Lev Vygotsky
1896 – 1934 Russian psychologist, educational theorist
Soviet psychologist whose theory of social learning and the zone of proximal development shaped education.
- Religion
- Jewish background, secular.
- Affiliations
- Developed sociocultural theory of learning in the Soviet Union.
Lev Vygotsky argued that learning is fundamentally social and that children develop through interaction with more capable others. He introduced the zone of proximal development, the gap between what a learner can do alone and with guidance. His work was suppressed for decades in the Soviet Union but became highly influential in education after it reached the West.
Connections
- rival of Jean Piaget — His stage theory contrasted with Vygotsky's social approach.
- rival of Jean Piaget — Offered a social account of development contrasting with Piaget's stage theory.