meaning and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com

Pound, Linda (2012). How Children Learn : From Montessori to Vygosky - Educational Theories and Approaches Made Easy. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com

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