Η θεώρηση του Vygotsky για την τυπική και «παρεμποδισμένη» ανάπτυξη

Abstract

Vygotsky has advocated that the dialectical relation between typical and impeded development carries a unique quality. His approach to development requires a holistic, qualitative education that addresses the entire personality. The theoretical approaches that were transferred into and adopted by pedagogy were the unities of the individualism and collectivism, and the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Vygotsky’s educational approach to childhood resulted from two alternating pathways of his thought: his broader interest in language and his personal experiences and achievements. In the context of his dialectical approach, he views the typical and atypical impeded child’s development as a joint unit and therefore atypical development is a unique quality dialectically associated with typical development. The term “defectology” he introduced describes the study of atypical impeded development of children with physical and mental deficiencies. A child’s handicap concurs with the two pathways of development that typical development follows: that of biological maturity and that of socialization process during which a child acquires knowledge and the capacity to use cultural tools, i.e. to use higher mental functioning through collective activities. Most often a handicapped child with deficits is unable to cope with the school structure or to participate in learning activities without adult support (ZPD). In this context, Vygotsky claims that the education of these children can be appropriated through a roundabout approach that aims to reconstruct the child’s personality in terms of dialectical relations and activities compatible to the child’s cultural environment; thus children with deficits are treated as productive members within the environment they belong to. In the context of contemporary inclusive education, Vygotsky’s ideas can contribute to the implementation of differentiating instruction, collaborative teaching and collective activities through the child’s daily social activities, practices that promote alternative ways of action and teaching that benefit all children.