Teacher Self-Identification in Culture from Vygotsky's Developmental Perspective

Abstract

Major changes have taken place in Russian education during the past eight years: new openness, new approaches, new recognition of deficiencies and needs. As teachers sought to throw of the regimentation of the past, they turned to the newly republished works of L. S. Vygotsky and his followers for ideas. This article contrasts the differing perspectives on a number of critical issues in Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory (zone of proximal development, action/act/activity, element/unit analysis, social situation of development/contextualism). The recent effort to design a teacher developmental education program based on the principles of Vygotsky's cultural-historical concept put the concept itself in question. The principles of such a program will be discussed, particularly the idea of teacher self-identification in culture. The aim of this article is to facilitate the debate about these important issues and to define the international perspectives in the development of the cultural-historical concept.