Other Free Encyclopedias » Social Issues Reference » Child Development Reference - Vol 2 » Cognitive Development - Overview Of Cognitive Development, Piaget's Theory Of Cognitive Development, Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Cognitive Development - Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

child helps adult culture

Vygotsky's theory emphasized the influence of culture, peers, and adults on the developing child. To understand this influence, Vygotsky proposed the "zone of proximal development." This zone refers to the difference in a child's performance when she attempts a problem on her own compared with when an adult or older child provides assistance. Imagine that a child is having difficulty with writing letters, and with the help of an adult who writes out sample letters or helps the child trace over letters, this same child is able to make progress. The help from the adult is called scaffolding. Just as the scaffolding of a building helps to support it, assistance from adults and peers in a child's environment helps support the child's development.

Vygotsky also discussed the importance of cultural tools to the sociocultural approach. These are items in the culture such as computers, books, and traditions that teach children about the expectations of the group. By participating in the cultural events and using the tools of the society, the child learns what is important in his culture. For example, in the United States a child attends school from about six years of age until eighteen years of age, and thus it is in school that children learn important skills such as mathematics. In some countries, such as in Brazil, however, children learn mathematics via buying and selling candy in the streets of the city.

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over 5 years ago

its brief and easy to understand

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over 4 years ago

omg!this is such a life saver! thanx alot!

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over 3 years ago

CarlWill

This article helps me about 1/2 of my research on Vygotsky's theory. I don't mean that it only helps me a little but it helps me a lot. 1/2 is a bunch of information to take. Thanks, i appreciate these above information.

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over 1 year ago

Louienel C. Urmeneta

The article helps me a little.

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about 2 years ago

nodee

honestly. it really helps alot

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over 1 year ago

reyna

its an interesting topic and easy to understand.

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over 1 year ago

Lea Brown

This was most helpful in my dissertation research.

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about 2 years ago

it is easy to understand the theory thanks so much....

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over 4 years ago

Hay does anyone no any evidence to back his theory up?.. X

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about 1 year ago

it was a so sad that he pasted away so young, although his theory has lived on. awesum info brief and easy to understand...

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over 1 year ago

In Brazil, our children learn... What?!
Except for that, very very good.

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over 1 year ago

In Brazil, our children learn... What?!
Except for that, very very good.

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over 2 years ago

now i able to understand vygotsky theory...its help me a lot!!thank you!

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about 2 years ago

wow thanks for this simple and understandable article it helped alot on ma assignment

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over 3 years ago

M weston

what a terrible way to end an article

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11 months ago

albert

yes!i'm ready for my report!!!

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about 1 year ago

THANKS!

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about 1 year ago

laurence floom jr

Vygotsky

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over 1 year ago

Jo-Anne

So easy to understand :) Many thanks

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almost 2 years ago

...the article is very informative...

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6 months ago

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10 months ago

marilyn

it's help a lot to us especially to parents and educators. thanks

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over 2 years ago

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about 1 month ago

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4 months ago

The information is quite good and very informative.A few ref would have helped

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5 months ago

socialcultural theory
vygotsky

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7 months ago

gwaza

rather too brief.cnsider adding some more flesh

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8 months ago

Kayla

Love this! seeing videos along with a summary of information helps me so much!!!!

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8 months ago

apai

you are great. it helps me a lot doing my research. i am looking forward to your reading article again

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almost 2 years ago

easy to understand i can answer my assignments easily.....thanks alot

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about 2 years ago

ez 2 understand and it helped a lot..

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about 2 years ago

nyasha

this article helps me very much

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about 2 years ago

Dark

This article is very helpful but it is lacking.

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about 2 years ago

where are the references according to the APA method of referencing

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over 2 years ago

J.Hills

I enjoyed this article and I agreed with it. I'm very much interested in learning more about.

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over 2 years ago

This web link was really helpful in answering a question I had. I agree with Vygotsky's theory and I have seen it in action.

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over 2 years ago

carlo

tnx to this information...

i've learned more about vygotsky's socio-cultural development..!!

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over 3 years ago

This broke down Vygotsky's theory in a very understandable way. Thank you for taking the time to make this information reader friendly.

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almost 5 years ago

it helps me understand more about the vygotsky sociocultural theory thanks!

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almost 5 years ago

thanks for the brief description and overview of vygotsky's socio-cultural thoery...i truely understand...GODBLESS ALL...

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almost 5 years ago

this topic is a very concise one that helps a lot of students like me doing my research. i'm glad that you had this kind of information. thanks a lot.............. God bless us all........

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about 5 years ago

This material is really useful for my research.I would be happy if you can me more information on vygotsky's socio cultural theory.Thank you.