Lev Vygotsky’s theory of social development places a strong emphasis on the roles of community and language in the learning process. Unlike Jean Piaget, who concluded that children’s cognitive development happens in stages, Vygotsky rejected this idea. He believed that children develop independently of specific stages as a result of social interactions. According to Vygotsky, we are born with four elementary mental functions: attention, sensation, perception, and memory. It is our social and cultural environment that allows us to use these elementary skills to develop and eventually gain higher mental functions.
The Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky introduced the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). This development ideally happens in three stages:
- What we can do on our own.
- The Zone of Proximal Development, which represents what we can do with the help of an adult, a friend, technology, or what Vygotsky called the “more knowledgeable other”.
- What’s beyond our reach.
To illustrate this, let’s consider twins raised in a community where boys are expected to learn and succeed while girls are only expected to be pretty. At 10 months, both have the ability to crawl and are in the zone of proximal development for learning how to stand on their feet. The father, as the more knowledgeable other, provides the boy with opportunities to practice in a playroom equipped with scaffolding and other objects. The boy is encouraged to explore the equipment, eventually using it to pull himself up. A few hours later, he is cruising along the structures, and a few days later, he is standing on his feet.
The girl also has the potential to stand but does not receive any support in learning the skill. When we compare the two, we see that while the girl is still trying to get up, the boy has moved into a new zone. He knows how to balance while standing and now has the potential to learn how to walk. Both will eventually learn how to walk, but according to Vygotsky, the boy will be more skilled. This principle applies to all learning and the development of higher cognitive functions. Only those learning with the assistance of a capable mentor can reach the full potential of their ability.
Learning Precedes Development
Vygotsky believed that within the Zone of Proximal Development, learning can precede development. This means that a child is able to learn skills that go beyond their natural maturity. He also established an explicit connection between speech and mental concepts, arguing that inner speech develops from external speech through a gradual process of internalization. This means that thought itself develops as a result of conversation. Therefore, younger children who haven’t completed this process can only think out loud. Once the process is complete, inner speech and spoken language become independent.
Vygotsky’s Legacy
Lev Vygotsky died of tuberculosis in 1934 at the age of 37. Despite his young age, he became one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century. He left the following advice for educators: “By giving students practice in talking with others, we give them frames for thinking on their own.”