About reconstruction of the fundamental ideas of Vygotsky's theory - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

About reconstruction of the fundamental ideas of Vygotsky's theory in the contemporary social and scientific context

Manolis

Dafermos

University of Crete

ISCAR Summer University, Moscow

3-8 July 2017Slide2

Introduction"Vygotsky boom" (Cole, 2004) linked with the continuous reinterpretation and wide dissemination of his ideas

across different counties

as well as

across various disciplines

arise serious epistemological, methodological and practical questions.

Misconceptions of Vygotsky's theory in international academic communities (Gillen, 2000;

Ageyev

, 2003;

Veresov

, 2009).

Inaccuracies, mistakes and outright falsifications in translations of Vygotsky's works in English Slide3

Wider epistemological and methodological difficulties What means understanding cultural-historical theory?

What was the social and scientific context of the emergence of cultural-historical theory?

Why cultural-historical theory "relives" in contemporary globalized world?

How Vygotsky's theory "travels" across different countries and continents?

How is possible to understand deeper and develop further Vygotsky's theory in times of socioeconomic crisis? Slide4

Understanding should be internally connecting with explaining

.

The traditional mechanistic explanation of a isolate, linear chain between causes and effects is not able to deal with complex, organic systems.

Developing a non linear understanding of historicity of the explanation (included the explanation of a theory) as a

dynamic, developmental process

.

The traditional concept of temporality as a transition from the past to the present and from the present to the future is not sufficient to grasp the

complex process of the formation and transformation of a theory

in the history of science and society.

Understanding is formed as a part of the complex process of rethinking of the previous theories from the perspective of new challenges and problems. Both the subject and research object are mediated by a historically defined

complex set of traditions, attitudes and interactions

. Slide5

The main idea Generating and anticipating possible solutions is an essential dimension of dealing with challenges and solving problems.

Going beyond the present situation through anticipation

what doesn't exist but it may appear opens new perspectives in rethinking previews accumulated knowledge and reframing open ended problems. Slide6

Recontextualizating Vygotsky's theory

The difference between the

context of its emergence

in the first decades of 20th century in the USSR and the

multiple contexts

of its

reception

and implementations in various parts of the globe (Daniels, Cole, &

Wertsch

, 2007).

Questions

must inevitably arise:

how is it possible to

recontextualize

and develop further cultural-historical in the contemporary

globalized and diverse world

?

Is it possible to

go with and beyond

cultural-historical theory in

a dialectical way

?

What happens when a

theory travels

from one context to another? Slide7

Said’s (1983) concept of “traveling theory”

the changes that a theory undergoes as a result of its movement from one environment to another.

the origin of a theory

the conditions of its acceptance, revision and transformation in a new social environment.

The tendency of the acceptance of these sides, dimensions or ideas of the initial theory that make sense in a new intellectual and cultural milieu.

A

fragmentary reception

of the theory is an inevitable consequence of its "

travelling" across countries and continents

. Slide8

It is really difficult a simple repetition of the same theory when it "travels" in a different context. Understanding an idea is not its simple repetition.

The identification of understanding with the external reproduction of quotes and phrases is a kind of an external, false objectivity linked with the external repetition of words without understanding. Slide9

USA1950-1960: Under the influence of the crisis of behaviorism and outbreak of “first cognitive revolution

". Vygotsky's ideas on sign mediation as an original perspective to overcome the linear,

behavioristic

explanation

1970: The growing disappointment from the "first cognitive revolution" and the expansion of the "

second cognitive revolution

.

The crisis of American experimental psychology

created conditions of the reception of Vygotsky's theory through the prism of "

sociocultural

paradigm".Slide10

A clash between the cultural-historical theory that was formed in Russia/Soviet Union and

"

sociocultural

paradigm"

that was developed in North America.

The concept of development is a core concept of cultural-historical theory. The adherents of the

sociocultural

approach call into question

developmentalism

, the explanation of psychological phenomena in terms of a linear progression. Challenging any kind of universalism advocating cultural diversity.

the differences in the social and intellectual context of their formation.Slide11

BrazilCultural historical theory was perceived through the prism of critical pedagogy and "...the experiences of alternative schooling" (Lima, 1995a, p.443). The movement of critical pedagogy was formed under the influence of Paulo Freire's ideas on adult education. The adherents of critical pedagogy examine educational process from the perspective of social liberation and democratization.

Vygotsky's ideas on consciousness and ZPD have been included in the framework of critical collaborative research with its focus on dialogue and social/educational transformation. Slide12

Scientific traditions, research practices and

academic politics

are involved in the process of the reception and implementation of Vygotsky's theory in the local and global contexts. Being aware about

implicit

and

explicit

assumptions of each concrete "reading" of Vygotsky's theory as a preconditions of its

recontextualization

and further creative development.Slide13

The challenge of the implementation of Vygotsky's theory in multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary domain

Vygotsky's ideas have been applied in the field of education (

Hedegaard

and

Chaiklin

, 2005; Van

Oers

,

Waedekker

,

Elbers

and Van der

Veerand

2008), language theory (Robbins 2001; Byrnes 2006; Jones 2008), literacy research (

Smagorinsky

2011), cognitive science (

Falikman

2014), semiotics (Ivanov 2014), workplace (

Engeström

2007;

Holzman

2009), neuropsychology (

Toomela

2014;

Kotik-Friedgut

and

Adrila

, 2014), theory of Art (

Bulgakowa

2014), sociology (Daniels 2012).

The diversity of the disciplinary background

of the members of the contemporary Vygotskian academia. The members of contemporary Vygotskian academia have as their disciplinary focus not only psychology but also

educational sciences

,

linguistics

,

sociology

,

history

,

social anthropology

,

cognitive sciences, cultural studies

,

organizational sciences

,

social work

, and etc. Slide14

The Indian fable about Elephant and the Blind Men.Each blind man creates his own version of reality from the perspective of their limited experience.

All these men

are right

in their own terms, everyone depict a real side of the elephant. At the same time, everyone is

wrong

, because the elephant is not reduced to particular parts of its body that they explored.

The question arises whether it is possible to depict the elephant in a

holistic way

.

Is it possible to develop an

interdisciplinary, holistic

account of

Vygotsky's research program

in the

process of its development

?Slide15

“the word acquires its sense in the phrase. The phrase itself, however, acquires its sense only in the context of the paragraph, the paragraph in the context of the book, and the book in the context of the author's collected works” (Vygotsky 1987, p. 276).

get into the writer's creative laboratory and explore its dynamics and development regarding his contribution in the wider context of the history of science.

Slide16

"It can be said of any important discovery in any area, when it transcends the boundaries of that particular realm, that it has the tendency to turn into an explanatory principle for all psychological phenomena and lead psychology beyond its proper boundaries into broader realms of knowledge. In the last several decades this tendency has manifested itself with such amazing strictness and consistency, with such regular uniformity in the most diverse areas, that it becomes absolutely possible to predict the course of development of this or that concept, discovery, or idea" (Vygotsky 1997, p.241).

The expansion and implementation of a theory out of the domain of its initial emergence into a more general

multidisciplinary

,

interdisciplinary domain offers the opportunity to reveal both its possibilities and limitations.

how is it possible to develop further cultural-historical across a wide range of disciplines and fields? how is possible to carry out an interdisciplinary cultural-historical researchSlide17

Bridging the gap between theory and practice

The central ideas of cultural-historical theory were formulated by Vygotsky on the basis of a critical reflection on problems that was arisen in his own professional and social practice (his engagement in

defectological

practice, his practical work with the education and training of handicapped children).

His project of building of a new theory of human development as a part of the process of changing the world. “It is this commitment to the broader transformative—

liberational

social project that puts the cultural-historical approach into stark opposition to much of alternative developments in the 20th century...” (Stetsenko 2003, p.97).

The gap between theory and practice was one of the most important causes of the crisis in psychology.

Vygotsky's concept of

philosophy of practiceSlide18

Contemporary scholars are also concern about "the long-standing, conflicted relationship between science and practice” (Henriques & Sternberg, 2004, p. 1060). The dominance of the academic division of labour.

Scholars and practitioners tend to live in different world, alienated each from other.Slide19

How it is possible to apply Vygotsky's theory in practice in a totally different context? The existence of essential differences between the nature of practice in Vygotsky's creative laboratory and current practice in different parts of the globe in different disciplines.

Bringing together practice and theory means that

both practice and theory should be changed

. An application of Vygotsky's theory in practice is impossible without its

essential development

. Slide20

Imaging the future, remembering the past,

changing the present

Cultural historical theory is a future-oriented theory. It focuses on the potential for further development rather than the results of the developmental process

. Τ

he emphasis is given on “buds” or “flowers” of development, rather than the “fruits” of development.Slide21

Viktor Frankl"If we take man as he is, we make him worse, but if we

take man as he should be

, we make him capable of becoming what he can be … So if you don’t recognize a young man’s will to meaning, man’s search for meaning, you make him worse: you make him dull, you make him frustrated. While if you presuppose in this man, there must be a spark for meaning. Let’s presuppose it and then you will elicit it from him, you will make him capable of becoming what he in principle

is capable of becoming

" (

Frankl

, 1972).Slide22

contemporary cultural psychology has mainly past or short term present orientation. The dominance of a past-orientation is an expression of the

epigonism

in science

Epigonism

is only an expression of the lack independent and creative thinking but, first of all, the objective difficulty to overcome a crisis state of a discipline and shed light on news ways for further development of a theory.

The epigones are limited to repeat or imitate other ideas without developing them further. "...the best way to follow a thinker is to develop the ideas further, rather than declare one’s membership in a virtual community" (Valsiner, 2009, p.7).Slide23

The complexity of human/social ways of dealing with the event temporality.

In order to solve complex problems, people have the imaginative capacity to

"travel" back in time

in order to rethink the previews stages of development from the perspective of the new challenges and problems. They still have the ability to

imagine and anticipate the future

and take a distance from the current situation especially when it seems deadlocked.

Nikolai Bernstein (1896-1966) introduced the concept of the “

model of the required future

” (or the “model

of a

requisite future”, in Russian “

potrebnoe

budushee

”)Slide24

The role of imagination in experiencing and changing The projection of what

could or should be in the future

and the implementation of future-oriented actions in times of a socioeconomic crisis.

“Leaving” and coming back to reality

expands personal and collective experiencing and offers the opportunity to perceive reality in terms of its change rather passive adaptation to it.

The transition toward the future - an agonizing

search

for unusual paths, alternative ways and unpredictable and original solutions of

open-ended questions

and

complex problems

.

Imagination

and promotion of

agency and human freedom

. Slide25

A discussion between Galperin and Piaget in August 1966, at the XVIII International Congress of Psychologists in Moscow

Piaget

defined the difference his position from

Galperin’s

theory: “I study what exists, and you study what can be. Defending his position of active, planned formation of mental

processes"

Galperin

replied: “But what exists, is only a special case of what can be!” (

Obuhova

, 1999, p.363

) (

Obuhova

, 1999

) Slide26

Kuno

Fischer

“

Descartes

und seine

Schule

”

Vygotsky’s

comments

“...it is possible distinguish in the transformation (of a systems of ideas) their advanced stages, on the most important of which we now give. In the first stage, that constitutes the starting point,

the guiding principles are transformed into individual parts

.

“My research!”

But if, despite these changes on the basis of the system, the problem is not yet solved, then it is necessary to climb to the second stage and deal with the

complete transformation of the principles

...”.

“The task of the future”

“If the objective on the new road is not achieved, ...then it is possible to make the task solvable through

changing the basic question

, through the

transformation of whole problem

: this transformation is an overturn or era”.

“The task of the distant future” Slide27

Experiencing temporality in nonlinear, dynamic terms as an important dimension of solving crucial theoretical and practical problems through remembering the ways of solving similar encountered difficulties in the past, imagining the future and possible ways of dealing these challenges

What is the next step of the development of CHT?Slide28

A critical reflection on crucial open-ended social, economic environmental, and educational problems.

The impact of the social, economic, political, ecological crisis in different parts of the globe on cultural development?

The impact of digital media and more generally artificial intelligence on human development?

Tendencies of distorted development?

Promoting human development in times of a social crisis?

Moving with and beyond Vygotsky in a dialectical way

through rethinking and developing cultural-historical theorySlide29

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION