TY - ABST
T1 - Zone of proximal development is a developmental concept
AU - Chaiklin, Seth
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - The expression zone of proximal development was first available in English in 1962, but did not gain much research attention until the beginning of the 1980s, possibly in connection with the publication of Mind in Society in 1978, which also contained texts that referred to zone of proximal development. The initial reception of the concept focused primarily on a formal definition, such as found on p. 86 in Mind in Society. Little effort was made to investigate or understand the role of the concept within Vygotsky’s theoretical conception of child development. The purpose of this paper is to explicate the role of zone of proximal development within Vygotsky’s theory of child development, and highlight some of the new, unexplored research horizons about child development that appear with a contextualised understanding of the concept. From its inception, the concept of zone of proximal development was offered an alternative to measuring the current state of the child, and focused on historically formed ideals – the demands of the next age period. The popular reception of the concept has focused on the idea of learning processes, losing its theoretical intention to focus on developmental processes. In offering a historical perspective about child development, the concept opens both possibilities and challenges to understand the contemporary historical conditions such as climate change, rising nationalism (and xenophobia), excessive corporate influence in democratic governments, and their implications for child development. The concept provides a way to think about measurement in a qualitative, prospective, relational manner, focused on what could come to exist, rather than what has already been achieved.
AB - The expression zone of proximal development was first available in English in 1962, but did not gain much research attention until the beginning of the 1980s, possibly in connection with the publication of Mind in Society in 1978, which also contained texts that referred to zone of proximal development. The initial reception of the concept focused primarily on a formal definition, such as found on p. 86 in Mind in Society. Little effort was made to investigate or understand the role of the concept within Vygotsky’s theoretical conception of child development. The purpose of this paper is to explicate the role of zone of proximal development within Vygotsky’s theory of child development, and highlight some of the new, unexplored research horizons about child development that appear with a contextualised understanding of the concept. From its inception, the concept of zone of proximal development was offered an alternative to measuring the current state of the child, and focused on historically formed ideals – the demands of the next age period. The popular reception of the concept has focused on the idea of learning processes, losing its theoretical intention to focus on developmental processes. In offering a historical perspective about child development, the concept opens both possibilities and challenges to understand the contemporary historical conditions such as climate change, rising nationalism (and xenophobia), excessive corporate influence in democratic governments, and their implications for child development. The concept provides a way to think about measurement in a qualitative, prospective, relational manner, focused on what could come to exist, rather than what has already been achieved.
KW - developmental psychology
KW - Vygotsky
KW - zone of proximal development
M3 - Abstract
SP - 264
T2 - 18th biennial conference of the International Society for Theoretical Psychology
Y2 - 19 August 2019 through 23 August 2019
ER -