Fundamental Principles of Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory.pdf

6 Fundamental Principles of Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory In this chapter I describe the major tenets of Lev Vygotsky’s socio- cultural theory (SCT). I also present some biographical information about Vygotsky in support of his claim that we are all products of the social, cultural, and historical environments to which we have been exposed in the course of our lives. As one would expect of a genius, some of his ideas transcend time and space; some, however, are a clear reflection of his time: they are rooted in the political and social climate of his era. Vygotsky: Biographical Notes Vygotsky was born Lev Vygodsky on November 5, 1896, in Orsha, a small town near Minsk in Belorussia. A year later, his family moved to Gomel, where his father worked as a department chief at the bank. In Gomel, Lev Semenovich Vygotsky went to the private Jewish Gymnasium, graduat- ing with a gold medal in 1913. In that year he entered Moscow University, where he studied law. He also attended the Shanyavskii People’s University, an uno≈cial school taught by faculty members who had been expelled from Moscow University for their involvement in an antitsarist movement. Here Vygotsky pursued his interests in philosophy, literature, theater, and psychol- ogy. Having received his degree in law from Moscow University, he returned 103 104 A Dialogical Approach to SLA to Gomel. Vygotsky could not practice law because of major political changes that were taking place in Russia during that time. The abolishment of the tsarist government and creation of a new state—the Soviet Union—made his law degree worthless. Instead, Vygotsky taught literature and psychology in various state schools, including Gomel’s