Educational Psychology—Limitations and Possibilities

242 The Praeger Handbook of Education and Psychology
There are several core principles of development at the heart of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory.
They are as follows: (a) children construct their knowledge, (b) development cannot be separated
from its social context, (c) learning can lead development, and (d) language plays a central role
in mental development (Gallagher, 1999).
In addition, the sociocultural theory contains another widely recognized element called the zone
of proximal development (ZPD). Vygotsky believed that any pedagogy creates learning processes
that lead to development and thus this sequence results in “zones of proximal development.”
It’s the concept that a child will accomplish a task that he or she cannot do alone, with help
from a more skilled person. Vygotsky also described the ZPD as the difference between the
actual development level as determined by individual problem solving and the level of potential
development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or collaboration with
more knowledgeable peers (Gallagher, 1999).
In order for the ZPD to be such a success, it must contain two features. The first is called
subjectivity. This term describes the process in which two individuals begin a task with different
understanding but then eventually arrive at a shared understanding despite original differences
in thought or thought process. The second feature is scaffolding, which refers to a change in the
social support over the course of a teaching session. If scaffolding is successful, a child’s mastery
or level of performance can change, which means that it can increase a child’s performance on a
particular task (Gallagher, 1999).
It should be noted that Vygotsky’s ideas and theories are often compared to those of Jean
Piaget, especially his cognitive–developmental theory. Opposing Vygotsky’s zone of proximal
development, Piaget believed that the most important source of cognition rests with children
themselves as individuals. But Vygotsky argued that the social environment could catalyze the
child’s cognitive development. The social environment is an important factor that helps the child
culturally adapt to new situations when needed. Both Vygotsky and Piaget had the common goal
of finding out how children master ideas and then translate them into speech. Piaget found that
children act independently in the physical world to discover what it has to offer. Vygotsky, on
the other hand, wrote in Thought and Language that human mental activity is the result of social
learning. As children master tasks they will engage in cooperative dialogues with others, which
led Vygotsky to believe that acquisition of language is the most influential moment in a child’s life.
Piaget, however, emphasized universal cognitive change while Vygotsky’s theory leads to expect
a highly variable development, depending on the child’s cultural experiences to the environment.
Piaget’s theory emphasized the natural line of development, while Vygotsky favored the cultural
line (Gallagher, 1999). It was Vygotsky’s idea of culturally influenced development that has been
central to changing the history of educational psychology.
Indisputably, Vygotsky’s ideas have left behind a world of thought and theory based on objective
and scientific notions. He has opened the door to postformal thinking, with a major impact, in
particular, on the field of education. The principals of his sociocultural theory remind us that
we can cease our search for one “true truth.” His ideas reiterate the notion that our capacity
for learning, our cognitive development, is ultimately a reflective, ongoing, and never-ending
process.
We can use his concept of the zone of proximal development to explore the ramifications of
being at our “actual development level” when we are performing tasks without help from another
person. We must ask the question, “How did we get to the point of ‘actualization’?” We surely
did not inherit this stage or miraculously become placed in it; we must have had to develop
through our social and cultural interactions. But, these interactions need not be another person.
For example, various forms of media may have helped us self-create our zone so that we are
able to engage in individual problem solving. In recent times, computer technology has become
a powerful cultural tool, which can be used to mediate and internalize learning. Computers and