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Sociocultural Approaches to Learning and Development
The consistent trend in gender, race and SES gaps in academic achievement has been an increasingly important social issue especially in the context of culturally diverse classrooms. It is in light of this fact that John-Steiner and Mahn's analysis of the Vygotskian framework and its implications for classroom learning and teaching assumes significance. John-Steiner and Mahn provide a clear account of how the three central tenets of the Vygotskian theory establish the interdependence of social and individual processes in the coconstruction of knowledge: individual development (including higher mental functioning) is rooted in social sources; human action, on both the social and individual planes, is mediated by semiotics, and genetic or developmental analysis best explains the first two themes. Using Vygotskian sociocultural theory, including his work on the zone of proximal development and analysis of everyday and scientific concepts, the authors then go on to explore research and practice in the area of collaborative learning and conclude that educational practices, which foster socially structured interdependence, and coconstruction of knowledge through transaction and transformation will lead to more effective teaching especially in culturally diverse classroom settings.
Central to John-Steiner and Mahn's analysis is that the sociocultural theory best explains causes of school failure: discontinuities between the culture of home and school; mismatches in communicative practices between nonmainstream children and mainstream teachers leading to misjudgments; and the internalization of negative stereotypes by minority groups. The truth of this is well reflected in the gaps in race, gender and SES groups in standardized test scores as well as in several research studies such as the one conducted by the anthropologist, Signithia Fordham, which concluded that for African-American students, patterns of academic success and underachievement are a reflection of resistance stemming from stigmatized racial identity (Berlak, 2001). The evidence from such qualitative and quantitative research seems to indicate the validity of the sociocultural theory and the need for its incorporation into the educational system.
References
Berlak, H. (2001). Race and the Achievement Gap. Rethinking Schools Online. Vol. 15, No. 4.
Retrieved Jan 27, 2004: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/15_04/Race154.shtml
John-Steiner, V. & Mahn, H. (1996). Sociocultural Approaches to Learning and Development:
Vygotskian Framework. Educational Psychologist, 31 (3/4), p. 191-206
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